The Legend of Safehaven by R. A. Comunale Page B

can stay with me.”
     
    The children cleared the table before heading to their rooms to finish their homework. The adults returned to the living room, where Nancy served brownies and some of Edison’s favorite Jasmine tea. Its aroma put everyone in a more relaxed mood. This time the old sergeant broke the silence.
    “Pretty amazing group here, folks. Those kids picked up right away on what was needed.”
    Douglass held his wife’s hand. He tried to speak, but the emotion overwhelmed him.
    “What Lach wants to say … what the three of us feel … can’t be expressed.”
    Diana smiled at her husband, so tough on the outside but tender in the heart. She had known they were meant for each other from the moment the tall-but-awkward, high-school basketball player asked her for a date. She had never doubted he was the right man for her.
    Edison savored his tea.
    “Think we can handle it, guys?”
    Nancy looked at the younger woman seated across from her, and in that telepathy shared by women she conveyed that she, too, had found a keeper.
     
    The boy sat silently in the car, feeling the vibration of the ride through his feet. The American soldier and his wife had picked him up from the hospital. He said nothing, when they talked about his coming to live with them. He said nothing, when they said he first would be staying with friends who had children his own age. And he said nothing, when he felt the car make a hard turn and begin a long climb up a road, its tires crunching the gravel, stopping at a place where the air felt cooler and fresher.
     
    “Tio Galen, Tio Galen, he’s here!”
    Tonio rushed into the living room, as the big patrol car pulled up out front. It was early in the day, but Nancy was already outside fixing up a new planter box. She heard the approaching car and moved toward it. Edison was working on a storage cabinet for the garage, and he, too, hurried to meet the new guest. But it was Galen, moving at steam-engine speed out the door, who reached the vehicle first.
    Lachlan stretched his long frame, as he got out of the driver’s seat. Diana, Dresden-petite, sat in the front seat for a second before getting out.
    Galen opened the right-rear door and looked inside. The boy sat impassive, unmoving. Galen stared at him, as flashbacks of an Asian village and napalm-covered, burning, screaming children tore at his psyche. He reached in and touched the boy’s right arm.
    “ Faisal Fedr, assalamu alaika, bi rahmati wa qudrati Allahu Taala wasalta ila huna .”
    Faisal Fedr, Salaam Alaichem. Allah’s Grace and Will has brought you here.
    The boy turned toward the voice and reached out both arms.
    Galen picked him up and carried him from the car. As they approached the sign, he stopped, set the boy down, and took his hands in his own. Slowly, he guided the long, slender fingers over the nine letters: SAFEHAVEN.
    “ Inna daruna mahallun amin ya Faisal, wa huna beytune. Wa talama tahibbu al baqua maana wa huwwa baituka aithan .”
    This is Safehaven, Faisal. It is our home. For as long as you need to stay, it will be your home.
    The children lined up on the stairway, as Galen, guiding the boy by his left elbow, moved him forward. He whispered what was in the path ahead as they moved forward to the steps.
    “This is Carmelita, Faisal.”
    The boy extended his hands, and Galen placed them on the girl’s face. His fingers moved and felt the wetness of her eyes and the softness of her hair. He was startled to hear her, as Galen did, greet him in his native tongue.
    “ Ahlan wa sahlan wa marhaba ila baitina ya Faisal .”
    Welcome to our home, Faisal.
    Freddie was next, but he stood awkwardly, unsure what to say. Then he blurted out, as the boy’s hands touched his face, “I’m going to teach you how to play baseball! And maybe you, me, and Tio Eddie can work the radios together, too.”
    They moved up a few steps, and Galen placed Faisal’s hands on Tonio’s face.
    “You’re going to stay with me,