Treasure of the World by Tara Sullivan (free ebook reader txt) 📕

“Mmm, smells good, Ana,” Abuelita says. I give her a hug and catch her up on how Belén and César are doing. Then I take a deep breath.

“I’m going back up to the mine,” I say. It’s abrupt, but with darkness already upon us, there’s no time to waste.

“What?” She stills.

I take a deep breath.

“Someone has to be there tonight to guard it. Francisco, or someone else, might come again and take more. It’s still officially my job, so it will be our family’s debt if more gets taken. We can’t afford to be in any more debt.” I see Abuelita open her mouth. Whether it’s to argue or agree, I don’t wait to find out. “It’s not a plan for forever. We can talk tomorrow about other ideas, but right now I have to go. It’s already late.”

I can see emotions chasing themselves across Abuelita’s face, but all she says is, “Be careful.”

Feeling grim and beaten, I shove some food, a blanket, and my helmet into my old schoolbag and sling it over my shoulder. On my way out the door I grab four new mini-sticks of dynamite.

This time I do remember to pray that I won’t need to use them.

24

When I get to the mouth of El Rosario, I scan the area carefully. I check the shed. The lock is broken from last night, but everything is still inside where it should be, so at least no one has come by yet tonight. The blast pulled my last nest off the cliff face, so I find myself a comfortable-enough spot on the rubble still blocking the entrance to the mine so that I can sit facing the shed. I’m beyond tired, beyond furious at the world that has trapped my family in a corner. I decide that if anyone even tries to approach the mine tonight, I’ll blast them all before I let them take so much as a pebble from that shed. I stare at the destruction at the mouth of the mine, wondering how long it will take to clean up, wondering what it will cost me.

“Ana, is that you?”

The voice surprises me so much that the flame of my lighter is already halfway toward a stick of dynamite before I notice who it is.

“No no nononono . . .” he says, all in a rush, “don’t do that again. It’s me!”

“Victor?” Even though he stayed to help me dig Guillermo out and brought Belén home, I still kind of figured he’d make himself scarce. He left, after all. And I’m sure he could still get in trouble if people started asking questions about why he was on the mountain and the landlord figures out he got into his old home.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, glancing around. “Is it just you?”

“Yeah. I scouted around a bit too. I didn’t see anyone else.”

I relax. I don’t want any more surprises.

“Francisco and Guillermo are gone,” Victor says.

“Wait! What?”

“The miners dropped Guillermo off at the health center this morning. His legs looked bad, but it turns out the cuts were mostly shallow and only one leg was broken. They were able to set it cleanly. When they went home for lunch, they left him sleeping there, but when they returned, Guillermo was gone. I asked one of my buddies who works at the bus station, and he says he saw a man and a boy on crutches get on a bus headed for Uyuni. I don’t think they’ll be back.”

Some surprises, I realize, I don’t mind as much as others. I’m glad that I won’t have to face Francisco again. I imagine the vast salt flats of Uyuni and wonder what Guillermo’s life will be like there. It’s not an easier place to live, trading rock for salt, but it makes sense that’s where Francisco took him: Uyuni is where they mine lithium for cell phones and electronics. It should be easy enough for Francisco to get a job there. Plus, it’s over two hundred kilometers away—far enough that no one from here is likely to chase him down to make him sorry for what he did.

I’m glad, for Guillermo’s sake at least. Miners can be as unkind to thieves as they are to guardas.

But even though I’m relieved, a cold dread washes through me. If Francisco’s gone, then the small hope I had that the cooperative would make him pay for at least half of the repairs to the mine is gone too. It will be all on me and my family. I sigh. There is no path out of our debt now but to find a way to earn the money the slow way. The hard way. The cooperative will dock César’s paycheck, and we’ll pull a little out of what we need each week until the debt is paid down, like we did after Papi’s burial. It’s a hungry road back from disaster. I’ve traveled it before.

“That’s good to know,” I decide. “But what are you doing up here? Surely you didn’t come all this way, at night, just to tell me the news.”

“I was actually visiting your place.”

“Oh?”

“I wanted to make sure Belén was better,” he says. “And your grandma told me you’d come up here for the night, so I thought, since I was nearby, I’d come say hello.”

“Oh. Well, hello, I guess.”

“Hi.”

I look at him carefully. “And you? How are you doing?”

Victor gives a half laugh. “Oh, you know me, a Sánchez always lands on his feet.”

I stare at him until he gives me a real answer.

“I’m okay,” he says. “No one figured out I broke into my old house, so I haven’t lost my place in mechanic training.”

“Wait!” I squeal. “Mechanic training? You got in?”

Victor gives a shy smile. “Yeah. You were right. Joaquín was able to get me in at the garage. I have to work for free, but they’re willing to teach me. If I don’t ditch,