Rebel's Tag (8 page)

For what?

At last one of the workers speaks. “We can show you the headstone now. It's ready.”

We nod.

And they bring the stone. It doesn't stand upright, like I expected. Instead, it's flat. We all lean forward to read the words written there.

Maximilian Connor

To be alad; such is my hope.

“There's a mistake,” I say.

One of the workers pauses, looks at the stone, shakes his head.

“No mistake,” Henry says softly.

“But a lad is two words.” I point at the stone. “They didn't leave a space.”

“You must recall,” Henry murmurs, “your grandfather studied the Sumerians.”

“Yes?”

“I believe your grandfather sent you one more message. He told me about this word,
alad
. He found it amazing. In English, it suggests a boy. True?”

I nod.

“But in Sumerian, the word means a male protective spirit.”

“Ahhh!” My mom breathes. And her eyes fill with tears.

Then Indi starts to cry.

“Too cool,” says Eli.

“The man was solid,” says Joe.

In a soft voice, my mom says, “I'd like to say something.” She pauses, and her gaze settles on a small bird perched in a tree. She nods. “The peace prayer of St. Francis.

“Make me a channel of your peace, Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

“O Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

“For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

We're quiet again. I feel like saying something too, but can't find the right words. I nudge my mom and whisper, “Thanks.”

She smiles and hooks her arm through mine. “Ready?”

I nod, and we turn away. The others follow us back to the parking lot and raise hands in farewell. Then Joe calls out, “Listen, I'd sure like it if you all came down to the café sometime.”

He's looking at me.

Henry stops and looks at me too. “In case you're still wondering, I do like them.”

“Um. What?” I ask.

He busts into the craziest laugh I've ever heard. “Turtles! Come and see. Slow
is not always wrong.” He's still cackling when he drives away.

Mom stares after him. “Sam?” she asks.

“It's okay, Mom. I think he's just saying he liked Grandpa Max.”

The sun does not give up easily. It leaves a ruby red glow on the horizon. The ruby deepens to purple. The sky darkens to indigo and then black. The stars wink on. Some planets are showing up too. I check my pocket watch and can barely read the numbers, but it tells me the time is right.

Even though it's a warm summer evening, Norman and Mary are huddled under a blanket. We're on the flat roof over their garage, and Indi's there too. So is Eli with his telescope.

“Anytime now,” Eli says. “It'll be near the constellation Aquarius. Should appear blue-green in color.”

He's talking about Uranus. It's supposed to be visible through a telescope tonight.
Even if we don't find it, we know the free spirit is out there. And here too, with all of us.

K.L. Denman was born under the sign of Taurus, which is ruled by the planet Venus. She very much likes the idea that Venus is the planet of harmony and love while also bestowing the tendencies to be creative and enjoy beauty. However, the notion that Venus can also influence one to be materialistic and lazy concerns her; she intends to guard against those traits.

Camp Wild
Pam Withers

Chat Room
Kristin Butcher

Cracked
Michele Martin Bossley

Crossbow
Dayle Campbell Gaetz

Daredevil Club
Pam Withers

Dog Walker
Karen Spafford-Fitz

Finding Elmo
Monique Polak

Flower Power
Ann Walsh

Horse Power
Ann Walsh

Hypnotized
Don Trembath

Laggan Lard Butts
Eric Walters

Manga Touch
Jacqueline Pearce

Mirror Image
K.L. Denman

Mirror Image
K.L. Denman

Pigboy
Vicki Grant

Queen of the Toilet Bowl
Frieda Wishinsky

Rebel's Tag
K.L. Denman

See No Evil
Diane Young

Sewer Rats
Sigmund Brouwer

Spoiled Rotten
Dayle Campbell Gaetz

Sudden Impact
Lesley Choyce

Swiped
Michele Martin Bossley

Wired
Sigmund Brouwer

Visit
www.orcabook.com
for all Orca titles.