The lights are off in the widow’s home. From an open bedroom window she can hear her grandfather and Mrs. Williams giggling.

Lilith rolls down her pants, squats, and urinates on the driveway. Looking up, her dazzling blue eyes widen as she gazes at the full moon and a billion twinkling stars.

‘Grandpa, when I get old, I’m going to go on a rocket into space.’

Quenton glides through a four-way stop sign, nearly hitting a teenager on a motorized skateboard. ‘Space? Don’t talk stupid.’

‘Why can’t I go into space?’

‘Space is for astronauts. You ain’t gonna be no astronaut.’

‘Why not?’

‘’Cause bein’ an astronaut means ya’ll got to go to college, and I ain’t sending you to no college.’

‘Why not?’

‘’Cause it costs money, lots of money. You want to go to college, move out and marry some rich boy.’

‘I will.’

‘Good. Sooner the better. Now stop yer yappin’, I’m tryin’ to drive.’

Gabriel Compound, Longboat Key, Florida

Ocean waves sizzle as they die out on the Gulf beach. Sand crabs race from their outposts, searching for food.

Jacob Gabriel peers through the telescope, then backs away, allowing his aunt Evelyn to take a peek.

Evelyn Strongin presses her right eye to the rubber housing. ‘Wow. You can really make out details on the lunar surface.’

‘When me and my brother get older, we’re going into space.’

Evelyn pulls back, struck by the absoluteness of the statement. ‘Why do you say that, Jacob?’

‘Xibalba’s out there. My daddy’s on Xibalba. Mommy says we’re going to see him when we get older.’

‘How do you know Xibalba’s out there?’

He shrugs. ‘I just know.’ He peers into the telescope. ‘Mommy says you talk to dead people.’

‘I can communicate with the souls of those who’ve passed.’

‘Teach me how to do it.’

‘Maybe when you get older. What else can you show me on this telescope?’

‘Can you teach me to talk to my daddy?’

‘I don’t know if that’s possible.’

‘’Cause he’s not dead?’

‘Yes, because he’s not dead.’

‘But he has Hunahpu blood, like us, right?’

‘Well, I suppose—’

‘Then I can communicate with him. Teach me.’

‘When you get older.’

‘But I want to talk with him now.’

‘You’re not ready. Sometimes when we communicate over inter-dimensional frequencies, other spirits can answer us. If you’re not strong enough, they can fool you into believing what they tell us is real. Try to be patient, Jacob, your time will come.’

‘He’s beyond inquisitive,’ Evelyn says, pouring herself another cup of coffee. ‘He possesses an almost innate sense of the universe. It’s like talking to an adolescent trapped inside a toddler’s body.’

Dominique looks up from her computer. ‘I worry about Jacob. His mind’s developing way too fast.’

‘Maybe you’re telling him too much.’