Free Game Seven by Paul Volponi Page B

shadow.
    I didn’t know what I wanted or where I belonged. I just knew that I’d had enough—six long years of trying to make sense of an empty feeling.
    After a few minutes, Luis came back flashing a strip of paper with a phone number on it.
    â€œI told them there was going to be a party after we won the tournament tomorrow. That I’d personally get them invited,” he said, leading me back in the direction we’d come. “And that you were too shy to talk to them. They thought that was cute.”
    â€œWhat are you going to do with the number?”
    â€œMaybe put it in a bottle, like a note. Throw it overboard from Gabriel’s boat.”
    â€œWhy did you even bother talking to them, then?”
    â€œThink of the story. Two girls waiting for me to call. Then they find out I’m either in the US or in prison or dead,” said Luis.
    â€œSomething to tell their friends?” I asked.
    â€œBigger. It could become famous, like a folktale.”
    Suddenly, the phone inside my hand began to vibrate. It felt like an earthquake starting in my palm and spreading through my entire body. I flipped open the phone and it stopped. But I could still feel a rumbling in the pit of my stomach, shaking me to the core.
    â€œWho is this? I don’t know this number,” Mama said in a defensive voice.
    â€œMama, it’s me. I’m in Cárdenas, on a borrowed phone,” I answered, with Luis’s eyes glued to mine. “Didn’t Lola tell you?”
    â€œNo, I took a break at work and saw the missed call. Is everything all right?”
    â€œMama, I’m on the beach, with Luis and Uncle Ramon, and someone else. They say that it’s time. Time to—”
    â€œ
Shhh.
Don’t speak it,” she interrupted. “Do what you need to do, Julio. This is
your
life. Live it.”
    â€œMama, I don’t—”
    â€œJulio, you
need
to go. Find what you’re searching for.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œWait, I see Lola coming.”
    â€œMama?”
    â€œJulio, make your decision and know that I love you. I’ll always love you, no matter what.”
    â€œI love you, too, Mama,” I said, before I heard Lola’s out-of-breath voice and then the connection cut off.
    â€œSo?” asked Luis nervously, as I closed the phone.
    â€œI guess those girls are going to have some story to tell about meeting
us
.”
    â€œYes!” exclaimed Luis, throwing both arms around me and hugging me tight. “But remember, you were too shy to talk to them.”
    The rest of the way back, I walked on the damp, hard-packed sand closest to the water. I didn’t want the ground shifting beneath my feet. At some point, I saw the tracks we’d left behind heading toward us. I stopped for a second to look down at them. It was a strange feeling, like suddenly being present in my past. Then I picked my head up and kept right on walking into my future.
    When we reached camp I handed Gabriel his cell phone.
    â€œA journey like this makes people family—that’s what you said,” I told him. “Well, I’ve already got an uncle and cousin here. But I’ll give you a chance to earn your way in.”
    â€œI accept that,” said Gabriel, reaching out to shake my hand. “I can’t ask for anything more.”
    â€œNo one can. That’s the highest bar there is,” said Uncle Ramon, who looked as if a huge weight had just been lifted off him.
    â€œThere’s still lots to talk about and little time,” said Gabriel, glancing at the sun.
    â€œBefore any more talk, let’s pray,” said Luis.
    Nobody argued with that. We all knelt in a tight circle, bowing our heads, even me and Uncle Ramon.

10

    OVER THE NEXT half hour or so, we each downed two sixteen-ounce bottles of water to hydrate ourselves for the trip. Gabriel couldn’t say exactly how long we’d be at sea. Instead, he was