Work In Progress

They stayed, staring at each other, for nearly a minute. It was Arcelia who broke the silence.

"Who are you? And what, exactly, have you done?"

"Call me Ramirez. What I've done, depending on how you would like to look at it, is avenge over two decades of brutality and barbarism or kill your parents and the seventeen men your father had hired as guards (incidentally, it is convenient that your maid visits her family every third Sunday).

"For what it's worth," he added, "I'm sorry for causing you suffering."

After a few moments, Arcelia broke the silence again, "And you want me to go with you?"

"I never said that I wanted anything. I made you an offer. I do think that you would be wise to accept it, but that doesn't mean that I do — or don't — want you to."

Almost impulsively, Arcelia asked, "Well, what do you want?" Like all human beings, she had the instinct to seize the initiative, even if she had no idea what to do with it once she had it.

John smiled, his eyes twinkling devilishly. "I want to be a dragon. I want a body the size of a school bus and a tail longer than a snake. I want wings the size of the sails on a ship, teeth sharper than a needle, and breath hotter than hell. I want to soar among the clouds like a bird and look down on all the beautiful world. I want to be more than a man and have none of Man's vices."

Arcelia didn't know how to respond. She wanted control of the situation, or the conversation, or something. She couldn't think of how to get it. Finally, she said, "Whether or not I accept your offer, if you're so concerned about my welfare, please don't joke with me."

"I was quite serious. That is what I want. That it's not terribly relevant to the moment is true, but it's your business why you want to know this now, not mine."

"Why are you being so literal?"

"Why aren't you?"

"Why have you offered to bring to me civilization?"

"Because you are in danger."

"Because of you!"

"Exactly."

"Well, then, if you were so concerned about me why did you put me in danger?"

"Because I could also get you out of it."

Arcelia paused and thought for a moment. His responses were all reasonable — but for an insane situation. Was it really possible that he did what he claimed? Was it really possible that her family and all of their guards were dead? She hadn't really started to believe it yet, but it was really starting to worry her that no one had come in response to her screams earlier. Enriqué should have come running within a few seconds. Could everyone be in the far side of the house for some reason? Could they have left her all alone in her room and this crazy stranger wandered in somehow?

"I take it that you won't mind if I walk around and make sure that you're telling the truth about my family?"

The idea that this strange man could have been telling the truth about her family had not really sunk in, and she was mostly concerned with keeping him calm while she found out what was really going on.

"That's as you please. I hope that you have a strong stomach."

It disconcerted her that he didn't mind. She had expected that he would find some excuse to keep her from looking around. Still, she had to find out what was going on and she couldn't be in any more danger leaving her room than she was staying there with "Ramirez".

Arcelia slowly got up and put on her night robe, keeping her eyes on Ramirez. She had no real reason for watching him — if he was going to jump her he could more easily have done that before waking her up.

She didn't admit it to herself, but she watched him because of his calm confidence. He had turned the world on its side, but he was standing upright in the tumult he caused. He was at once an angel and a devil, and whichever side predominated he seemed, at least, to know what was going on.

Arcelia slowly walked out of her room. She had half-expected to see corpses in the hallway, and was a little relieved that there was not so much as a bloody footprint. She walked past the two rooms reserved for her sisters when they visit and went to her parents room. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open. Scarcely a moment later, she shut her eyes and turned from the grizzly scene, driving her head into her hands as if she could undo what she saw if she just pressed hard enough.

"No... No..." she said, as if to someone. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked for John. She felt many things, but above all she was confused. Grief, understanding, even anger — all these things had to wait until she figured out what was going on now.

She hadn't heard him come after her, but he was only a few feet behind her. He was just standing there, with a look somewhere between compassionate and curious, respectfully silent. Arcelia stared into his eyes. She swallowed and took a deep breath, preparing to speak. It was some minutes before she could speak, though. Every time she opened her mouth to try no words would come.

At last she said, quietly, "So it is true?"

"Yes," he said gently.

"Do I really have a choice?"

"Yes."

"Do you really consider dying in the jungle to be a choice?"

"Yes, though it is not certain that on your own, you would die. Nothing in this world is certain until it happens."

"You're quite the philosopher."

John spoke in the same gentle voice, but there was a hint of a smile on his face: "Yes."

Arcelia sighed. She almost laughed at the absurdity of her situation.

"What should I do?" she asked. "What would you do, if you were me?"

"If I were you," he said thoughtfully, "I would accept my offer.

"If I meant to do anything bad to you, I would surely have done it by now. If I wanted to harm you, there was no reason to wake you up. Even if i wanted to kidnap you and deliver you to some vengeful associates of mine — incidentally, there's no one that I know of who holds a grudge against you — even if I had wanted to kidnap you, I could have just tied your hands and forced you to walk behind me.

"So, all things considered, it wouldn't seem very likely that I was being deceptive in my offer, or at least, if I was, my deception would be too subtle to discover just by thinking about it. So I would accept.

"But what shall you do?"

Arcelia thought for a moment. "I'll come with you." Having decided to trust him, at least for now, she figured that she might as well ignore her anger. "So, what now?"

"You should pack some rugged clothing in a bag. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts, if you have them. Also socks, underwear, etc. Also, you'll want to bring money, as it will be useful to you once we get to town. I'll carry the bag for you, so it's OK if it's heavy, though please don't be ridiculous about it."

Arcelia did as John suggested and within half an hour they were off.