8
JUAN FRANCISCO BLANCO
Maybe you can use this phone later. It’s equipped with a solar
cell charger, and it should stay charged wherever you may go.
Now, let’s pack some more food for you, and for when you find
our children,” Teresa said, trying to think of everything at once.
“Do you want me to call your parents or someone when we get
back to town?’’
“No, they are both dead. I am alone, so there is no one to
call,” Tital told them, as he mounted his mare Centella. That was
not exactly the truth, but it was how he felt at the moment.
The Sun left little shadows in the tracks left in the sand, as
Tital followed the easy to read trail left by the children and their
abductor. The marks he was following headed to the north. Why
hadn’t the man and the children passed by him as he was coming
from the opposite direction, Tital wondered? After about two
kilometers he found the answer. They had turned west, and
gone inland. He must have just missed them by only a few hours.
He looked again at the pictures. Children, he thought. Bardala
was certainly no child at sixteen, and her younger brother
Jonathan was tall and thin for his age. Viviana looked like one of
Tital’s younger sisters. He knew she must be afraid, with what
was happening to her.