Hector came up behind her, towering over her as he grasped one of her bony shoulders in a fatherly way. Then he let go and walked past her to the side of the stage where several vases of flowers stood on pedestals. He carefully plucked a perfect, white lily out of a bouquet and walked back toward Teresa with it.
My eyes moved to Eden to see her following Hector's every move. Her hands still rested prettily in her lap and her shaking seemed to have stopped.
Hector stood in front of us all looking at the perfection of the lily before bringing it carefully to his nose and inhaling deeply. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back.
He simply stood this way for several beats before opening his eyes again and walking forward to Jeffrey Parker in the front row where he handed the lily to him and nodded. Jeffrey nodded back and then passed the lily to another man right behind him.
We were all quiet as we watched the lily be passed around the Temple, from one man to another and then finally back toward the front where Hector walked to Boris Friedman in the front row to retrieve it.
Hector looked down at the lily sadly. It was now bent and bruised, one of its petals hung down, ready to fall at any moment, a truly sad sight to behold. He brought it to his nose again and inhaled and then frowned down at the lily as if the sweet scent was no longer there.
He looked back pointedly at Teresa and then back at the lily. "Who would want this lily now?" he asked, his voice lowering. "Who could love a used-up, passed-around flower such as this one?" He thrust the lily out in front of him and looked around at us questioningly.
A single tear slipped down Teresa's cheek and she bit her own lip, her eyes cast downward again.
Now that I was ten, I understood what a metaphor was. I knew Teresa was that used-up lily, and I saw she knew it, too. And no one on the gods' green earth really wants to be a used-up lily, despite their behavior to the contrary, or at least that's what my mom had explained to me when I first asked her about all that business.
"WHO COULD WANT A FLOWER LIKE THIS ONE? WHO COULD FIND ANYTHING BEAUTIFUL ABOUT SOMETHING DIRTY AND SOILED LIKE THIS?" Hector boomed, spittle flying from his mouth as we all stared, spell bound by his intensity.
Teresa let out one small cry. But I had been witness to this same speech before and so although I was as captivated as I was each time I saw it, I just waited, as did the rest of us.
"Who?" Hector asked us more quietly. "Who?"
And that was our cue. "You can, Father! And we can, Father!" we all said joyfully.
Teresa's head came up and she seemed baffled as she looked around, her mouth fell open and her eyes flew to Hector as he walked toward her.
"That's right, my beloved. I can. We can. We can all love you, our flower, made new again with love, with family, with purpose, with belonging." And then he brought the lily from behind his back, and it was as perfect as it was when he first plucked it from the vase. New and fresh and so very beautiful.
I loved that part and it always made a strange chill run down my spine. It was like a plot twist that you came upon in a story, and it made your heart jump and you wanted to tell someone about it right away. Only when Hector brought someone new up on the podium, the plot twist was part of their life and it was a good one, and they usually cried and carried on and on about it.
Naturally.
Teresa gasped and I could see she felt the same way, and her tears began to flow even harder as she sobbed out. Hector wrapped his arms around her, cradling her to his body, repeating, "I can, we can, I can, my love."
Hector looked out into the audience in my direction and I knew that was my cue to bring the water.
My dad took his arms from around my shoulders and I made my way to the marble font of water at the back of the Temple. I filled the small cup sitting next to it and walked down the center aisle toward Hector.
"My water bearer," Hector said, smiling at me. I smiled back proudly and handed him the cup and then stood to the side with my head bowed and my hands clasped.
As Hector gave Teresa a drink of the purifying water, I kept my head bowed but moved my eyes to look at Eden to my right, trying to secretly get a closer look at her. My eyes met hers and she stared at me without blinking. I looked away, but I couldn't help the small smile that curved my lips up and when I dared to look at her again, she was smiling a very small, shy smile as well.
I forced myself to bow my head again as Hector hugged Teresa to him and then handed the cup back to me. Then he presented her to all of us with simply a wave of his hand as she beamed out to the audience, wiping the tears off her cheeks.
And with that, Teresa was made new and would join our family, just as many had before her. And although Maya and I had been born into this community, my mother said that there was something extra special about those who chose it on their own.
She said the gods led Hector to them, but it was their choice whether they followed him.
I walked back toward my family, and we all filed out of the Temple quietly, ready to begin preparing the evening meal. I looked back as I walked behind my parents, and although other people moving behind me mostly blocked my view, I made eye contact with Eden several times, and I wondered if it was possible she was watching me leave.
CHAPTER TWO
Calder – Twelve-Years-Old
The dusty canyon trail was steep and narrow, but now that I'd almost made it to the valley floor where the harsh rays of the sun couldn't reach, I sighed in relief at the feel of the cooler air. It was January and the weather during the day was only in the seventies, but the shade still felt good while I was moving so quickly.