Eduardo's Arc

Chapter 55 of 60

Eduardo drove west with the baby on the seat beside him. The hills rose ahead, pale under morning light. Celeste watched the sky through the window. Every cloud looked the same to her. Eduardo slowed the truck and studied them too. He could not tell one from the next. "Which one is yours?" he asked. Celeste's lip trembled. "I don't know. I want my mommy." She began to cry. Her small hands rubbed her eyes. "Mommy. Mommy." Eduardo stopped the truck. He had no map for clouds. He could drive all day and never find the right one. He thought about the child's words. Her mommy. Someone kept this baby. Someone would know where she belonged. Then it came to him. The angel woman had two children of her own. She prayed over the valley. She granted small miracles. A floating baby who fell from the sky belonged to someone like that. Eduardo turned the wheel and pointed the truck back toward town, toward the pale house with the cross. The radiant house stood soft against the trees, its windows glowing in colored panes, wings carved above the door. Mother Angel opened it before he knocked. Her blonde curls caught the light. She had signed his ledger once, only after he swore to keep his rules. She had refused him more times than she agreed. He never came to her without a reason she could weigh. "Eduardo," she said, her voice gentle. Then she saw the baby in his arms. Her face changed. "Oh. You found her." "She's lost," Eduardo said. "I couldn't find her cloud. But you keep children. I thought you would know where she belongs." Mother Angel reached out. Celeste stopped crying at once and leaned toward her. "Come here, little one," the angel said. She held the baby close. "Her cloud drifted past my window two nights ago. She wandered off while I gathered eggs." From inside the house a small voice called out, raspy and glad. A cherub child in a cloud dress ran to the door. Her wings fluttered. She was Cloud Puff, made to lift spirits, and she laughed at the sight of Celeste. "You came back!" Cloud Puff said. She tugged Celeste's tiny foot. "I told Mama your cheeks got warm. I told her!" Celeste giggled through her tears. The two babies pressed their foreheads together. Mother Angel smiled at Eduardo. "You brought her home when you could have driven on," she said. "You turned around because a child cried. That is worth more than any name in your book." Eduardo felt his chest ease. He had asked nothing for this. "I'm glad she's safe," he said. "Rest a moment," Mother Angel said. Her smile faded a little. "Before you go, there is something you should know. A woman came asking after you again. Kiersten. She wants to see the house." Eduardo went still on the step. The baby was home. The door he thought closed had moved.