Chapter 22

Earth time: Monday, 12:40 PM, November 29, 2010 Mountain Standard Time

Aina time: 4:29 PM, day 47 of 1408 H.E.

After A'moth left, Isabelle and I wandered about and looked at our boxes. They were neatly stacked in two separate piles in the room. Isabelle looked so excited I decided not to press her for explanations, let her decompress first.

A'moth's downstairs area was very comfortable. It was a nice deep basement, more than seven feet of head room. There was one large living area plus a separate utility area and bathroom. The bathroom was very nice, brightly tiled and spotless and packed with fresh towels and all sorts of toiletries.

There was a full-sized frig with food and a microwave at the snack bar. It was more than a snack bar, a small kitchen really, complete with a full sized sink. Isabelle made us soup and tuna fish and crackers for lunch. After we did the dishes we even tried a game of chess, until both of us started laughing at all the errors we were making. We offered each other a draw simultaneously.

"Dad, would it be okay if I take a shower? I'm feeling dirty from this morning."

"Yeah, great idea. I'll take one after you..."

I got dressed in the bathroom after my shower. As I came out, I noticed Isabelle sprawled out in a Lazyboyreclining lounge chair. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing very slowly, but I didn't think she was asleep. I went and sat down on the couch very near her.

After a minute she spoke up. "The jump-line from the Miami courthouse to our home in Santiago is 6,368 kilometers. That's right at the limit of what A'moth canwants to jump when she's jumping somebody..."

I reached up and petted Isabelle's head for a moment. "A'moth told you all about herself, huh?"

"As much as she had time for. It wasn't much. She was surprised I didn't know everything you do."

"Well... I made a promise... I know A'moth revealed herself to you last year... Still..."

"Oh, A'moth doesn't mind. She thinks it was sweet, how you kept your promise, even though it wasn't necessary... I think so too..."

"Ah... thanks sweetie..."

Isabelle sounded very stressed when she replied, "I made promises too, to mom. Promises that I think now are no longer necessary to keep..." She was quiet for a moment. "We're at Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, on Butler Avenue. We're very close to the border. The State of Nebraska is only about a thousand feet east, that way..." she said, pointing with her hand.

"Oh... Okay..."

"The jump line from our home to here is 8,260 kilometers, definitely farther than A'moth would want to jump while carrying us. So there was a stop in Panama..."

I nodded. "Yeah, I remember the other bed..."

"Yeah... me too... This house is 5,000 feet above sea level. Our home in Santiago is at 1500 feet. The stop in Panama was midway... near the Baru volcano... to help with ear pressure..." Isabelle was quiet after that. She closed her eyes and seemed to be relaxing in the lounge chair. No, not relaxing. Isabelle's lips were quivering. I worried about what to say next.

After I while I asked, "You okay Issie?"

There were a few seconds of silence, and then Isabelle sobbed out the word "No!" and the dam burst. Isabelle's face grimaced into a world of pain as she cried. She started telling me of her ordeal earlier in the day. The bailiff had led her to a women's restroom. Fortunately the bailiff was a guy and stayed outside. Isabelle thought she was alone in the restroom and she checked the windows. They were securely barred. Isabelle was resigned to relieving herself and going back to court with the bailiff when she was suddenly grabbed from behind, a hand over her mouth. She found herself home in Chile an instant later.

A'moth explained to her that she would get us both out of the fix we were in, to just be patient. Isabelle picked up Lumpkins from her bed to act as a signal for me, and then A'moth jumped her back to the restroom.

The scariest part for Isabelle occurred after the disgusting trial. She was led by two bailiffs to a holding area, where she saw two men in government uniforms waiting to take custody of her. They were dressed in tan military uniforms, with the insignia of YPM on their arms. She recognized them as buddies of her biological father. It brought back a lot of the awful memories of her early childhood. She didn't like these two at all. Isabelle thought they were cruel and sadistic, and they would often leer at Carlotta before the divorce, when Isabelle was a toddler.