Page 141 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

Angelina squeezed my hand tightly. ‘Know this, Atlas. The weight of the world is only ever given to those who have the strength to carry it.’ She closed her eyes, and I watched her grimace as she apparently saw something painful in her mind. ‘The little boy in the snow, who had to run from a crime he did not commit...’

‘You know so much,’ I whispered.

She reopened her eyes and gazed at me. ‘Your journey has been wretched. But you have endured. Because, despite everything, many have shown you kindness. Am I correct?’

‘Yes,’ I said, my voice cracking under the emotion I was beginning to feel. I didn’t wish to cry in front of Angelina, so tried to focus on the activity taking place within the square. I watched two young boys kicking a football to each other, a pair of lovers holding hands by the fountain, and a man shooing some starlings away from his shopfront.

Angelina continued. ‘The universe is readying you for the task that is to come.’

‘Task?’ I asked, looking back at her. ‘What task?’

‘The task of raising your daughters.’

Suddenly, Angelina’s magical aura was broken. ‘Angelina, I think you’re mistaken. I’m afraid I don’t have any daughters.’

She grinned once more. ‘Oh, you do. They are just not on earth yet.’ Her brow suddenly furrowed, and she looked up at the clear blue sky. ‘Except... for one.’ Angelina nodded, as if confirming her thought to herself.

My heart felt as if it might explode out of my chest at any moment. ‘Please, tell me what you mean.’

Angelina looked deep into my eyes. ‘You already have the first of your daughters, Atlas. She walks this earth as you or I do.’

The plaza began to spin. ‘Elle...’ I breathed. ‘Elle has borne our child? Is that why she left? She was afraid for the safety of our baby? My God... My God! Why wouldn’t she tell me?!’

Angelina grabbed my shoulders. ‘Be calm, Atlas, be calm.’

‘Where is she? Please, Angelina, tell me! I must know!’

Angelina shook her head, and spoke firmly. ‘I do not have that answer. All I know is that you will father seven daughters, and the first one already lives.’

I didn’t know whether to collapse to the floor or stand up and dance a merry jig. ‘That’s... that’s wonderful news! So I will find Elle? And together we will have six more children?’

The starlings the man had shooed away from the shopfront landed on the steps of the cathedral, and were staring expectantly up at Angelina. She reached into her pocket, produced a small piece of bread, and threw them some crumbs. ‘As I said,’ she eventually replied, ‘you will father seven daughters.’

‘Youmustmean I find Elle. You have to! She is the only woman I will ever love.’

Angelina gave a secretive smile. ‘You are capable of deep love, Atlas, despite everything. That is what makes you special.’

I watched the starlings fight over the offering Angelina had thrown them. ‘I have another question for you. A momentago you called me “the little boy who ran from a crime he did not commit”. I must know about Kreeg Eszu.’

Angelina inhaled deeply. ‘Your pursuer?’

‘That’s right. If Elle left to protect our child from his grasp, then I have to know if he is still out there.’

Angelina’s eyes travelled across to Isadora, who was staring back at both of us, no doubt waiting for her cousin to be free. Angelina gave her a small wave, which Isadora returned. ‘I cannot see, Atlas. Some things are impossible to discern.’ She saw my shoulders drop. ‘But,’ she continued, ‘I predict that your daughters will benefit from a place of safety and shelter. Their seas will prove to be as stormy as yours. They will require—’

‘A hidden corner of the world?’ I cut in.

Angelina looked impressed. ‘Precisely, yes.’

A shiver travelled down my spine, as I thought of Agatha’s plot on Lake Geneva. In her letter, she had predicted such a place would be required. ‘What shall I do now, Angelina?’

Angelina gestured out towards the square. ‘Find your daughters, Atlas.’

I nodded. ‘That means finding Elle, of course.’ I looked at her expectantly. ‘You can see so much... can you not tell me where she is?’

The starlings chirped and demanded more food. Angelina obliged, and I watched her face closely. She wore a slight frown, and seemed to be considering her answer very carefully. After a while, she shook her head. ‘No. As I have told you, your path is preordained, and you will walk it with no need of assistance from me.’ She looked at me, and we stared at one another for a while. I was hoping it might serve to prise out some additional detail from Angelina, but it proved to be wishful thinking. ‘That completes your reading,señor.’

‘All right.’ Unthinkingly, I wrapped my arms around her,an ecstasy rising inside of me. ‘Thank you, Angelina. You have saved me!’