Misplaced (21 page)

S
w
ea
t
brok
e
ou
t
o
n
V
ictoria’
s
forehead
.
“
P
erhap
s
you
’
re
confused. The outline shows a different
name.”

“There
is
no
confusion.
He
w
as
an
arrogant
man
and
often
used only
his
divine title.
Look for
the
name of Meryre.
So that
I
may
finally
convince
you,
he
reigned
for
fifty
and
one
y
ears,
passin
g
th
e
thron
e
an
d
hi
s
nam
e
t
o
m
y
fathe
r
a
t
th
e
tim
e
of
hi
s
death
.
Sinc
e
h
e
w
a
s
bu
t
a
child
,
m
y
uncl
e
w
a
s
allo
w
e
d
to
stan
d
i
n
fathe
r
’
s
plac
e
unti
l
h
e
reache
d
a
suitabl
e
age
.
Shal
l
I
continue?”

“I’
m
sorry
;
it’
s
jus
t
tha
t
whol
e
thin
g
seem
s
s
o
impossible.
”
A
shi
v
e
r
trickle
d
dow
n
he
r
spin
e
a
s
sh
e
continue
d
reading
.
“Look!
Righ
t
afte
r
you
r
fathe
r
’
s
reign
,
ther
e
i
s
a
shor
t
inter
v
al—and
Khara, it’s blank!”

“Blank?
What
is
‘blank’?”
She
leaned
for
w
ard,
straining
to
see the pages.
“I
t
say
s
her
e
tha
t
th
e
rule
r
durin
g
thi
s
perio
d
ha
s
ne
v
e
r
been
accounted for. There is no information.”

“Is not the name of my sister Menefra listed?”

“Th
e
spac
e
i
s
empty.
”
Noticin
g
a
notatio
n
a
t
th
e
bo
t
to
m
o
f
th
e
page
, V
ictori
a
read
,
“
‘
Afte
r
th
e
half-century-long,
prosperous
reign
of
P
epy
II,
Egypt
endured
a
period
of
panic
and
unrest.
This
time
is
notoriously
recognized
as
the
period
of
‘Se
v
enty
Rulers
in
Se
v
enty
Days.
’
”
V
ictoria
grabbed
a
pen
and
wrote boldly, with an arrow, “Khara belongs here.”

Observin
g
V
ictori
a
w
aril
y
i
n
th
e
suffocatin
g
silenc
e
that
follo
w
ed,
Khara
spoke
softly.
“
P
erhaps
now
you
may
begin
to
mor
e
full
y
understan
d
m
y
predicament.
”
Sh
e
too
k
th
e
pages
from
V
ictoria
and
looked
at
them.
“
A
t
first,
I
belie
v
ed
the
gods
ha
d
banishe
d
me
.
Bu
t
wh
y
me
?
I
a
m
no
t
th
e
on
e
wh
o
commit
t
ed
murder.”

“Murder?”
Her
e
y
es
had
a
fara
w
ay
look.
“Oh,
Nandor,
what
ha
v
e
you
done?

Thoug
h
th
e
a
t
torne
y
i
n
he
r
demande
d
mor
e
details
,
V
ictoria
did
not
press;
instead,
she
kicked
off
her
flats
and
climbed
into
bed. “Marta says e
v
erything happens for a reason.”
The ans
w
er
w
as a long sigh.

“I
’
ll
help
you
in
any
w
ay
I
can,
Khara.
Together
w
e
’
ll
figure
something out.”

But where would they start? Knowing where in time Khara
had
come
from
seemed
utterly
useless.
The
only
logical
thing
t
o
d
o
w
a
s
t
o
convinc
e
he
r
t
o
stay
.
Th
e
transition
,
although
difficult
,
w
a
s
no
t
impossible
.
A
resilien
t
hear
t
ca
n
o
v
ercome
almost anything, she knew—from experience.

Chapte
r
Eleven
Vic
t
oria

A
t
th
e
tim
e
o
f
he
r
birth
,
a
tenaciou
s
battl
e
fo
r
a
n
emerging
middl
e
clas
s
rage
d
throughou
t
Mexico
,
bu
t
nowher
e
more
fiercely
than
along
the
US
border.
Rather
than
taking
up
arms, the
poor,
no
longer
content
to
li
v
e
in
cardboard
shacks
without running
w
ater, took to the factories.

Thoug
h
hi
s
mothe
r
ha
d
w
ante
d
hi
m
t
o
b
e
a
priest
,
V
ictoria’s
fathe
r
blende
d
th
e
wor
k
ethi
c
o
f
th
e
impo
v
erishe
d
wit
h a
w
ealthy
man’s
kno
w
ledge
of
social
graces.
Joaquín
Barrón
rose quickly,
becoming
“
el
gerente
”
of
a
bottling
company
that
made apple soda. Her mother Estima
w
as the more educated of the two, an artistic woman who had aspired to be a ballerina until an earnest young man invited her to a political rally and filled her head with dreams of a different
sort.

Joaquín
w
asn’t ashamed of the opportunities they had; his
grea
t
passio
n
la
y
i
n
w
antin
g
the
m
fo
r
e
v
eryone
.
Hi
s
mother,
ho
w
e
v
er
,
though
t
livin
g
s
o
clos
e
t
o
th
e
Unite
d
State
s
ha
d infected
his
brain
with
dangerous
le
v
els
of
self-determination.
Mexic
o
w
a
s
stil
l
Mexico
,
an
d
th
e
ric
h
w
er
e
no
t
ap
t
t
o
take
kindly to change dri
v
en from beneath them.

V
ictoria’
s
lif
e
a
s
th
e
adore
d
daughte
r
o
f
up
w
ardl
y
mobile
parent
s
change
d
fore
v
e
r
th
e
nigh
t
he
r
fathe
r
helpe
d
a
friend,
whos
e
onl
y
crim
e
ha
d
bee
n
t
o
prin
t
pamphlet
s
th
e
federales
deemed accusatory, flee
Mexico.

A
t
least
fi
v
e
families
had
gathered
that
night.
V
ictoria
w
as
happy
for
a
break
from
her
homework
so
she
could
play
with
Margarita
Modesto,
a
quiet
girl
with
a
heart-shaped
face
who,
lik
e
her
,
w
a
s
eigh
t
y
ear
s
old
.
Throughou
t
th
e
e
v
enin
g
they
pla
y
ed
tag,
oblivious
to
the
mustached
men
w
atching
through
binoculars.

They
’
d
eaten
tacos
stuffed
with
barbecued
pork
for
dinner,
an
d
Mam
á
ha
d
e
v
e
n
le
t
he
r
ha
v
e
a
n
orang
e
soda
.
A
t
first
,
she
didn’t
notice
the
Modesto
family’s
quiet
departure.
When
she
did,
she
follo
w
ed,
hoping
to
convince
Margarita’s
mother
to
let
her
stay
a
while
longer.
V
ictoria
w
atched
them
climb
into
tubes
and push their
w
ay into the darkness.

They
w
ere
going
to
ride
the
ri
v
er
in
the
moonlight
without
her.

Ther
e
w
a
s
on
e
shrunken
,
patched-u
p
tub
e
left
.
V
ictoria
climbed
in
and
pushed
a
w
ay
from
the
bank.
“Margarita!”
she
called, “
w
ait for me!”

Th
e
ri
v
e
r
w
a
s
happ
y
t
o
tak
e
he
r
to
w
ar
d
them
.
Th
e
moon
w
as
full,
and
as
she
leaned
back
to
stare
at
it,
she
felt
so
v
ery
small.

Suddenly
,
a
n
accusin
g
bea
m
o
f
ligh
t
engulfe
d
her
.
A
t
that
instan
t
V
ictori
a
hear
d
he
r
mothe
r
scream
,
“
Dìo
s
mì
o
,
Joaquín,
she’s in the
w
ater!

“Don’
t
mo
v
e!
”
a
voic
e
ordere
d
throug
h
a
bullhorn
.
“
Y
o
u
ar
e
all under arrest!”

That’s when Margarita, who
w
as some distance ahead with
her
mother,
looked
back
and
y
elled,
“Go
back!
Y
ou
can’t
come
with us! Look, your fathe
r
’s coming for you.”

N
o
mat
t
e
r
ho
w
sh
e
pushed
,
he
r
arm
s
w
eren’
t
stron
g
enough
to
turn
the
tube
around.
V
ictoria
continued
moving,
w
atching
her
father
wrestle
against
the
current,
knowing
she
w
as
in
for
big trouble when they got home.

I
n
a
fe
w
moments
,
h
e
reache
d
ou
t
an
d
grabbe
d
th
e
tube.
The
y
w
er
e
jus
t
beginnin
g
t
o
paddl
e
bac
k
whe
n
sh
e
hear
d
a
pop
;
th
e
inne
r
tub
e
quickl
y
bega
n
losin
g
air
,
an
d
P
apí
’
s
grip
loosened.
Near
his
shirt
pocket,
she
saw
something
awful,
and
heard
Mam
í screaming o
v
er the babbling
w
ater.