The van, driven by Theo, cut through the otherwise calm predawn night. He’d given up arguing with Margo. Besides, with the windows down, it had become a yelling match between them over the roar of the wind slapping around the boxy vehicle. The chemical fumes emanating off Alik’s maced body were causing the other occupants in the van to suffer with stinging eyes and coughing fits, so the fresh air was necessary.
In the end, Theo came to terms with the fact that he didn’t have a better idea, so he may as well support Margo’s crazy salt water solution. If nothing else, they were at least driving toward a city where they could find refuge from the impending sandstorm.
He checked the rearview mirror just as much to make sure the other part of their family was still following in the sedan as to check Farrow and Alik in the far back row. He saw Farrow’s mouth moving, so he knew she was still talking to the poor kid as she worked to remove as much of the chemical as she could from his eyes and face. Every other minute, Alik would double over coughing painfully trying to get enough oxygen through the swollen lining in his nose and throat.
Theo glanced at Margo who was sitting resolute in her wheelchair, eyes straight forward, arms wrapped around a sleeping Danny. Maze was curled protectively at her feet, head up and eyes alert. Margo wanted to move her youngest as far away from the chemical fumes as possible, so she let Danny climb into her lap and encouraged him to tell her all about a dream he had that showed him how to use his healing gift. She listened with rapt attention. That was forty minutes ago. Now he’d drifted to sleep. His blonde curls and pale skin seemed to have a radiant quality, as though there were an inner light burning brightly making the child slightly luminescent in the dark.
Funny, Theo thought. I’ve never noticed that before. It’s probably just the glow of the dashboard lights hitting just right.
He frowned to himself as he doubled his focus on the stretch of road before him. In the not too far-off skyline, he saw the twinkling man-made lights of the industrial buildings surrounding the saltwater lake. Theo reached to raise just his and Margo’s windows so they would be able to talk over the windy roar.
“We’re almost there,” Margo locked her jaw and nodded to the lights that became brighter with each mile.
“How exactly should we do this?”
“The lake used to be a busy vacation spot years ago. Now it’s lost its appeal and industrial plants started popping up, leaving hundreds of abandoned vacation homes. We should be able to find a house we can use to wait out the storm after.”
“After—”
“After Danny heals us in the salt water, of course.”
“Right.” Theo pursed his lips together as though forcibly willing his rational words to stay inside. He decided to go down a different path. “So how do you know so much about this lake?”
“After Danny first shared his dream with me, I started to do some research,” Margo’s gaze moved from the industrial lights to the little boy in her arms before she continued. “Fayed Oasis was one of just a few lakes in the area that used to be freshwater millions of years ago. As you can imagine, the area got very little freshwater from rain, so through natural weathering, the sun’s evaporation took the fresh water and left the salt. The entire lake became concentrated with the mineral. Now it is very much a salty body of water.”
“Humph,” was all Theo thought safe enough to say.
“You don’t think this will work.” It was a statement, not a question.
Theo chose his words carefully. “I want it to work.”
“Where is your faith?” she asked softly.
“Faith in God, miracles, unexplainable phenomena—I think I’ve found a balance between my scientific and spiritual beliefs.” He cleared his throat, trying to filter through his thoughts while maintaining integrity. “I’ve seen each of the children do some pretty fantastic things. They have been gifted; this is a fact. I just don’t think we should hinge all our hope on the dreams of that four-year-old child. It just doesn’t seem wise. The children are depending on us to help them fix this mess. I just don’t want to let anyone down, Margo.”
“I see it differently. It takes courage to walk on faith. And when I say ‘courage’ I do not mean fearlessness.” Margo shook her head emphatically. “We must have the kind of courage that knows full well the dangers, but holds hands and jumps anyway. That is courage. That is faith. I choose to be faith-filled.”
“Margo, I understand what you’re saying, and I don’t disagree entirely. Have you ever heard the story of the two men who were camping in the woods when a huge bear dashed out of the trees and came right for them?”
Margo, sighed and held Danny a little closer to her chest. “I may have, but go on.”