“More than worth it. You can see the whole city spread out below. Makes you feel small in the best possible way.”
She was quiet, studying the distant glow of the temple. “Do you think that’s what faith is supposed to feel like? That sense of being part of something bigger?”
“I don’t know. My family wasn’t much for church. Dad said foxhole religion was the only kind that mattered.”
“What about you? Do you believe in foxhole religion?”
He sighed, recalling the desperate prayers he’d whispered while trying to stop Narin’s bleeding. The desperate bargaining.
“I think there are moments when you need something to believe in. Whether that’s faith or hope or just the idea that what you’re doing matters.”
“I grew up in a family of faith. But I’m still trying to figure out how to settle inside God’s love when the world feels so brutal.”
He nodded at that. And he didn’t want to go into the story of Narin, but, “Ham had a lot to do with my believing in a good God who cares. Probably something to do with being abandoned by my dad, but... I’d like to believe it’s true.”
She was quiet for so long that he thought maybe he should say something else. She paused at another stall where a vendor was creating perfect little coconut pancakes.
Then, softly, “I’m sure Jake told you about my little sister, Hannah.”
He stilled. “A little. She went missing when she was six?”
“We were at the Minnesota State Fair. Dad gave us all money, sent us into the Food Building to get food—it was a tradition.Selah and I thought Hannah was with Jake. Jake thought she was with us.”
His chest tightened.
She stopped walking, staring at a vendor’s display.
“Hannah vanished. We looked everywhere. Police, search dogs, volunteers—the whole thing. Never found her.”
“Chloe—”
“My parents never recovered. Dad threw himself into work, Mom into depression, and Selah and Jake and I were trying to hold everything together.” She sighed. “We struggled with faith.”
“And God’s love.”
She nodded. “So yeah. I can’t stand watching children get hurt. And this... this hit close, I think.”
And yes, he got it.
So now, well, of course she had to find Radic. And he had to go with her.
Chloe cleared her throat and stepped toward a nearby stall where golden treats bobbed in hot oil. “Try this.” She handed him something that looked like a small golden pillow.
“What is it?”
“Kluay tod.Fried bananas.”
Crunchy exterior giving way to soft, sweet banana. Rich enough that one was probably his limit.
“Too sweet?” She watched his expression with amusement.
“Just different from fish balls.”
“Everything’s different from fish balls.” She gestured toward a cart where a vendor was ladling thick Thai tea. “Want something to drink?”
Oh, he loved Thai tea. Rich, sweet, and creamy, with a distinctive orange color.
“You know what’s crazy?” She paused to watch a vendor flip noodles in a wok.