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woman has caused incredible suffering in any lives that she has touched. Yes, the world would be better off without her, but does that mean that whenever we decide we don’t like someone, we are going to eliminate them?
    “Why don’t we figure that out when we find her?” Michael says.
    I nod, still struggling to come to terms with what we are about to do.
    The emerald has placed me in a position where I feel like I am playing God. Can I really decide who lives and who dies?
    “Cold and wet in Venice,” Jamie announces. “We’ll need our winter coats and some umbrellas.”
    I shut off the TV. My mind is spinning.
    “I have a picture of Venice on my laptop,” Jamie says.
    I walk over to where he’s sitting.
    The picture is an outdoor newsstand where there are a wide assortment of souvenirs including dozens of brightly colored masks.
    “The masks of Venice,” Michael says as he steps closer to us.
    “Why are they selling masks?” Jasmin asks.
    “For centuries,” Michael replies, “there has been a carnival celebration in Venice. The masks are traditionally a part of the celebration.”
    “In addition to the carnival,” Jamie adds, “throughout Venetian history people often wore the masks to remain anonymous. The masks helped criminals commit crimes without anyone recognizing them, but they also helped the nobility to remain anonymous in places where it wasn’t considered respectable for them to be.”
    As usual I’m amazed at Jamie’s wealth of general knowledge.
    “See that mask with the long nose,” Jamie says, pointing at the picture on his laptop.
    “Yes,” I reply as I gaze at the bizarre mask that looks something like a bird.
    “That mask has a different history than the other masks,” Jamie says. “That mask is called the Medico della peste which translates into English as the plague doctor.”
    “Why the plague doctor?” I ask.
    Jamie continues, “Venice was devastated by the Black Plague in 1630. This was a disease that came into the city from some of the many ships that constantly came in and out of the harbor. It was so contagious that doctors began to wear this long nosed bird-like mask to prevent them from catching the disease from their patients.”
    “The Black Death,” I mutter. I remember reading something about it once.
    “So many people in Venice died from the plague,” Jamie says, “that it is generally considered by historians to be the major event that eventually led to the downfall of what was one of the most powerful centers in the world at that time.”
    As Jamie stops, all eyes are on me. Am I ready to do this?
     

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    CARNIVAL MASKS
     
    The moment we arrived in Venice, it seemed like the city had already started its carnival celebrations. The streets were lined with people in costumes and masks.
    According to Jamie, the annual festival occurs approximately 40 days before Easter. It’s famous for the diversity of colorful masks that are worn during the event. Having started in the early 1100s, it grew in significance during the 17 th century, but then in the 18 th century it was banned and the use of masks was strictly forbidden. Slowly during the 19 th century the raucous festival began to re-emerge, but only for short periods of time during special festivals. In 1979, the Italian government brought the festival back in its full glory. Jamie said that many people often wear the the masks continually between the Festival of Santo Stefano on December 26 th and the start of the Carnival of Venice.
    We are standing on a Venice street corner along its famous canal. There are several sleek gondoliers cutting through the still water on this cool, drizzly night.
    Less than ten minutes ago, we purchased some masks from a street vendor who gladly took our American dollars. Jasmin is wearing a mask that portrays the face of a beautiful woman. Although the mask is painted in a bright graduated red, it’s very realistic. It has a gold delicate pattern crisscrossing the