The Freshman Copyright 2005 by EC Chapter 36 - A summer of Public Penance Jason and Cecilia spent their first summer in Upper Danubia with their days divided between learning the Danubian language, their household duties, and relaxing. The first priority, of course, was learning how to communicate in a city where very few people spoke English. The daily routine included six hours of intensive language instruction that started at 9:00 and ended at 4:00 with an hour for lunch. As the summer progressed, the couple realized that Prime Minister Dukov had enlisted the best language instructors in the country to pursue a single goal: to try to have them ready to attend university classes in the fall. They wrote endless exercises, memorized lists of words, were put through conversation drills, and studied grammar. They read everything ranging from children's stories to simple newspaper articles, in addition to their prepared exercises and simple readings. By the end of August they had a working knowledge of Danubian, although they knew that taking regular classes at the university level still would be a struggle. Cecilia actually found herself at a slight advantage over Jason because she was bilingual. Her mind, already accustomed to the differences between Spanish and English, was able to grasp some of the grammatical concepts of Danubian faster than Jason. As for reading and writing, they seemed to progress about the same, but by the middle of the summer, Cecilia was slightly better at conversing in Danubian than was Jason. During that first summer there was much more to their lives than language classes during the day and the Socrates Club during the evenings. Their activities included traveling and getting into better physical shape. Sightseeing in the provinces surrounding Danube City became an important part of the adjustment to life in Upper Danubia and vital for relieving the intense stress from all the couple's other responsibilities. They began traveling around Upper Danubia on the weekends with Cynthia Lee and her boyfriend. They made it as far east as Rika Chorna and spent two very pleasant weekends at the famous reservoir. They even went hiking in the mountains overlooking the lake, exploring the thick forests that had been the object of so many corporate ambitions over the past several years. All of their explorations over that summer were in the nude. While traveling they obtained a permit from the Temple to wear orange courier shoes at railroad stations and wear hiking boots when in the forests. However, shoes, shampoo, toothbrushes, small towels, and cameras were the only items they took with them on their trips. As long as they wore collars, Jason and Cecilia had to comply with their vow not to cover their bodies, so they traveled completely naked. Very quickly their inhibitions vanished, and to them it felt like the most natural thing in the world to jump on a train wearing nothing but a pair of shoes and jump off an hour or so later to explore a new town. Exercising became a regular part of their routine, because they were officially enrolled as students in the university and subject to participating in the institution's fitness program. Each morning before seeing their language instructors they had to perform rigorous calisthenics and run 5 kilometers in groups that were segregated by sex. The exercise program was the one time each day that Jason and Cecilia's nudity did not set them apart from anyone else, because at the university, gymnastics classes meant just that, exercising in the nude. Along with swimsuits, most athletic clothing was prohibited, the only exception being clothing specifically designed to prevent injury. The only items the students wore during their fitness sessions were track shoes during the runs. A few of the larger-breasted women were permitted to wear sports bras while running, but to do so they had to obtain a doctor's waiver. As soon as the daily run ended the bras had to be taken off immediately. Rigorous exercising was nothing new to Jason, who was used to keeping fit. He loved the runs, because running nude on a regular basis had been a lifelong dream for him and finally he was living that dream. His ability on the track caught the attention of his fitness instructor, and soon he found himself committed to joining the North Danube City track team and practicing to run for inter-provincial marathons to be held in the fall. Towards the end of the summer he began practicing with the track team instead of the regular fitness group, which opened up new friendships with Danubians who were athletes instead of people who either were criminals or associated with the Lee sisters. The old self-confidence Jason enjoyed when competing in high school came back to him after a two-year absence. As he prepared to compete in long distance running, his thoughts began to move past the trial, his parents' deaths, and the tumultuous events that brought him to the country. In contrast, for Cecilia running five kilometers was a struggle at first. For several weeks she always trailed the other naked, sweaty, college-age women of her group. When she started out she despaired over ever improving, but slowly she did get better over time. She was fortunate that Tiffany and Cynthia were part of her group and gave her encouragement. Cynthia began the summer somewhat overweight, so in the beginning she ran at the rear of the group with Cecilia. However, within a couple of weeks constant physical activity put Kim's sister in much better shape, which in turn allowed her to improve on the runs. Once Cynthia improved with her running and could stay with the main group, Tiffany's encouragement became even more important to Cecilia. If Tiffany noticed Cecilia falling behind the others, she dropped back to run alongside her fellow American. Once that happened, Cecilia knew she had to catch up to the others very quickly. If she didn't, Tiffany started landing hard slaps on her bare bottom to make her pick up her pace. As strange as it seemed, Tiffany was actually doing Cecilia a favor by spanking her if she ran too slowly. It was customary at the university that during a group run, the slowest member of the class was subject to discipline from the instructor. By running with her, Tiffany spared Cecilia the indignity of having her bottom smacked by the fitness teacher. However, by the end of August Cecilia was running as well as the other women in the group and no longer faced the threat of in-class discipline. Another improvement in Cecilia's life was that, at age 20, she finally began to enjoy swimming. It was in the pool at the National University where Cecilia finally learned how to swim properly. With Jason still watching over her, Cecilia began swimming more and more on her own and learning various strokes. By the end of August she no longer needed Jason's help and could even go under water for short distances. Cecilia's ability to swim meant she and her partner could go to the river with their friends and swim at the beach just like anyone else. ---------- There was a big surprise waiting for Cynthia Lee at the end of August. Just two days before classes were due to start, Cynthia and Kim went to the Temple with Tiffany and several members of Kim's band. Upon seeing her, the Priest who had collared Cindy immediately approached her and took her outside. He prayed and then talked to her at length about her Path in Life. When the interview ended he told her that she needed to conclude her public penance. He unlocked her collar and handed her a prayer robe. Her face still reflecting surprise and bewilderment, she quietly got dressed and returned to the main chamber of the Temple as a normal citizen. When she returned to her sister's house that evening, she found out why her penance had ended. There was a letter from the National University offering Cynthia a position of Academic Apprentice, which was the Danubian equivalent of a non-tenured instructor. She had not finished her doctorate, but her knowledge of the United States and its political system far surpassed that of anyone else in Danube City. While she finished researching the relationship between the Danubian government and Mega-Town Associates for her dissertation, the university wanted her to teach undergraduates about U.S. political history and social development. It was an opportunity for Danubian students to find out about the United States from an American who had proven herself intellectually and was well-respected by everyone in the capitol. She knew more about the U.S. than anyone else in Danube City, so it made sense for the university to put her knowledge to good use in the classroom. It had been the rector of the university who contacted Cynthia's Priest and asked him to end her penance so she could accept her new position. The job offer was the sign from the Ancients that both she and the Priest had been waiting for. The path of her life had been determined by the Ancients and they had spoken to her. She was destined to be an instructor at the National University in Danube City and was on her way to becoming a Professor in full standing. The following week Cynthia Lee's life changed dramatically. Like her sister, she started braiding her hair to better fit in, one detail out of several that reflected the change in her appearance and her outlook on life. She assumed the formal title of "Apprentice" when sworn in at the university. To her students she had become a Danubian Public Official. They had to address her as Apprentice Lee in class, and any collared criminals among them had to kneel when speaking to her. Like her younger sister, Cynthia Lee's Path in Life was to become a full member of Danubian society. That path was confirmed by another event towards the end of September. Her boyfriend concluded his public penance the day after the Day of the Dead Ceremonies and left the Temple wearing a prayer robe. The following evening he proposed to her. From that point forward Cynthia Lee wore her engagement jewelry whenever she appeared in public. ---------- September started without any sign that Jason and Cecilia should end their public penance. As a result when classes began, they remained collared and restricted from wearing any clothing. The fall semester started and the two Americans, along with fellow American Tiffany Walker, went to the university completely uncovered. It became apparent that the earliest the couple might take off their collars would be towards the end of September, after the Fall Equinox and the Day of the Dead ceremony. It was obvious that they would have to participate in the march along with Tiffany. At first their situation made them feel very uneasy, but there were some big advantages to living without any clothing. They discovered that their lives were simplified in many ways, because in the mornings there was nothing they needed to do to get ready to go out apart from brushing their teeth. There was no getting dressed, and for Cecilia, no putting on any makeup. The only permitted concession to vanity was their hair. During the weekends the only item they had to wash was their bed sheets, so their nude lifestyle eliminated one time consuming task in life, having to keep a bunch of clothing clean. When classes started in the fall Cecilia decided to take a semester of first-year economics classes. She calculated that she already had learned most of the course material from Ruth Burnside. However, she reasoned that by studying concepts she already had learned in English, she could much more quickly become proficient in the Danubian language and learn the vocabulary of her field. After the first semester she could by- pass the second year courses and go straight to third-year classes, but she needed to know how to speak and conduct research in Danubian before making such a leap. Jason, on the other hand, simply enrolled in a mixture of classes that came closest to what he would have had to take during his sophomore year had he stayed in Chicago. His strategy differed from Cecilia's. While she would drop her language tutoring and concentrate on learning vocabulary in class, he would keep language tutoring and get outside help on a daily basis. On top of the formal tutoring, he could rely on help from Tiffany Walker because he shared two classes with her. ---------- The first weeks of September passed uneventfully as Cecilia and Jason struggled with a full load of classes in a difficult foreign language. Both were drawn into informal study groups of Danubian students and both faced the harsh pressure of being held accountable to their peers. During the first month of classes the reality of Danubian social values dominated the lives of Jason and Cecilia. The country may have been grateful over what they had done to save the government, but the way that gratitude was expressed was for their peers to accept them as equals, no better and no worse than anyone else. Their classmates and professors did not grant them any special treatment apart from trying to make sure that they understood what was needed from them. The Danubians were convinced they would be rewarded for what they had done, but whatever reward they were due would come from the Creator in the Afterlife. In the meantime, life had to be lived day-to-day and it was the obligation of the two Americans to work hard and make themselves useful within the society. It was for that reason that, in spite of her notoriety, Cecilia's fitness instructor had shown her no sympathy as she struggled to keep up with the other women in her running group. For Jason the pressure was nothing new, because it was very similar to what Cecilia had put him through the previous year. He actually was quite happy, enjoying his study group and his new friendships with the fellow runners in the North Danube City Track Team. He worked hard during the day and treasured the hour or so he could spend with Cecilia each night. As the semester began Cecilia struggled to come to terms with her situation. She had to humble herself somewhat, because she no longer was an RA in charge of a floor full of freshmen and no longer in charge of Jason's studies. He still struggled in his classes, but now it was up to his Danubian classmates, not her, to push him to succeed. Cecilia found herself drawn into study groups of her own and pressured by Danubian women to perform well. Tiffany Walker was a member of one of Cecilia's groups, and put pressure onto her to do well in her studies. Cecilia actually found herself taking directions from Tiffany, because her lack of experience and limited language ability made her dependent on her housemate. ---------- During the days leading up to the autumn equinox and the Day of the Dead, the country began its preparations for the most important holiday of the year. The 36-hour vigil was celebrated with special foods and recipes, all of which were red to represent blood, or black to represent death. Nearly every stove in every kitchen was occupied by pots of boiling blackberries, which would be used to make the special blood-red punch and other unique foods that were mandatory for the ceremonies. Other recipes included a type of fruitcake that was dark red on the inside and covered with blackberry frosting, dark-red tomato stew, and plates of black noodles in red sauce. Before the cooking began, any cooking utensils to be used in food preparation had to be blessed. Two days before the ceremonies, Cecilia and Tiffany lugged several pots to a nearby Temple along with hundreds of their neighbors for the official permission to use the utensils as part of the preparation. Once the pots were blessed (something Cecilia thought was rather stupid), they returned to Victor Dukov's house to help with cooking. Cecilia's stomach turned upon seeing the black noodles, especially after they were covered with blood-red sauce. In the middle of the afternoon before the first night, Tiffany led Jason and Cecilia to the Plaza of the Ancients. Because all three were wearing collars, they would be participating in a two- day march around the capitol. Waiting for them in the Plaza was a fourth member of their group, Vladik Dukov. Vladik was standing out in the open as naked as anyone else in the Plaza, wearing a Temple collar so he could march alongside his fiancé. Cecilia already was familiar with the importance of the march, having read about it when she was helping Kim with her band's website. How strange…she had read so much about this ceremony, and now here she was, right in the middle of it, standing naked in the open air and about to be covered in body paint just like 2,400 others. Just like any Danubian criminal, she and Jason would spend two nights walking along silent country roads as part of the yearly national quest for atonement. The group went through a Temple assembly line set up in the Plaza, first getting covered in white body paint, then getting painted with black highlights. They received their torches and shoulder slings, and finally were given instructions how to carry the torches safely and minimize the strain on their arms. As the sun went down there was a rather lengthy worship service in the Plaza. When the service was over it was dark. Completely dark. There was not a single light illuminating Danube City, because all electrical power had been shut off. Nothing, with the sole exception of the Emergency Services at the National Hospital, was operating. The silence of Death had descended over the entire country. The marchers slowly moved out of the Plaza, in single file towards the river. Vladik moved in front of Tiffany, who was followed by Jason and finally Cecilia. For the next two nights the only thing any of them would see would be the painted backside of the person in front, and the long line of flames extending out in either direction as far as the eye could see. Everything else was pitch black. As they moved inland away from the water, the only reality in the lives of the marchers was what they could see: the line of fiery dots stretching off into the distance and the illuminated back of the marcher in front. As they moved through the darkness, everything else from the world seemed to disappear for existence. They moved in a trance, through a world of dreams and spirits, through the darkness of an Underworld that suddenly seemed all too real. The throngs of kneeling worshipers along the sides of the roads, reduced to shapeless black figures by their prayer robes and barely visible in the darkness, seemed only to add to the feeling that the marchers had left Earth and now were moving through the Underworld of the Dead. Every two hours there were breaks, as the marchers stopped to drink blackberry punch, go to the bathroom, and exchange their spent torches for new ones. Vladik dribbled some of the punch down his painted chest to make it look like it was covered in blood. He then dribbled some more punch on his three companions, adding to their already ghoulish appearance. The breaks were very short, just enough to recharge for the next portion of the march. It was as though the marchers were surfacing from the Underworld, only very briefly, before plunging down even deeper. They couldn't have explained why, but after each break Cecilia and Jason were becoming ever more apprehensive as they plunged back into the darkness. Soon they forgot even about their physical sensations as their only reality became the line of lights they had to follow. They had the feeling that if they got separated from the trail, they would be forever lost in darkness and despair. Both of them breathed a huge sigh of relief when they noticed the sky lightening in the east. They approached the campground where they would get a meal and sleep during the day as the torches from the second group of marchers became visible in the distance. The marchers had resurfaced from the darkness, hugely relieved to be back on Earth and blessed by the sun. They ate some black noodles and hot stew, went to the latrine, and collapsed on cots set up under several large Army tents. The marchers were exhausted and most of them went to sleep immediately. Jason briefly slept, but woke up after just a couple of hours. He got up quietly to not disturb his companions and worked his way through the rows of cots to get to the exit. He stepped outside. The day was dreary and overcast, but there was a hint the sky might clear up before sunset. Jason wandered around the silent tents for a few minutes. Then he noticed the Priestess who had collared Cecilia, the one member of the Danubian Clergy who spoke some English. He approached her. She looked hard at him, for a moment not recognizing him because of his body paint. Then she realized that standing in front of her was Jason Schmidt, the unlikely hero of the coup and the boyfriend of the young woman she had collared at the beginning of the summer. Jason was not sure what to do. He needed to talk…talk to someone about the weird feeling he had experienced during the first night's march. The Priestess, astute at reading other people's emotions, picked up on the needs of the young man standing in front of her. "You want say me?" "Uh…yes…I kinda want to talk…" "We talk, yes. You kneel, I salute, and we talk." Jason went to his knees and touched his head to the ground. The Priestess told him to get up and she saluted him. He saluted back, in the ancient exchange between a member of the Danubian Clergy and an average citizen. Slowly, very haltingly, he talked about what had happened during the march and his strange feeling of anxiety. He began to ramble, but the Priestess cut him off. "So, you afraid. No?" "I guess…kinda…" "You no guess, Jason Schmidt. You say me if you afraid." "Yes. I got scared last night. And Cecilia did too." "So you scared. Why you scared?" "I don't know. Maybe 'cause…you know, it kinda felt like we weren't here..like we were somewhere else. It just didn't feel right…" The Priestess thought about Jason's statement for a moment. "Maybe you say me truth, Jason Schmidt. Maybe you no here. Maybe you some other place." The Priestess told him to stick out his hands. When he complied, she grabbed them, held them very tightly, and closed her eyes. Not knowing what else to do, Jason closed his eyes as well. Jason felt the Priestess's hands shake as they continued to hold his in a painful vice-like grip. Then she said "Doc-doc" and released him. Jason opened and closed his hands to restore the circulation, surprised that a woman could have squeezed them so hard. The Priestess then looked him hard in the eye. "You say me truth. Last night you afraid." "Yes, Priestess. I just told you that. I wasn't lying." "Tonight you more afraid. Tonight you see truth. You see truth, and you find me in Temple tomorrow." "But…" "No 'but', Jason Schmidt. Tonight you scared. Tomorrow you see me." The Priestess abruptly turned away; making it very clear she had nothing more to say to him. He was not reassured in the least. If what she was saying was true, a very unpleasant night awaited him. He returned to his cot, glanced at Cecilia's sleeping body, and lay down. For a while his eyes watched the tent's canvas as it slowly moved with the wind, but finally managed to fall asleep. ---------- A few hours later a Priest woke everyone up with a shrill whistle. The sun was low in the horizon and there was a lot for the marchers to take care of in the next two hours. They had to drink, go to the bathroom, get their body paint touched up, and finally attend a worship service before collecting their torches and setting out. Jason reluctantly took his torch, glancing with increasing anxiety at the ever-darkening sky and the black ribbon of road that led back into Danube City. Tonight you more scared, Jason Schmidt. Tonight you more scared. The darkness descended on him as ominous feelings surged through his body. Perhaps he was just imagining things, but he thought could actually feel the dead entering and leaving his body. It was at that point that he began having visions. The first he had was not frightening at all. It simply was an image of Cecilia, standing in an American-style kitchen, cooking a pot of rice and beans. She was somewhat older, her face thin and lines beginning around her eyes and mouth. The beginnings of gray already were forming in her jet-black hair, which was cut much shorter. The vision ended when Cecilia turned around, smiled at him, and handed him a plate. There was a final detail he noticed before the vision faded to blackness, that she was wearing a Danubian engagement necklace. Jason realized he had seen a moment from his own future, a future he was destined to share with her. The marchers stopped for their first break, two hours after walking through the throngs of silent worshipers. With a new torch and his stomach full of blackberry punch, Jason descended into the darkness again. His mental wanderings took him through the lives of his parents and the slow deterioration of their marriage over the years. His thoughts jumped back and forth through time as he saw his parents' house, first for sale and unoccupied when they first bought it, then for sale and unoccupied as it sat following his parents' deaths. He saw his father as he worked in his office and his mother at the country club. He saw Amanda Galloway's face morph into the face of Heather Jones, and then the face of Heather Jones morph into a crushed skull. He relived the accident that killed her, seeing it in intimate detail from the perspective of someone watching from the outside. Then he saw himself, scrubbing toilets in the state hospital while several mental patients stared at him. The visions continued as Jason saw the world from the perspective of Cassie's boyfriend. The world swirled around in a pot and ecstasy-induced stupor. He listened to his father's insults and experienced the breakdown that led to the final drug-induced rage in May. He watched his mother blow-drying her hair in the bathroom and the horrified expression on her face just before her head blew apart. Then he exchanged places with his father, lying helpless but still defiant in the last moment of his life. His mind then shifted to the world from Cassie's point of view. He saw in vivid detail her boyfriend's body tumbling down the stairs and the horror of his mangled face. He relived her flight to the neighbor's house, and watched her crouch in terror in her neighbors' bedroom as the shotgun went off downstairs. He watched as the street filled with police cars, ambulances, and reporters. He watched as his sister came completely undone, as horror and panic took over and she began screaming incoherently. Finally, he saw her in the state hospital, in a catatonic state curled up under a table, with the psychiatrists and his grandmother trying to coax her out. His grandmother was holding an old stuffed rabbit, Cassie's favorite toy when she was little. "I brought Bee-Bop, Cassie. I brought him, just for you. Don't you want to come out and hold Bee-Bop? You can come out, Cassie, no one's gonna hurt you…" There was a final vision, of Cassie sitting curled up in an armchair in the guestroom of his grandmother's condominium. The curtains were closed and the room was dark. In the darkness Cassie was holding Bee-Bop the rabbit ---------- That night Cecilia experienced three visions. The first was of Jason. She was cooking dinner in her kitchen, an old Dominican recipe of rice and beans. She had endured several years of life in college without rice and beans, but now that she had her own kitchen, she would cook rice and beans, whether Jason and the kids liked it or not. Fortunately Jason was flexible when it came to food, so he gladly took the plate she had given him. He was somewhat older, but very wiry because he had not given up running. Even now he was still running marathons so he always had a healthy appetite. As for the kids, well…maybe they wanted junk food, but that wasn't going to happen. Jason was even more of a heath nut than Cecilia, so the kids had to eat healthy as well. That's just the way it was, rice and beans and lots of exercise to work it off. She had a comment for Jason Junior, or J.J. as he was called in the house. Don't you argue with your father about the beans, J.J., 'cause you know that isn't gettin' you anywhere. Cecilia took her first break very relieved, thinking, if that's the future; that's what I want. She smiled at Jason as she picked up her replacement torch. The next part of her journey was not nearly as pleasant. Her mind traveled to the penitentiary in Camden, where Raul Sanchez was exiting the facility with a bunch of other released prisoners. Raul had been let out on parole, but he had no intention of complying with the conditions of his release. He had some scores to settle and then he'd pick up where he had left off. Vicente Torres and Cecilia's younger brother were there to pick him up, along with Raul's girlfriend. Vicente passed Raul a cell phone and Raul immediately started making calls to let everyone know he was back on the street and ready to roll. He called his supplier and then stopped off at the bank to get some cash that the girlfriend had been keeping for him in her safety deposit box. He counted $ 20,000 and the group headed across the river to pick up two kilos. The $ 20,000 was a down payment; but the supplier knew Raul was good for the rest and fronted him the kilos. Hey, no problem… As they went down the stairs, Vicente suddenly had a feeling something was not right. He had this feeling; something wasn't right. He told his companions to get in the car right away and passed Raul his pistol. As they opened the doors to get in the vehicle, the young woman dropped her purse. She bent down to pick it up, but suddenly dropped to the ground. A burst of automatic gunfire shattered the car's windows and sprayed glass around the car. The young woman lay flat on the ground until the glass stopped flying. The Sanchez brothers and Vicente Torres were slumped in their seats, still alive, but not for long. They were bleeding heavily and gasping for breath. The young woman pulled her own gun from her purse and quickly pumped a finishing round into each of their heads. She reached under the seat and grabbed the two kilos. Then she jumped into another car and the driver sped off. Raul's gang had dominated the project for several years, but now it was time for another group to come in and take over. Raul's girlfriend had been smart enough to see it coming and had teamed up with the winning side. Over the next month there would be a total of 14 additional shootings in the project. By the end of the year control of the area would change hands and a new set of faces would be passing out bags of crack on the sidewalks. Cecilia was shaking badly when the marchers got to their next break station. She was stunned, unable to think or react. Was it possible? Were her brothers and her ex-boyfriend really dead? She wanted to talk, to find out the truth, but at that moment there was no one to turn to. Jason had a completely stunned, vacant look in his face. Obviously he was dealing with his own terror, and was in no condition to help Cecilia with hers. As for Vladik and Tiffany, she was in his arms, shaking violently and crying. Suddenly she heard the voice of that Priestess echoing in her head. "Now you see truth. Now you see real truth." The marchers set off again, for the final stretch of walking through the streets of Danube City. There was only one vision remaining for Cecilia that night. She saw a four-year old boy, wandering among the needles strewn about a bunch of dumpsters in her housing project. She called out to him, and recognized him as her cousin's son. The boy lifted up his arms and the vision faded to black. Slowly Cecilia's conscience returned to the real world, the long line of fires extending as far as the eye could see in either direction. The throngs of kneeling worshipers began chanting out loud, after having prayed in silence for two full nights. Suddenly every church bell started ringing and the crowds began singing the ancient hymn that marked the end of the Day of the Dead. Cecilia noticed the sky was getting light and realized that she already had passed into the Plaza of the Ancients. As she and her companions walked around the Temple she could see the glare of the huge bonfire near the river that was consuming the torches, all 2,400 of them, that had been carried by the marchers during the final leg of their journey. A Priest directed the marchers to move up-wind from the fire so they could get close enough to throw their torches onto the massive pile of burning wood. With a grunt Cecilia threw hers as hard as she could and it landed about halfway up the side of the pile. Jason and Vladik managed to get theirs clear to the top. The marchers now had just two more obligations, to wash off Death in the River and to gather for a final hymn in the Plaza. Cecilia forced herself into the cold river, trying as best she could to get the paint off the lower part of her body and her face. She was about to step out when Tiffany admonished her. "You gotta do your back too. They want you to get all the paint off before you go to the Plaza." Cecilia sighed and forced herself to drop into the water. Jason helped her wipe off what was left on her back. Shivering in the pre-dawn cold, Cecilia and the others stepped out of the water and made their way back to the Plaza. The criminals gathered, pressing their bodies together for warmth as they sang the final hymn of the ceremony. Afterwards they quickly dispersed to get cleaned up and then go to the Central Police Station to pick up their winter capes and boots. Vladik led the others into the Temple. He had to go back on duty shortly and needed to get his collar off so he could go to the police station, shower, and put on his uniform. A Priest quickly unlocked his collar and the naked couple departed the Temple. Cecilia was dead silent, too stunned by what she had just seen to speak or react. She stood in the main chamber of the Temple, shivering from cold and fright. She did not have a clue what she should do about her visions. Had she seen something that already had happened? Had she seen the unavoidable future? Had she seen something she could prevent? Jason was every bit as badly shaken as Cecilia. However, he did know what they needed to do: find that Priestess and talk to her. Without saying a word, he grabbed Cecilia's hand and led her around the Temple. The Priestess was waiting for them, standing elegantly in her severe black dress and wearing an equally severe expression. Jason immediately knelt and touched his head to the floor, with Cecilia following his lead. "Now you stand up." Jason stood up and saluted, with Cecilia once again following his lead. The Priestess saluted back. "Now you say me what you saw. You say me truth, and I ask Creator what you do." Jason went first. He briefly mentioned the visions of his parents, suspecting that the visions that really mattered were the ones of Cassie. He took it for granted that if the Priestess thought the stuff about his parents was important, she'd interrupt him, which she didn't. When he finished, all she said was. "Your father dead. Your sister not dead. You remember, that your path in life. Your sister not dead." Jason was bewildered by that statement, but stayed silent as Cecilia talked about her own vision. The Priestess made her concentrate on her first vision, the one with Jason, and her final vision, the one about her cousin's child. She seemed not at all interested in the middle vision, the one of her brothers getting double-crossed and killed. Cecilia wanted to return to that middle vision, but the Priestess kept cutting her off. Finally Cecilia became exasperated: "Priestess, how come you aren't worried about what happened to my brothers? I just saw them fuckin' get killed and you…" The Priestess drew her fist across her chest, the impolite Danubian way of saying "shut up!" "You say me, what you do about brothers? How you help dead brothers? That not your path in life!" "But are they dead?" "Yes. They dead, and they dead with broken soul, no?" "I 'spose. I 'spose you could put it that way. I 'spose all of their souls are broken. All of 'em. The whole fuckin' project." "No. No all soul broken, Cecilia. Your brothers dead. But little boy no dead. He no broken. That your path in life." The Priestess gave that thought a chance to sink in. It was true that when Cecilia left her family, the one thing that filled her with guilt was having left her cousin's son in that dysfunctional environment. She was the only one in the household who had given him any care at all, and fortunately he was off the bottle just before she left. She was the one who had gotten him to the point where he could walk and feed himself, because her cousin was never around to take care of him. She had to abandon him to save herself. Now, with her family decimated by the local gang war, perhaps it was her destiny to go back and extract him from the dying neighborhood. As badly as she wanted to ask the Priestess that question, Cecilia realized she already knew the answer. The Priestess grabbed a hand from each of them and clamped down in a painful vice-like grip. She closed her eyes and her arms started to shake. Cecilia and Jason gave each other frightened looks, but then the Priestess opened her eyes and quickly released them. She pulled out a key from a pocket in her dress and unlocked both of their collars. "Now you go on path. Your sister and your little boy. Creator give you power fix soul. You go and you come. When you go, you say me and I say professor. You go and you come." Jason interjected: "Priestess, are you saying we're supposed to bring them here? To Danube City?" "You go and you come. That your path in life." The Priestess handed them two prayer robes to wear home, a clear sign their penance had ended. Their days of wearing the Temple collar had passed, and now it was time for them to fulfill an obligation they had towards two other people. Two trips, to journeys into the past, and two lives to save. They quickly went to their homes, got cleaned up, and for the first time in nearly four months, got dressed.