Page 29 of The Guardian

“I don’t drink that stuff,” she told me.

“You need something. It will help.” I handed it to her.

With a shaky hand, she took it then downed it. Setting the shot glass down, her eyes widened as she coughed.

Yes, I already regretted the taking a shot idea.

Her eyes teared up and she kept coughing.

I patted her on the back then went to the small fridge and opened it. Yes! Bottled water. I turned and headed back to the sofa as I uncrewed the cap. Handing it to her, I said, “Sorry ’bout that.” Like I said… I was crap at comforting a crying female.

Grabbing the bottle, she took a big swig of it. Then she lowered her head and continued with the horrid tale, “Those two bitches held a gun on me as they forced me to dig my own grave.”

I stared at her and felt a sudden rage that I didn’t think I could keep hidden. I regretted something else now. The fact that I couldn’t kill those two hags from hell myself.

“They taunted me as I dug. Telling me if I had minded my own business, they just would have fired me and sent me on my way. But now I had to die first. That I shouldn’t worry though. I would go to heaven like they knew I counted on doing. They laughed at me as they called me a good girl that should have been a nun. I cried and dug as they wouldn’t stop. Then…” Maya’s voice faded away.

I waited for the rest of it as I tried hard to reel in my anger.

She turned her head to look at me. “They said terrible things about the twins. Like they were the children of a whore and a loser. That Hope was a whore like her mother and Alex was a loser like his father. That they weren’t worth the time they’d spent taking care of them. They hated every minute of it ever since they were babies. They were happy to be free of such miserable children and they would get to live on Santiago’s money while sipping margaritas on the beach. Then they kept yelling at me to DIG…DIG!” Maya peered up at me and her eyes looked red rimmed. “Omara asked me, did I know that the poison would make them puke with unbelievable pain before they died? I panicked as I knew I had to stop them even if they shot me. I l-lost it. I swung the shovel at Omara and she stumbled back. The gun in her hand went off and the bullet hit Pilar in shoulder. They were both screaming and yelling. I stepped up out of my shallow grave and swung that shovel at them again and again.” Sucking in a deep breath, she stammered, “B-before I even knew it…I-I had crushed their h-heads in…”

I grabbed her up and folded my arms around her.

She made no sound and had no tears as I held her close for a few minutes. Then she spoke quietly, “I don’t even remember most of it. I think I just kept hitting them?” She sniffled and went on, “I prayed to God that I would be forgiven for this sin. Then I rolled them into the graves and spent two hours burying them.” Maya finally looked up at me. “I do not regret it. I felt nothing but relief. But we couldn’t leave because Alvaro and Miguel came the next morning before I could get the kids out of the house. Then they watched the place closely. I did fear that they would find out about me killing the sisters. But I made up that story that the tías were afraid and ran off. I told you all the very same story. I moved their luggage to that basement. I admit that I took the money they had from Santiago and hid it. I thought I may have to flee with the kids on my own. I was so afraid those men were going to kill the kids. I had Omara’s gun and hoped that I would be able to stop them. Then you all showed up that same day.”

“I am known to wax poetic, so they say. It drives Rainmaker crazy too. But I have one for this subject too. It...” I paused and admitted, “It always reminded me of my father, but it fits those witches perfectly. On the human heart a stone—They are neither man nor woman—They are neither brute nor human—They are Ghouls.”

She stared at me and slowly nodded her head as a lone tear streaked down along her cheek. “But Henry that could describe me too. I murdered them!”

I kept my arm around her. “Crikey, Maya. You are a courageous soul. And the last thing anyone would believe is that you are a ghoul. You saved those kids. They claimed that you had saved them already but they don’t even know that you—”

She raised her fingers and placed them over my lips. “They are to never know!” she pleaded.

I nodded at her then murmured through her fingers, “I would never do such a thing.”

“You promise that you will not tell anyone?”

I chuckled and grasped her hand to kiss her fingers. “I will not betray your confidence.”

Her face went pink as she whispered, “Henry?”

I kissed her palm now and hummed, “Hmm?”

“Why are you kissing my hand?” she asked.

I paused mid-fingertip-kiss and looked up at her.

She stared at me and told me in a soft voice, “O via. You have the most amazing eyes. Where did you get emerald eyes from?”

I stared at her as that had been the last thing I expected her to say. I laughed and replied, “The eyeball fairy?” Then I shook my head and told the truth, “My mother.”

Her cheeks went pink as she added, “I have never met a man with green eyes before.”

“Well, I am glad that I stand out in some way.”

She chuckled. “Spacca. You are built like a tank, Henry. Of course, you stand out. You have this sound to your voice when you speak. It is so…” Her voice fell away.

I looked into her eyes as I never guessed that she noticed anything spectacular about me really. “I have a list too,” I confessed.