Page 164 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

Even though the cloak of autumn was beginning to fall in Sacromonte, the Spanish sunshine was still blazing. I treated myself to a fresh lemonade from a local vendor, sat on a bench in the half-shade, and resigned myself to watch. The plaza had not changed in my thirty-year absence, like so much of the modern world. The cathedral bell shimmered in the golden light, just as I remembered, and the fountain spluttered and spurted in much the same pattern too. I even wagered that some of the pesetas in the bottom had been present at my last visit.

Hours passed in the square, and I began to reflect on how stupid I had been to return with no plan. I asked several locals, but my poor Spanish and general description of a younger Angelina got me nowhere. So I remained on the bench, and afternoon turned into evening. Eventually, the sound of the trickling water and the pleasant warmth of the setting sun relaxed me into sleep.

I was woken by a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I cursed myself that I had been so careless. Angelina could have strolled past, and I would never have known. I looked up at the stranger who had woken me, and did a double take.

‘Hello again, Atlas.’ Angelina’s kind eyes met my own.

‘Angelina! Good Lord!’ I rubbed my eyes to confirm that I really was awake. After, Angelina was still present before me. It was most remarkable. Thirty years had passed, and although she was now the owner of one or two crow’s feet, she hardly seemed to have aged a day. I jumped up and put out my hand. She smiled, took it, then pulled me close and kissed me on both cheeks. ‘Angelina,’ I was lost for words. ‘You look almost exactly the same.’

‘You’re very kind,señor. I wish I could say the same for you. Look at that grey hair! It must be thosebébésof yours, no?’

I still couldn’t grasp that she actually stood before me ‘I... just... Angelina, how did you know I would be here?’

She giggled, and sat down on the bench. ‘You were expected.’

I slowly lowered myself back down. ‘Expected?’ I gestured up to the sky, and Angelina nodded. We sat for a while, taking each other in. ‘It is very good to see you again.’

‘I feel the same.’ Angelina gave me a wide grin. ‘Last time I saw you, the world which you carry on your shoulders was very heavy. Now, it seems it is as light as it ever has been. Would I be right...Padre Sal?’

I let out an exasperated sigh, as once more, the power of Angelina’s insight was beyond my earthly comprehension. ‘You would be, of course. Not that you need me to confirm that.’

Angelina smirked. ‘You never know, Atlas. I am not able to interpreteverything.’

I took a moment to compose myself. ‘Angelina,’ I began. ‘Thirty years ago, you told me that I would father seven daughters. As I think you are aware, I assumed that I would find my Elle and we would have the children together.’

She shifted a little uncomfortably on the bench. ‘I told you that you would be father to seven daughters. That was all I saw, nothing else. And now, you have five of them. My prediction is nearly complete, is it not?’

The assertion that Yindi had made in Broome was mirrored here. ‘I havefourdaughters. Not five.’

Angelina was taken aback. She gave a frown, then edged closer to me. ‘May I see your palm?’

‘Of course.’ I presented my right hand.

She studied it, then shook her head. ‘I am surprised. I...’Angelina looked as if she was about to say something, but stopped herself. ‘Sometimes the messages from the upper world can be confused.’

‘How unfortunate,’ I replied, noticing that Angelina had suddenly become awkward. I pulled my hand away. ‘You told me thirty years ago that my first daughter was alive and already walked the earth, did you not?’ Angelina looked hesitant, but closed her eyes and nodded. ‘I know you cannot have possibly been referring to Maia, as she was not born until 1974. What exactly did you mean? I need to know, Angelina.’

Angelina inhaled deeply, and looked up to the cathedral bell as she formulated a response. ‘I understand your frustration. Can I, just once more...?’ she asked, gesturing to my hand. With a little hesitancy, I slowly returned it to her grasp, and she nodded in gratitude. After examining my palm more closely this time, she looked me dead in the eye. ‘I was not wrong when I told you that your first daughter lived.’

My heart rate increased. ‘You weren’t?’

‘No...’ Angelina looked uncomfortable. ‘I confess, it was my prediction that you would have found one another by now.’ She looked down at the floor.

‘So sheisalive and... missing from my life?’

Angelina thought for a moment. ‘That is a good way of phrasing it. Yes. She is “the missing sister”.’

I put my head in my hands. ‘I came here today in the hope that you would tell me that you had misinterpreted things. That, actually, my first daughter had not been born all that time ago.’ I sniffed, as tears began to prick the back of my eyes. ‘I have searched for half my life, and I have failed to find her and her mother.’

‘But,’ replied Angelina tentatively, ‘you have found others along the way.’

‘My adopted girls?’ I asked. She nodded gently. I leant back on the bench and craned my neck to the sky. The clouds burnt orange in the setting sun. ‘Yes. I love them so much, Angelina. The universe brought us together through a remarkable set of circumstances.’

She contemplated my words. ‘You say remarkable, I say inevitable.’

‘Meaning?’

Angelina pursed her lips in thought. ‘Humans are bound to one another, long before they meet in the physical world.’