Read The Guardian for Free Online Page A

you!”
    “I’ll get to him in a minute.” Anna watched as her parents’ expressions changed from a look of impatience and disgust to absolute worry in an instant. “Now,” she continued, “who would like to tell me about my grandfather?” Again Anna watched her parents’ expression shift. Now they looked like little kids who had gotten their hands caught in the cookie jar. “Anyone?”
    “I don’t know what—”
    “Stop it, Daddy! Just stop it! I just flew here from Pittsburgh, where I might add, I just saw his dead body. For real this time!”
    Anna’s parents stared blankly at each other. They seemed to be waiting for the other to respond. Finally, Anna’s mother started to speak. “Anna, I think we need to explain—”
    “Really, Mom! You think? How about this for an explanation? You lied to me! For fifteen years I thought my grandparents were dead! Dead! Do you understand that? Who does that? I mean, really! Who lies to a little kid and tells them that their Grandpa and Grammie died in an accident?”
    Anna stopped all of a sudden as the tears welled up inside her. She didn’t care anymore. She let them come. Her parents came to her and put their arms around her.
    “Anna,” James rubbed her shoulders. “We can explain, honey. Just listen for a second. Okay?”
    “No.” Anna pushed her father’s arm away and wiped her cheeks. “I came here to tell you that I know everything. There’s nothing to explain.”
    “Anna, I’m your father, and you are going to listen to me, young lady! Is that clear?” James pointed at Anna. “Your grandfather was a crackpot! He was
my
father. I knew him better than anyone. All of this bull about
‘the scroll.’
Anna, no one has ever seen the stupid thing, including him!” He pointed at Father Vin. “Yes, I’m talking about you. And when I’m done with my daughter, you and I are going to have a private conversation, sir.” James turned his attention back to Anna. “He’s made it all up, Anna. There is no scroll. There is no secret mission from God. There are no bad guys chasing him all around the world trying to get their hands on it! Don’t you understand? It’s all a big myth!”
    “Anna, don’t be foolish!” her mother interjected.
    Suddenly, Anna wasn’t so sure of anything anymore. What if her father was right? What if this priest was a crackpot luring her into some kind of Indiana Jones crusade to find a fictitious artifact that a bunch of other crazy people would try to kill her over. But that couldn’t be, could it? After all, she had seen the boy—the angel. There was the plane. And the flight crew. And her grandfather was definitely dead. For real this time. Truth be told, everything Father Vin had told her, while perhaps a little hard to believe in some instances, so far proved to be true. Her father, on the other hand, had lied to her for most of her life.
    “No Daddy,” Anna finally replied, “I think you’re the one who doesn’t understand.” Anna held up a hand. “You’ve always been one of these people who has to see it to believe it. Well, let me tell you. I was the same way. Daddy, I’ve seen things in the last eight hours that you can’t even imagine. And it’s not going to do me any good to tell you about them either. You’ll just think I’m some crackpot, too! But let me assure you. There were men after Grandpa. That’s why he was in the hospital. They tried to kill him.”
    “Anna, listen …” Her mother tried to calm her down. “We only did what we thought was best for you.”
    “No Mom, you listen. I’m leaving here with Father Vin. I’ve decided to take Grandpa’s place. We know where the scroll is. It’s real! I know it. And from now on, I’m going to be the one in charge of it. This is not up for discussion. It’s my decision.”
    And there it was. She didn’t know why, but in that moment she had made her choice. Probably out of her own defiant nature, but mostly because she really believed that