afternoon when Vega arrived with wood and supplies for the stairwell. He closed Francis’ eyes and sat on the floor with Leo Darling. They didn’t speak or touch, not even when the police arrived, or when the body was lifted onto a gurney and rolled out. When night came, Vega stood and began walking back to the lumber yard. Leo Darling silently followed him.
Vega took a cot from the attic and laid it out next to his bed. Leo did not want to sleep, but his body was tired and his eyes were heavy. He waited for the blind artist to quietly snore. Then he went to the garage where his gift, the stone slab, was kept. He found a sledge hammer and repeatedly struck the stone until all that remained were tiny pieces. Then he crushed the tiny pieces into dust. He angrily wept and fell asleep on the floor, the grey dust covering his clothes and skin.
The blind artist was not in fact asleep when Leo Darling left the room. His exceptional ears heard every swing of the hammer and every sob. Though the stone had been very expensive and difficult to acquire, the blind artist did not stop Leo Darling from destroying it for he knew that even its destruction was a kind of art, though not one that could be seen or lasting.
Later that week a lawyer arrived at the lumber yard explaining that no other family members could be found, and the custody and care of the boy had fallen to Leo Vega. The news was a surprise, but not a shock for Vega had already thought of the boy as his son and treated him as such.
The following month, a different set of lawyers arrived bringing with them police officers and warrants. They put the blind artist in handcuffs and led him into the back of a squad car. When the officers refused to explain what was happening, Leo Darling’s temper overtook him and he struck several of them with his carving hammer. Their wounds were painful, but not severe. Before he could grab a chisel or knife, the police struck him across the back of the head. He awoke in a hospital with a bandage around his head and an officer outside his door.
Leo Vega’s incarceration was, in fact, justified, though obviously excessive. In his eagerness to leave Mexico and the painful memories of his lost love, he had never completed the proper forms to become a United States citizen and was knowingly an illegal resident within its borders. This crime became evident when Leo Darling’s Social Security, insurance, and substantial wealth fell to a Mexican born alien. The matter would normally have been dealt with reasonably and Leo Vega would have had the opportunity to become a citizen; however, it was an election year and an example needed to be made, or at least that was the philosophy of John Davis, the sitting senator.
John Davis had entered politics as an idealist, both young and helplessly in love with his country. His first political experience occurred at the age of twelve when his older brother came home with a black eye and several bruises. John learned the damage was the result of a neighborhood bully who was nearly twice his size. Instead of telling his parents, John took his brother aside and told him to act as if everything was normal. He saved his lunch money for a month and, when he considered it a large enough sum, he found the three biggest football players in high school and hired them to pretend to be good friends with his brother, walking home with him for the next week, and once a month after that until the year was out. The results were astoundingly successful. Not only did the bully stop harassing his brother, but the three football players and his brother found it so easy being friends that they continued to do so throughout high school.
John had no interest in governmental politics; his skills came from a practical necessity. His family was lower-middle class and put more money into credit cards than a savings account. Both his parents worked and when they weren’t working, they slept from exhaustion, which left John’s
Vega took a cot from the attic and laid it out next to his bed. Leo did not want to sleep, but his body was tired and his eyes were heavy. He waited for the blind artist to quietly snore. Then he went to the garage where his gift, the stone slab, was kept. He found a sledge hammer and repeatedly struck the stone until all that remained were tiny pieces. Then he crushed the tiny pieces into dust. He angrily wept and fell asleep on the floor, the grey dust covering his clothes and skin.
The blind artist was not in fact asleep when Leo Darling left the room. His exceptional ears heard every swing of the hammer and every sob. Though the stone had been very expensive and difficult to acquire, the blind artist did not stop Leo Darling from destroying it for he knew that even its destruction was a kind of art, though not one that could be seen or lasting.
Later that week a lawyer arrived at the lumber yard explaining that no other family members could be found, and the custody and care of the boy had fallen to Leo Vega. The news was a surprise, but not a shock for Vega had already thought of the boy as his son and treated him as such.
The following month, a different set of lawyers arrived bringing with them police officers and warrants. They put the blind artist in handcuffs and led him into the back of a squad car. When the officers refused to explain what was happening, Leo Darling’s temper overtook him and he struck several of them with his carving hammer. Their wounds were painful, but not severe. Before he could grab a chisel or knife, the police struck him across the back of the head. He awoke in a hospital with a bandage around his head and an officer outside his door.
Leo Vega’s incarceration was, in fact, justified, though obviously excessive. In his eagerness to leave Mexico and the painful memories of his lost love, he had never completed the proper forms to become a United States citizen and was knowingly an illegal resident within its borders. This crime became evident when Leo Darling’s Social Security, insurance, and substantial wealth fell to a Mexican born alien. The matter would normally have been dealt with reasonably and Leo Vega would have had the opportunity to become a citizen; however, it was an election year and an example needed to be made, or at least that was the philosophy of John Davis, the sitting senator.
John Davis had entered politics as an idealist, both young and helplessly in love with his country. His first political experience occurred at the age of twelve when his older brother came home with a black eye and several bruises. John learned the damage was the result of a neighborhood bully who was nearly twice his size. Instead of telling his parents, John took his brother aside and told him to act as if everything was normal. He saved his lunch money for a month and, when he considered it a large enough sum, he found the three biggest football players in high school and hired them to pretend to be good friends with his brother, walking home with him for the next week, and once a month after that until the year was out. The results were astoundingly successful. Not only did the bully stop harassing his brother, but the three football players and his brother found it so easy being friends that they continued to do so throughout high school.
John had no interest in governmental politics; his skills came from a practical necessity. His family was lower-middle class and put more money into credit cards than a savings account. Both his parents worked and when they weren’t working, they slept from exhaustion, which left John’s
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