THE PRIEST OF SANTA MARIA - ( CHAPTER 49 ) - { PT. 2 }


 ( CHAPTER  49 )  -  { PT.  2 } - Most likely there will be some scarring, yes. Doctor Conti lifted the last segment of fabric, and they looked eagerly down at the Cardinal's hand. Will you look at that? said Doctor Conti. It's as if the very hand of God came down and made his mark upon you. The Cardinal gazed down at the perfect markings of a Greek cross in the center of his right hand. He was not amused.            EPILOGUE - FOUR-AND-A-HALF YEARS LATER: - BEDOUIN CAMP, SINAI DESERT, EGYPT                                    The sun's unrelenting rays beat down upon a sea of barren desert stretching for miles in all directions. Its blazing heat reflected a haziness that blinded the eye. A solitary tamarisk stood defiant. Firm. Erect. Shooting up from the arid sand. Its branches and leaves spread out to form a vast tent-like structure. A golden eagle lay on the shadowed surface. Its body rigid. Dead. Aker, lank, hazel-brown-eyed boy with bronzed skin, kicked a homemade football put together from paper, plastic bags and a rope. Ten or more children chased behind him unable to catch him. He kicked the ball. It rolled beneath the tamarisk and bounced off the eagle's taut lifeless body. He approached the bird, picked it up and held it out for the others to see. The crowding children like the Red Sea to make way for a little girl. She was small in proportion to the others and much younger at four years old. She looked up at Aker with her deep malachite eyes.

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