The other part of the problem was my insatiable curiosity. And one day it dragged Cruz into the mystery.
It was a Wednesday, we had chatted later than usual at the café, and Mom was already on her way home at the same time as me. Cruz and I always had a five-minute make-out session before we said goodbye. I told him I didn’t want Mom to run into us while we were kissing, and suggested we temporarily shift our parting to a block away from The Warrington.
“Why don’t you just go in by the entrance on 9th?” he suggested. “Won’t she have more chance of spotting us if we’re standing on a street corner?”
“I guess.”
“Plus, we’ll freeze our asses off if we don’t get some shelter from this wind.”
“Okay, you win!” I laughed, grabbing his coat sleeve and yanking him with me as I ran across the street. The light changed immediately. He laughed too as we dodged the honking cars and cabs.
We continued running all the way to the entrance. When we got there he took hold of my jacket lapels and pulled me close. I was cold, but him doing this was hot. I closed my eyes as his lips met mine. My heart was pounding from a combination of the freezing air, the dash through the traffic, and the passion of Cruz’s embrace.
When I came up for air and opened my eyes, something bugged me.
“Hey – you alright?” queried Cruz, sensing that I’d disconnected. He turned around to see what I’d noticed over his shoulder. “Whatcha looking at?”
“Nothing,” I frowned. “I mean, there used to be something, but it’s gone.”
He followed my gaze. “I don’t get it.”
I took a step toward the entrance, looking up and down the carved stone pillars. The brass Temple of Truth plaque was missing. A ghostly trace of it was left where it had shielded the stone from traffic pollution. I touched the smooth, hard surface.
“There was a plaque here. For the Temple of Truth.”
“The What of What?”
“It’s the organization my mom works for. Or religion or cult or something.”
“Okaaay...”
“Noon was part of it.”
Cruz’s eyes flicked down for a fraction of a second, then back up at me, searching for some kind of emotion in my face. I owed it to him to come clean.
“I’m worried about him, Cruz,” I admitted.
“Why?”
“Because I think there’s something going on. Something he was hiding from me or wanted to tell me, before they took him away.”
He looked incredulous. “What are you talking about? Didn’t his dad get a job in Asia or something?”
“Look, I know it sounds kinda retarded, but I think that Noon and Aranara were involved in a conspiracy or... I don’t know what.”
Hearing myself say those words, I almost felt embarrassed. Then I realized that Cruz wasn’t looking at me as though I was crazy. In fact, at the mention of Aranara, his eyes had widened and his breath that was visible in the frigid evening air had been interrupted for a few seconds.
“You felt something too. Didn’t you?” I wondered aloud.
He shifted his feet nervously. “I dunno. Maybe.”
An idea came to me. Could I risk asking him? Whatevs... I had to give it a shot or I’d be left wondering forever.
“There’s a secret tunnel in this building. In my apartment. And it leads to another apartment where Noon used to live.”
Silent Symmetry - Chapter 5
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