C. J. Biggin

        When you’re looking forward to something exciting, the wait feels like forever and a day. For Izzy, December felt like it would never come, but as November fluttered away with the last sun-kissed leaves, the holiday season finally arrived. School fizzed with excitement. Lessons were replaced with old holiday movies, and walls lined with posters of glum-looking historical figures were now sparkling with tinsel, paper snowflakes, and glittery ornaments. But winter break wasn’t what Izzy was waiting for. In fact, it had been a welcome distraction from the real countdown that had already begun. After all this time, her brother, Lucas, would finally be heading home.


        Now that class discussions consisted of heated wish-list debates, Izzy was deep in the planning of Lucas’s welcome home party. To her surprise, coming up with ideas of party foods not only made her mouth water eagerly, but somehow made the days pass by a little faster.


        At last, the final bell of the year rang. Cheers erupted as the students burst out of their classrooms, rushing toward the gate. The air buzzed with roaring laughter and shouts of “See you next year!” 


        Izzy lingered, hugging her friends goodbye, just as Grandpa pulled up to the front of the car line.

        “Let the festivities begin!” Grandpa said through a giant grin. 


        Izzy jumped in, waving one last goodbye to her friends. 


        “How was your last day of school, love?” Grandpa asked. 


        “I figured out the party food,” Izzy said, tying her hair back. “Not long now.”

        “Indeed! Christmas will soon be here, and Lucas will be heading home. Doesn’t get any better, does it? Papi’s going to try making the tamales this year. Apparently, he thinks he can make them just as good as Mama.” Grandpa chuckled to himself. “We’ll see.”  


        Izzy stared at the trees zipping by the window, deep in thought.


        “Everything okay?” Grandpa asked.


        “You know that dream I keep having, Grandpa?” 


        “Oh, the one with the baby gorilla? Being saved by the little girl?” Grandpa poured affection over his words. “Did you remember anything more this time?”


        “No,” Izzy mumbled, shaking her head. “But my friends say that being saved by an animal means you’re protected by ‘unseen forces’, and that it means I should trust my instincts.”


        “Well, that sounds good, trusting your instincts?” Grandpa said, raising his eyebrows.


        “They also said it means I watch too many movies.”


        “Never,” Grandpa said and began making the last turn to the house. 


        Izzy noticed Grandpa’s eyes suddenly widen. Then his voice changed to a whisper. “What is going on?” 


        Their routine had suddenly become blurred with glaring red and blue lights jammed in the driveway of Izzy’s house. Izzy barely had time to think among the sudden panic when Grandpa parked hurriedly and ushered her up the stairs to her room. Nana appeared from the hallway and followed closely behind, trying to calm Izzy down with words that got lost in the confusion. 


        “Wait here, sweetheart,” Grandpa said firmly. He pointed at the room with his walking stick, and hobbled back down the stairs.


        Izzy leaned against the coolness of the window and watched the turmoil unfold in the driveway. Her mind had flooded with questions when it dawned on her.


        “It’s Lucas. He’s lost, isn’t he, Nana?” Izzy whispered, scared that she knew the answer.


        Nana shuffled on the bed, fiddling with her necklace. 


        “You know where he is. Why don’t we just go downstairs and tell them?” 


        Nana froze, listening hard, her deep frown not moving.


        “I’m going down,” Izzy huffed and took a step toward the door. 


        Nana raised her hand and looked at Izzy in a way that made her freeze.


        Loud rumbles of diesel engines made the windows tremble, and heavy-heeled thuds in the entranceway got louder—


        The front door clunked shut. 


        The sudden silence was broken by the tapping of Grandpa’s walking stick poking the wooden stairs, followed by a soft knock.


        Izzy made a faint noise, and Grandpa quietly pushed the door open. 


        “Don’t worry,” Grandpa said. He took a deep breath and looked like he was trying to find something helpful to say, “I’ll be here with you tonight, until Mama and Papi return.” 


        Izzy sat on the edge of the bed with Nana, and nodded. 


        “Will he be alright?” Izzy asked.
Grandpa forced a smile, “We will find out soon, sweetie. Right now, we just need to be patient.”


        Izzy nodded.


        “I’ve got to make a couple of phone calls. Why don’t you change out of your school clothes and I’ll make you something to eat, sound good?”


        “Okay,” Izzy replied. 


        “Everything’s going to be alright, don’t worry,” Grandpa said. He turned, trembling slightly under the weight of his war-torn body, and closed the door.


        “He’ll be there now,” Nana said, deep in thought. “Your brother will be on Iyanwa.”


        “Will they find him?”


        Nana swallowed her answer.


        “So, Lucas will have to make his own way home. No search parties. Nothing?” 


        “They’ll try.”


        “Try,” Izzy growled. “Well, we all know what happened to Maria.” The stillness of the house hung uncomfortably in the wake of all the commotion. “If there’s nothing they can do, we can find him.”

        “Preciosa.”


        “You’ve told me about Iyanwa, the island.”


        Nana raised her voice. “I told you that’s where he’d be and right now that’s where he is. But, I never told you it was safe, or if there’s even a chance of bringing your brother home.”


        “Was there a chance of bringing Maria home?”


        “Preciosa!”


        “Iyanwa took my sister. She’s still there. Let’s go together—” 


        “Mija, I can’t go. Look at me.” Nana’s raised voice stopped Izzy cold. “Anyway, it’s too dangerous, I can’t just let you go like this.”


        Izzy wiped her eyes and pursed her lips. “You had brothers and sisters, Nana,” she said. “If they needed help, if they were lost, you would go, without a second thought. I already lost Maria. I can’t lose Lucas.”


        There was a silence that cut through the air. Izzy looked deep into Nana’s eyes when Nana finally said, “Then, mija, you’ll need to get ready.”