He finds the first recording and clicks on it. We stand behind him to watch. Askal claims the rug again.

“She sent someone care packages all the time,” the museum curator says. “The police already questioned us about it—I believe it was to a PO Box, but it was all done under her name, and they couldn’t trace who received them.” She also talks at some length about the Cortes’s journal but doesn’t say anything that we didn’t already know. Gries switches to another video.

“I don’t think they found any bodies on the island,” the mayor says, exasperated. “It isn’t about covering up any evidence. Yes, the villagers here are protective of each other, especially of the family involved, but my predecessor couldn’t have made any arrests if there wasn’t anyone to—”

Another video.

“—She was the true death the Diwata wanted,” the old grandmother was saying. “As punishment for taking my daughter’s life, it is she who suffers. The poor woman.”

“How do you know this, grandmother?”

“How do I know?” For the first time since the interview started, the woman grows passionate, angry. “A mother knows. My family worships the Diwata. Most of us here still do. We know He is just, and that He punishes the guilty. When He took the American woman, we started hearing of strange things on the island—things that were always crying, always suffering. That is her punishment. She is not the only sufferer there. We can do nothing but pray.”

She stares off into space for a few minutes. When she speaks again, her voice is wistful. “The Diwata knows. He knows all who come to his shores. He remembers us after we die.”

“What do you mean that ‘he remembers’?”

She laughs. “He sees into the heart of those who enter his domain. He can create dreams and nightmares to show you what lies there. My daughter is not the only one who has found bliss in His mercy. Over the years, He has given many sanctuary. Fishermen and travelers who did not survive our worst storms have found eternal sanctuary with Him. They are different from the sacrifices he demands. They are loved.”

“The legends state that the god will create a new world when he awakens.”

The old woman only smiles.

“Have you ever dreamt of him before?”

“I dreamt once of a plane that fell from the sky, how some of those poor souls found their way to His shores. And then I woke and saw what they say in the news.”

Gries makes a strangled sound.

“Do you think He was responsible for the plane crashing?” the interviewer asks intently.

“No. He is not a vengeful God. The passengers were unfortunate. He gave them peace.” She leans forward, her eyes on the camera. “You do not understand,” she says, more urgently. “Because of that American woman, the Diwata knows there is still too much cruelty in the world. He sleeps, but He is no longer lenient. He is—angry. He wishes to awaken.”