Ghosts that Watch Us

21

The flight attendant came by and asked if they needed anything, her accent somewhat dusky and thick. Ellory asked for a vodka cranberry and begrudgingly ordered a bottle of water for Sean, who was still asleep. Their flight came with a cookie or complimentary peanuts, and Ellory set his aside for later.

He wrote in his journal, outlining his plans for the trip and the questions he would ask Padre Aurelio. It wasn’t until he felt eyes on him sometime later that he realized Sean was awake, leaning over his shoulder and reading what Ellory had written. And he was eating his cookie.

“You’re eating my cookie,” Ellory said. He took his bag of peanuts before Sean could snag that too.

“What are you writing?”

Ellory closed his journal. “Notes. For my research.”

Sean nodded. “And what is your class about?”

“Syncretism in Catholicism and Christianity. But I touch on other world religions, as well.”

“What’s syncretism?”

Ellory stared out the window. “It’s when two independent systems of thought and ideas are merged to create an entirely new system of thought. Only, when it came to religion, most often the invading people would incorporate only certain elements of the native religion, so as to make conversion easier. You’ll see examples of it in Catholicism, African and Aztec gods being made into saints and such. Things like that. Changing the date of Christ’s birth to match a sacred holiday in the minority religion. Or the Aztec goddess Tonantzin having remarkably similar traits to the Virgin Mary. After the conquest, so many of the Aztec deities were absorbed into Catholicism. Even to this day, many people wait to buy Christmas trees until December twelfth, the day Juan Diego reportedly saw a vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe, her image seared in bright colors onto his cloak. Scientists are still unable to determine the origin of the image, or identify the medium of the image itself, its colors and whatnot.” He fell silent, feeling he had spoken entirely too much, and annoyed that he’d felt even a spark of interest in sharing this information with Sean.

“You’re wicked smart, then.” He could hear the smile in Sean’s voice, and he gritted his teeth to stop the scalding quip just waiting to roll off his tongue. “Man, it’s going to be nice to be away from my students for a week.”

Humming, Ellory returned to his journal and flipped a page. “Yes, even though the children are probably more in need of the rest than we are.”

“You call them children? They're in their twenties. You’re like, only ten years older than them.”

“Only some,” Ellory conceded, sticking a paper between the pages to mark his spot. “The graduate students, maybe. They’re older, more mature. But I certainly understand how some of us can’t know what maturity is just yet. Don’t worry, you’ll grow into it.” He looked pointedly at Sean, who narrowed his eyes at him.

“So, what does the ninth level mean?”

Ellory frowned. “What?”

“Earlier. When you were throwing your tantrum?” Ellory sighed, and Sean smiled. “You said we would go back to where we’re from. Me from the ninth level, and you to Ireland or something—.”

“Canada.”

“I’m joking.” Sean chuckled and reached for Ellory’s peanuts. Ellory opened his mouth to protest, but gave up, knowing there was no use. “So what does it mean?”

“I take it you’ve never read Dante.”

“Sure. He wrote comedies, right?”

Ellory rubbed his temples, grumbling to himself. This flight was going to last an eternity. Sean turned in his seat and rested his head back, eyes on Ellory, who tried to ignore how the light from the window made them look crystallized. This moment, Delia would have been half way through a novel, some amateur college band crooning into her ears. They would be sharing the peanuts, too. Later she would sleep for an hour or two and then wake, taking his article from him and continuing to edit where he’d left off. Ellory felt his shoulders dip in defeat.

Sean tilted his head and gave a wounded look, a smile still bright in his eyes. "Come on, I was just joking. Just because I have muscles doesn’t mean I don’t have brains. Do you really think I belong in the same circle as Judas and Satan?"

Ellory shuffled his papers and leaned over them again. "I think nothing of the matter any longer."

They fell into silence, Sean doing a poor job of masking how he watched Ellory out of the corner of his eye.

“I can’t wait to lie on the beach,” Sean said softly, head bouncing slightly as they hit a patch of turbulence.

“In Veracruz?”

“Is that where we’re going?”

“No. We’re going to Mexico City. The closest beach is five hours away in Veracruz. Specifically Tecolutla.”

Sean’s face fell, shoulders sagging. “No beach?”

“Not unless you keep traveling.”

“f**k,” Sean muttered, turning away.

Ellory couldn’t help his low chuckle. “What exactly were you expecting?”

“Uh, it’s Mexico. I was expecting a beach. Mexico is synonymous with beaches.”

Ellory shook his head. “You’re such a tourist. There is more to this country than what your little midnight infomercials would lead you to believe.”

When the flight attendant came back around to collect any trash, Ellory beckoned her close. "Do you know what the weather is like where we're landing?"

She leaned against the empty seat in front of them. "Captain Rios and I were just speaking about that. A heat wave hit the city about two days ago and hasn't dissipated. Very unusual this early in the year." She smiled sympathetically and moved on.

Ellory took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to mentally prepare himself for the moment they disembarked into what would probably feel like one of the nine levels he’d just accused Sean of hailing from. 

"What's wrong?" Sean asked.

"Nothing," Ellory replied curtly, and began putting his work away.

When they landed an hour later, he was gripping his armrests tight, eyes peeled on the window and the land beyond. A wind was gusting hard, dust and trash rolling over the shimmering tarmacs. Delia would have an ice pack and bottle of water ready for him by now, so he flagged the flight attendant and asked her for the ice packs that he'd given her back in Newark.

She brought them, along with a handful of napkins. Sean watched the exchange wordlessly.

Ellory took his time about letting the other passengers leave first. He always liked to be the last off a flight, all the more time to brace himself for what he knew waited out there. Sean lingered, Ellory casting him side-glances, but saying nothing. They had a mini finger pointing war, trying to get the other to go first, before Ellory finally huffed in exasperation and headed up the aisle, Sean following directly behind.