It’s also the reason he’s moments away from being kidnapped and tortured to death, and my mother and I aren’t.
What gives birth only to kill its young?
Time.
LEVI GRAVES
18 YEARS OLD - KEY WEST, FLORIDA - NEW YEAR’S DAY
My mother may have survived, but I lost both my parents that night. After my father's rival destroyed my family and killed my father, the Feds claimed whatever fortune we had left. A plea deal was offered: snitch on everyone my mother’s ever known and they'll put us into Witness Protection so we can survive.
And now, here we are, in sunny Key Largo, Florida—having gone from riches to rags with new identities, and yet the record player isstillsinging The Inkspots, ‘I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire.’
It’s the second anniversary of my father’s death, and my mother is no closer to healing from her grief. Her gaze is despondent, eyes fixed on the oceanic horizon as the sun dips low to kiss its watery face.
Glass of water in hand, I urge it towards her dry lips.
“Have some water, Ma.”
She lifts her head of dark, unruly curls up at me as I push the glass into her hand. “Thank you,tesoro.”Treasure.
“I wrote you a riddle...”
And prayed to fucking God it would cheer you up.
Even if only for a fleeting second.
A corner of her mouth curls with the shadow of a smile.
Victory.
I raise her smile with one of my own.
“I sate hunger. I sate thirst. I soften even the most rigid. Those who fly are destined to land in my depths. What am I?”
She hums, gaze drifting to the Atlantic.
“Is it... the ocean?”
My grin widens.
“Soup.”
Her head tips back with laughter—full-bodied and true. The sound is an immense relief that I can only equate to that first blessed breath of air after nearly drowning.
I chuckle, watching her laugh, even as my eyes burn.
Please, be okay.
Please, let’s go back to how things used to be.
It’s okay that Dad isn’t here.
I’m enough.
Please, see that I am enough.
My thoughts can’t reach her mind, but her heart seems to hear them. No matter how hard I try, things will never be the same.