Chapter 53

“Would you like some tea?” My grandmother shuffled slowly through her tiny adobe toward the kitchen to heat up some water.

“Sure.” I tried to sound calm but my insides were churning with anticipation. What was this prophecy? Did she know what I was?

Sitting on a wooden bench propped before a homemade table, I waited and tapped my fingertips anxiously against the knotty surface. Normally I felt calm in her cozy home but tonight, I felt nothing but the angst of uncertainty.

“How was your trip?” She asked casually as she placed a cup and saucer in front of me, tendrils of steam rising into the air from the confines of the teacup. Setting one on the table for herself, she groaned as she sat down across from me.

Wrapping my hands around the teacup, I absorbed the soothing heat into the palms of my hands. Taking a long breath in, I let the atmosphere of my grandmother’s home embrace me. She always had a way of helping me center myself, to clear my thoughts.

“Well…some was good. Some bad, I guess…there’s a lot going on right now.” I fumbled, honestly not knowing how to answer. As much as I didn’t want to worry her, I needed her to understand the gravity of the situation. I needed her to tell me whatever she knew about me. I needed answers.

She nodded as she lifted her teacup to her mouth, her lips twitching with a smile. I envied her quiet wisdom, her ability to surrender to the winds of faith and know without a shadow of a doubt that whatever divine powers that be…would protect us.

Staring down into the dark waters of my tea, I debated on how much I should tell her of the last few months. Some of the experiences were so horrific, I didn’t know if I could even repeat them, let alone tell a frail old woman who’d likely never heard of such atrocities.

Breaking the silence, grandmother spoke quietly to me. “Cassia, I know you’ve come for answers and I will tell you what I know, but I must warn you, I don’t know all the answers.”

I fought against the tears brimming in my eyes. Before she could continue, I jumped up and moved around the table to hug her.

Rubbing my back, she added cryptically. “I know you have seen many nightmares, my child, but I fear there may be more to come.”

Pulling back from her loving embrace, I looked her seriously in the eyes. “Please, just tell me what you know.”

Gesturing for me to take a seat, she began, speaking slowly in her native tongue. “The day you were born, my apprentice and I were out collecting herbs in the desert. It was very hot, even for February. We’d spent the entire day collecting sagebrush to use for my cleansing rituals.”

She rose from her seat and retrieved something from a nearby cupboard. “While we were walking near Doe Mountain, I found this.” She placed a leather satchel on the table. Branded on the front was a large letter ‘T’. “I figured it couldn’t have been there long, it was very clean with no sand on it.”

Nodding, I understood what she meant. Anything that dares land on the desert’s floor would very soon be smothered by the sand. Grabbing the tiny bag, I held it in my hands and caressed the smooth leather with my fingertips.

Continuing, she wrapped her shawl tightly around her shoulders as she spoke. “I looked around the place, for the owner. Walking a ways up the mountainside, we heard screaming coming from one of the caves.”

“Screaming?” My eyes widened as she told the story.

“Yes. As we reached the cave, we realized there was a woman in there…ready to give birth.” Sighing, she continued. “Fate. Coincidence. Luck. How is it that a doula and her apprentice would be walking through the desert and come upon a pregnant woman ripe with child? I still ask myself that every day.” Lowering her head, obviously tired, she muttered the last part as though to herself.

“Was this…” I held up the satchel, a waft of tobacco drifting from it as I moved it. “hers?”

Lifting her head slowly, her eyes met mine as she responded. “No, that…was your father’s.”