Payback

46

Calvina and Rosa had arranged to meet at the bus station at 10:00 p.m. Wednesday. The journey was complicated — they had to travel to Nevas, a small city far in the north of Peru northwest of Santa Cruz on the Rio Marañón. That journey alone would take two days. Once there, they would meet a person who would give them some type of exam and tell them what to do next.

Calvina’s cousin had been very vague about what the job called for; she claimed not to know the specifics. Calvina guessed that something illegal was involved. Most likely she and her cousin were to carry drugs to the United States. Calvina decided that if it was all right with Rosa, it was all right with her.

The thing that puzzled Calvina was why it would be against the law. There was no commandment against taking drugs, and none of the sins that she had been taught involved them. Drinking too much, yes — but even that wasn’t a mortal sin, as the priests would readily attest. So why would taking drugs be wrong?

She put the thought out of her mind as the bus she was supposed to take was called. Where was Rosa? There was only one bus per week to Santa Cruz, where they would take other transportation to Nevas; if they missed it, they would have to wait seven days.

Worse, if Calvina missed it, she would have no place to go. She had already left her mother a note explaining that she wouldn’t be back. To return home now…

If she didn’t leave now, she would never be able to get away. Ever.

“Calvina!”

The voice that called her was not her cousin’s, but Calvina turned anxiously, expecting to see Rosa. Instead, she saw Rosa’s friend Maria, who lived two buildings down.

“Your cousin gave me this to give to you,” said Maria, pressing an envelope into her hands. “She’s sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

Maria shook her head. Instead of explaining, she turned and began walking away.

“Maria! Wait!”

The announcement that her bus was leaving in another minute stopped Calvina from following. She opened the envelope. There was money, a bus ticket, and a note.

Calvina stared at the words, reading them over and over. “Senorita?”

She looked up. A bus company employee who had helped her earlier was standing nearby.

“You said you were going on that bus,” he told her. “Did you get your ticket?”

Not knowing what to do, she held up the one Rosa had supplied.

“Come. I will take your bag. Not very heavy, is it? But we had better run. The driver does not like to wait, and tonight he is running behind.”