***
At first Gen Bootzer assumed that Brody was just playing a game, like hide and seek. Her calls became more frantic, telling him he had better present himself or there would be consequences. Eventually she realized he was nowhere in the vicinity of the yurts. Brody had wandered off and was by himself somewhere out on the acre. She decided the best course of action was to follow the creek, scanning the grass as far as she could see for some sign of her child. It had not occurred to her that he would be in the creek. By the yurts it was barely a trickle now-- there had been so much dry weather. Then she realized that on the back of the acre the water was flowing, and when she saw something red lying in the water, remembering that Brody had worn his favorite red race car shirt that day, she set off at a run. She found him face-down in the water…
And his skin was blue. That's when she screamed.
The first person to get there was Lily, who had been browsing the church book-- she was holding it in her hand when she got to the clearing where her aunt had by now laid Brody Bootzer on his back and was performing CPR. Thirty compressions. Two rescue breaths. Thirty compressions. Two rescue breaths. Lily immediately knew what to do. She thumbed through the book quickly and, putting one hand on Brody, the other on Aunt Gen, she read.
Patrick
They landed in a green place-- the most green Lily had ever seen. There was a man with a staff. He didn't look terribly surprised at the appearance of the 8 yr old blond girl, her aunt Gen (with Baby Hugo asleep on her back) and her dead 4 year old cousin. Gen didn't even notice the change of scenery, so focused was she on trying to save the life of her son. “Child, allow me.” Patrick gently but firmly touched her shoulder. She looked up and now she was stunned frozen.
“It's ok, Auntie Gen,” Lily's face was earnest. “St. Patrick did resurrections all the time.”
Then Gen gave him room and he looked up to heaven and prayed:
“Arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
Arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
Arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.
Arise today
Through God's strength to pilot thee;
God's might to uphold thee,
God's wisdom to guide thee,
God's eye to look before thee,
God's ear to hear thee,
God's word to speak for thee,
God's hand to guard thee,
God's way to lie before thee,
God's shield to protect thee,
God's hosts to save thee.
I summon today all these powers between thee and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes thy body and soul.
Christ shield thee today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to thee in abundance.
Christ with thee, Christ before thee, Christ behind thee,
Christ in thee, Christ beneath thee, Christ above thee,
Christ on thy right, Christ on thy left.
Arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.”
Then he lay on top of Brody's body for a moment and when he got up the little boy's eyes were open, tears still trembling on his long black lashes. He reached for his mother, who crushed him to her chest.
Resurrection
“I can never repay you for the life of my son,” Gen said, as they were warming themselves by St. Patrick's crackling campfire. Then she looked at her son, “Why were you playing in the river?” She searched his face and her voice broke. “We almost lost you.”
Brody said nothing, but he reached inside his shirt and pulled out the limp and lifeless body of a baby sqwap. His lip trembled and tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Oh.” His mother said.
Lily looked from baby Hugo, with whom she had been playing, to St. Patrick. Her eyes were hopeful.
“Give me the wee thing.” St. Patrick gently took the lifeless creature, looked to Heaven and muttered a little prayer under his breath. Then he breathed on the sqwap and it started to squirm and squeak.
With joy Brody reclaimed the little thing, covering it with kisses.
“And now, ye'd best be gettin back,” he suggested.
“Can you say a Mass?” Lily asked.
“I can,” Patrick said, hauling himself up, “but not here.” He gestured over a raging stream, far too wide for any of them to wade. “Over yonder.”
“But how…?” Gen Bootzer asked. She tried to tone down the panic in her voice at the sight of the stream.
“God will get us there.” And Patrick spread his cloak on the ground. “Sit.” He motioned to the cloth.
With a puzzled look Gen sat cross-legged on the cloak, Brody on her lap. Lily, holding Hugo, sat close beside her and St. Patrick sat behind them. “Hold tight.” He said, and he lifted his staff. Immediately the cloak, bearing the five people (and one baby sqwap), rose into the air and hovered. Patrick pointed his staff and the cloth bore them across the stream, the wind blowing their hair behind them, and set them down lightly on the opposite shore where, Lily could now see, there was a little stone church. Patrick went inside and as he prayed the Mass they were taken home.