4. Paola

Sofi saw paradise through a pair of eyes that were not her own.

She walked barefoot along a crumbling shelf that broke off into the mouth of an artificial lagoon. The scattered pylons and bits of building did not belong in these shallow waters just as Sofi did not belong in this body.

She could only identify as Citrus because it was the one scent she could recognize in this realm of the unrecognizable.

Citrus lowered herself onto her heels and wrapped her arms around her knees. She watched the sun play games with the light across the water's surface. She considered shifting into her true form and playing some games of her own, but this part of the lagoon didn't look deep enough for that.

Besides, she sighed, I've already spent too much time in that form. Master said I'll get sick if I don't take a break from it.

Rumor has it that it took three days for a new Encantado to get their "paradise legs" as it was called.

Citrus licked the sweat from her upper lip.

She hated this place.

Everywhere she went, people were half-dressed, high on some dance or song. They stunk of sweet, pungent scents. Citrus couldn't understand their flawless bodies. Or why it was so hard to gaze upon the city's dreamy architecture. Why didn't any of it feel real?

And why was everyone smiling all the damn time?

"There you are."

Citrus felt her skin jump but it was only Master. She could tell by the look in his dark eyes that she was in for another lecture.

He crouched beside her. "How did you find this place?"

When she did not answer, he sighed. "We've talked about this. You can't come here. It's too dangerous."

Flatly, she said, "But you won't tell me why."

Master never answered her questions. All he was good for was telling her what she must and mustn't do. And still . . . there was something that compelled her to obey him. Citrus hardly ever agreed with what the Master wanted, yet she was thankful that he had adopted her. She had the utmost respect for him.

"No, I won't," Master said. "It's better if you didn't know. Not yet." He reached, pulled her hair back and lightly massaged her roots like she was a house pet. Damn him.

But Citrus didn't pull away.

Master knew things. More than the other mestres. She could tell.

What made her so special, she wondered, to be adopted by the master with the most secrets, who lived in the city's grandest fortress? Who was Master, really?

"Master?"

He removed his hand from her hair and turned his palm up, as if to properly receive her question.

"You said that I was human before this. So why can't I remember anything?"

Master's fingers curled inward. "It's easier this way. The transition won't go well if you're under too much stress. Trust me . . . . Oh, come on. Don't pout."

He ruffled her hair again. "I know this process is disorienting right now, but it will feel like home before you know it."

Citrus closed her eyes behind uneven bangs. "I don't know if it will ever feel like home. It's too perfect here. Like a beautiful cage."

Master laughed. A rare sound.

Citrus swiped her bangs back and glared. "What? It is! You know it is. I mean, how did all of this get here?" She gestured to the shimmering lagoon, the ornate step pyramids behind them, the sugar white limestone surfaces.

Master gave her one of those looks that confirmed her suspicions. He was a creature of secrets and the youth in his face betrayed how deep his knowledge stretched.

"You want to know how paradise got here?" His smile grew as wide as his eyes were black. "I built it."

Citrus turned away from that exaggerated smile and those black eyes. She fixed her attention onto her reflection in the lagoon and focused on how her own eyes had changed in such a short time from brown to amber gold.

"Hey." Master joined her in the reflection. His youthful, affable mask had returned. His plain jewelry glinted in the sun.

"You know I'm only joking, right?" He tousled her hair one last time. "Come on. Let's go home, Maria."

~

Sofi didn't want the dream to be over, but it was already slipping away. She cursed her mind for what came next. One by one, the images from the dream self destructed. The first to go were the faces of Citrus and her master. Then the details of their conversation dissolved along with, to Sofi's disappointment, the environment.

Nothing was left by the time Sofi had fully gained consciousness. All she knew was that she had dreamed of paradise and she prayed that one day she might be allowed to return.

Commotion from outside her bedroom broke her concentration. She rolled over to go back to sleep when she heard Maya talking to someone.

From down the hall, she heard, "This is my sister, Paola."

As soon as Sofi recognized Toni's voice, she abandoned her bed and scrambled to get herself together.

"Arturo ran to the store. And Sofi is still asleep, I think."

Panicking before her mirror, Sofi called out, "I'm awake, tia!" She made sure she was at least wearing a bra before bolting into the hallway. She styled her bedraggled hair into a messy bun as she went.

"I didn't you know you had a sister," Maya said. "Please, come in!"

Sofi met the three of them by the sofa. An annoying rippling effect occurred along her spine as soon as she caught Toni's eye. It wasn't anything like what she felt with Amancio. When it came to him, she was a helpless clump of iron in the presence of a powerful magnetic field.

What the hell am I going to do about him?

She couldn't decide if what happened yesterday was a dangerous omen or merely a strange coincidence. She saw the people in her living room and wondered if she dared to tell any of them where she had gone and who she had met.

For now, she just needed to act natural.

"Hey." Sofi kept her voice friendly, her stance as relaxed as possible. "Looking for Art?"

"You, actually." He gave his sister a nudge and whispered, "Ask her."

The girl was the same height as Sofi, but it was evident through her self conscience body language that she was a few years younger.

"Um," her voice quavered slightly, "Toni says that your English is very good." She had spoken in English and Sofi could tell that it took a fair amount of concentration.

Toni interjected, "And she hates practicing with me."

Paola cut her eyes at him in a way that only siblings could understand. With more confidence, she said, "I want to get better. Is it okay if I stay with you today?" She glanced at her brother and right back at Sofi. "You don't have to say yes."

"No, that's cool. It's nice to meet you Paola."

Maya busied herself in the kitchen and called Paola over in Portuguese. While she probed the girl with questions relating to her food and drink preferences, Toni crossed the room.

Sofi forgot what to do with her hands as he got closer.

"I'm sorry I sprung this on you last minute," he said, "but I really appreciate it."

Was his shirt tighter today? She tried not to stare too hard.

"It's no problem. She's so cute. How old is she?"

"She just turned fourteen." His expression grew serious before adding, "You'll take care of her, right?"

Sofi opened her mouth, but no words came out.

From the kitchen, Paola shouted, "Quit scaring her, Toni! We're just hanging out."

Toni's face lifted again. "I know! Okay, fine. I'm out. Tchau!"

Paola didn't speak again until Maya left the room to check on Sofi's mother. When the old woman was gone, the girl's smile dissolved into something closer to a smirk. She said, "You know Toni likes you, right?"

Sofi blinked. "Yeah well, Toni's great . . . but he isn't my type."

Paola's grin widened. "The girls around here follow him around sometimes. It's so gross." She left the kitchen and made herself comfortable on the couch. Sofi joined her.

"I don't blame them though. Not really any hot guys around here."

Once again, not something Sofi expected Toni's little sister to say. But then again, she remembered what it was like to be through the worst of puberty and kind of boy crazy.

Thinking of Amancio, Sofi decided to test the waters. "I know where we could find some hot guys."

Paola dismissed her. "Don't waste your breath. I already looked there."

Sofi lifted an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. She was pleased to see that Paola picked up on the silence.

"Unless . . . did you . . . go there?"

Sofi couldn't believe that this was actually working. "Go where?"

Paola leaned forward, lowering her voice even further. "You know where. There. The river."

Sofi inhaled. Here it goes.

"And if I did?"

Paola took a deep breath of her own. "The elders talk about that place all the time when they think no one's listening. The whole town's been superstitious about the river for long as I can remember."

Then she asked Sofi directly, "When you were out there, did you see one of them?"

This is really happening. "One of what?"

Paola bit her lip and glanced down for a long moment, as if merely speaking of the river would get them in trouble. When she got her nerve back, she said, "Did you see an Encantado?"

Sofi felt her lip twitch as she fought back a smile.