Amesh continued. "Last night you kept saying, 'it know s where it's going.' Well, we tried it your way and now we're stuc k on a deserted island without water. "

" You just said we're bound to find water. And earlier yo u praised my intuition. Your opinion of me, the carpet, and th e island keeps flip-flopping."

Amesh was weary. He plopped down on a boulder. " I'm sorry . I should have insisted we turn back when we were floatin g offsh.o.r.e." m y anger eased up and I smiled. "We're not dead yet. An d you have to admit, the carpet's taken us to a pretty mysteriou s island. We can't even find it on the map."

He grunted, picked up a candy bar, and then put i t back down .

"A mesh, when I say the carpet's alive, I'm saying there's a n i ntelligence about it, like with a computer. And if my gut feelin g is worth anything, I feel like it brought us here for a reason. "

"S o you're not anxious to get off this island? "

"I 'd like to discover something first. "

" What? "

"I don't know . S omething magical."

Amesh laid his head back and closed his eyes . "I 'd rathe r find a nice cool pond of water and take a bath," he mumbled . I laid down and closed my eyes, too. We rested for over hal f an hour . T hen Amesh was shaking me and saying it was time t o get going . T he sun seemed to be higher in the sky . I t felt hotter . I wished i'd had the foresight to have brought shorts and sunscreen . M y jeans and white shirt were soaked through wit h sweat . I didn't have sungla.s.ses or even a hat .

As we hiked, the terrain changed . T he ground firmed up; t here was more gra.s.s and shrubs to give it stability . T hat wa s good. unfortunately, the hills got bigger and steeper. up an d down, up and down-there seemed no end to it .

Yet the ravines were not as deep as the rises. Which mean t we were climbing . S o we never got a clear look at where we wer e headed .

As my legs turned to rubber and the burning cramp in m y shoulders swelled to encompa.s.s my entire back, I began to believe the island had been purposely designed so that anyon e foolish enough to try to cross it on foot would not be given a g limpse of what they were in for. At the same time, I began t o think Amesh was right . I was looking for mystery in a plac e where there was only misery .

G.o.d, I was tired! I did not want to just rest . I wanted to li e down beneath a tree-which we had yet to discover-and no t wake up for twelve hours . M y parched lips were cracked . T he blisters on my feet had already popped . N ow they were bleeding .

Without asking Amesh, without warning him, I sat dow n and took another break, even though we had taken one an hou r ago. He walked on another fifty yards before he realized I wa s no longer by his side. He called from the hill .

"A re you all right?" he shouted .

"Great! Any other stupid questions?" my sarcasm was unfair and uninspired . I f anything, I was feeling guilty for havin g dragged him to the island . I t was just easier for me to complai n than to apologize .

He stumbled back down the hill and sat across from me . T hen he pulled out a chocolate bar and looked at me like a hungry puppy . I nodded and he opened it, took a bite, and offered me the rest. But I gestured for him to keep eating. H e didn't argue .

"You know, I haven't seen you pray once since we lef t istanbul. "

" We generally don't pray in front of . . . "

"I nfidels?" I interrupted, teasing him .

He frowned . "N on-muslims. But I'll pray later." H e paused. "What time is it?" I checked my watch, stunned at what it said . "S ix thirty!"

He nodded. "the sun will set in an hour. "

"I didn't know it was that late." But as soon as I spoke, I saw how long the shadows between the hills had grown. All w e had to protect us from the elements was a magic carpet . I t wa s funny in a sick sort of way, I thought .

"S hould we camp on top of a hill or down in a valley?" I asked .

He considered for over a minute . "I don't know. "

" You don't know? You're a guy; you should know something like that. Weren't you in the Boy scouts? "

"T he boy what?" he asked .

"N ever mind. Do we want to be up where we can see someone approaching? Or do we want to be down low where no on e can see us? "

" We could fly around on your carpet all night," he said .

My carpet, My carpet, I I thought . "I n the dark? We'd smash into a hill. " thought . "I n the dark? We'd smash into a hill. "

"I t's hard to say where to camp without knowing if there' s anything dangerous on this island." He took a last bite of hi s candy bar and looked sad that it was gone. "What does you r intuition tell you we should do?" he asked .

"Order room ser vice and watch tV. "

"T hat sounds like fun."

"What do mira and your Papi like to watch?" I asked .

"T he cla.s.sics . T hey're big Hitchc.o.c.k fans. "

"I love them already . T ell your Papi I want to be adopted." m y remark was meant as a joke but Amesh took i t seriously .

"He would never do that. You have a nice father." I forced a smile. "A nice father I never see."

Amesh studied me. "You're an only child; you must b e close to them." t he smile on my face slipped away despite my best efforts . S uddenly, there was a tear in my eye, and it was silly because I did love my parents and I knew they loved me . I t was simply tha t I could not speak of them the way Amesh spoke of mira an d his Papi . I felt ashamed to tell him they were divorced .

Amesh got the truth out of me when he asked if there wa s someone I did feel close to .

"M y Aunt tracy," I said, and this time I could not keep th e smile from my face . "S he's fantastic . I can talk with her abou t anything going on in my life . N o matter what I say, she neve r lectures me. "

"S he doesn't judge you," Amesh said .

"exactly! I don't know how she does it. "

"S he loves you . S he can't judge you . I t's like with mira. W e take care of each other. We don't worry what other people sa y about us. "

" You must fight with your sister sometimes."

Amesh nodded . "M ira can get upset at me, especially if I try to do something she thinks is dangerous. For a little girl sh e can really yell. But no matter how much we disagree on a subject, it doesn't matter . T here's a level of respect . S he's ten year s old but she has the wisdom of an adult." He paused. "Will yo u be seeing your Aunt tracy this summer?"

For a moment there-i don't know how, maybe it was th e island-i had almost forgotten what had happened to tracy .

"N o . N ot now." I paused . "S he's dead."

Amesh was stunned. " I'm sorry, Sara . "

"T here was a car accident. A hit and run, we never did fin d the driver . I t was four . . . N o, five years ago . S he suffered seriou s head injuries and was in a coma a long time . T hen my mothe r and father decided it was time. But they didn't tell me; they di d not ask my opinion, not until they had disconnected her fro m life support and had her remains cremated. As a kid, I remembe r planning this trip to visit her at the hospital where she was staying . I had the whole bus route mapped out . I had already bough t the ticket with my own money, without telling my parents . I wa s leaving the next day when suddenly they showed me this ur n filled with ashes and said this was all that was left of her." I stopped talking then; I didn't know what else to say. Ye t suddenly Amesh did something very dear. He came over and pu t his arm around me. And when I began to cry, he didn't wip e away my tears. He just let me be . I wanted to kiss him then . I prayed that he would kiss me .

m aybe a part of him heard my wish because he touched his lip s to my head . I felt a soothing warmth as he pressed his chee k against my ear . T here was a wonderful moment when I heard hi s heart and mine beat together .

He held me until my sadness pa.s.sed and I took a dee p breath and felt strong enough to climb the final hill. We ha d decided, after all, to camp up high rather than down low . T he sun was about to set when we reached the top of th e peak . I t was the highest one we had encountered all day. But w e were well rewarded for our effort-at least that was what w e thought when we saw the last orange rays of sunlight play ove r the ancient marble, transforming a network of temples an d pools into a heavenly vision .

Amesh stopped and nodded toward the carpet, which wa s still pressed close to my heart. He did not have to say it; w e both knew . T his was the reason the carpet had brought us to th e island .

Chapter Seven.

FrOm HiGH On A riDGe, staring down int o a valley, we counted six individual temples . T hey stood at th e points of a ma.s.sive six-point star . T he star looked like it wa s made of some type of white stone. At the center was a circula r pool of clear water . I t was as large as the six structures combined. Gra.s.s grew between the spikes of the star, and long pool s of water stretched from the central pond toward each temple . N aturally, we were in a hurry to get a closer look . I tried using the carpet, searching for a ley line, but couldn' t find one .

We had to walk, which was okay; our adrenaline wa s pumping .

But with the fall of night, we had to carefully wind our wa y into the basin. At last our feet stumbled upon a path that circle d the valley, running along a gorge that seemed to shield the temples and pools from the rest of the island .

Yet the path was in ruins . I t was made up of an a.s.sortmen t of stones that had probably once been as effective as a moder n sidewalk, but which now had lost the glue that held them together. A few times I came close to spraining an ankle .

"Who could have built all this?" Amesh said .

"T he Greeks?"

He shook his head . "I t looks more like something fro m the time of the Ottoman empire. "

"T hen the turks must have built it. Be proud. "

"B ut look at these temples . T hey haven't aged. "

"I know. But this path has; it's weird. "

"I t's magical," Amesh said seriously . T he pools of water we had spotted from above were connected to the central pond, and almost touched each temple . I called them temples for lack of a better word, yet their designs were simple . T hey were patterned after six basic geometri c shapes: a square, a triangle, a circle, a rectangle, a pentagon, an d a hexagon . T he roofs were flat, except for chimney-like protrusion s that mimicked the shapes of the building themselves . T hes e w ere located at the center of each roof and stuck up over te n feet. But our view of the roofs was cut off as we neared the valley floor . T he temples blocked our view; they were at least tw o stories high . T he size of it all made my head spin .

We headed for the central pool. We were both thinkin g how nice it would be to bathe in it, but when we touched th e water, we quickly changed our minds . I t was freezing .

"A n underground stream must fill it from below," he said .

"You mean an underground glacier," I corrected .

"A t least now we don't have to worry about dying o f thirst." I knelt and studied the material that made up the sixpointed star. We stood on it-the star was like one vast sidewalk. We had been in such a hurry t o reach the central pool, I had not bothered to give it a close look before . I t appeared t o be made of marble. Yet it showed no signs of wear .

We retreated to one of the oval pools, on our way to th e square-shaped temple, and tested the water . I t was not as col d as the liquid in the central pond, but it was close. Amesh wante d to know if it was safe to drink. But he was not in a hurry to tes t it himself . I scooped some water into my hand and touched m y tongue to it . I mmediately, I threw myself down and began to thrash .

"Help!" I cried .

Amesh rushed to my side. " Sara ! Are you in pain? "

"I t burns!"

"Allah save us! You shouldn't have drunk it! "

"I thought you wanted me to! Oh, Amesh! Help me!"

He trembled with fear. "You have to spit it out! Oh, Sara !

How can I help?" I shook my head wildly. " I'm poisoned! I'm dying!

Oh G.o.d!"

He grabbed my hand . "N o Sara ! You won't die! I won't le t you die!" I couldn't take it anymore . I burst out laughing .

"T hat's so sweet of you," I said softly . "N ow tell me exactly how you're going to keep me from dying."

He leaped up in disgust. "that was not funny!" I sat up, still giggling. "You're right; it was hilarious! "

" Don't ever do that again! Or I'll . . ." I stood. "Or you'll do what? "

" Leave you. "

" You'll never leave me. You like me too much."

He shook his head. "You're dangerous. "

" Of course. I'm an American American babe. By the way, the wate r tastes delicious. But it's super cold. Let's fill our empty bottle s with it and let them warm up in the night air . I f we drink it th e way it is now, we'll get cramps." babe. By the way, the wate r tastes delicious. But it's super cold. Let's fill our empty bottle s with it and let them warm up in the night air . I f we drink it th e way it is now, we'll get cramps."

Amesh paused. "How do you know all that? "

"I used to be a Girl scout," I lied .

"T here's that scout scout word again. What does it mean?" word again. What does it mean?"

"it means you're lucky to have me as your partner." I pointed to the temple at the end of the pool . "S hould we hav e a look inside that door?"

Amesh hesitated . "I t might be better to wait unti l daylight. "

" Don't tell me you're scared. "

"I 'm not scared. "

"S ure you are. You'd be crazy not to be," I said, walking over to it. "But it looks like we're going to spend the nigh t here, and it will probably be more comfortable inside tha n outside." t oo bad; the door to the temple was locked . T here wer e rows of what appeared to be stained gla.s.s windows on all sides, b ut they were closed as well, and up high, out of our reach . T he doors to the other five temples were also locked. A s we tugged on the handle of the last one, and it refused to budge, I felt a wave of frustration . T o have come so far and to hav e learned so little!

But I kept coming back to my belief that the carpet ha d brought us to the island for a purpose . I t couldn't be just so w e could stand and stare at pretty buildings. We had to get insid e the temples; I was determined . I f I could have found a ley line, I might have been able t o take us into a temple through the roof. Yet the valley appeare d magnetically dead .

We were dead tired. We decided to arrange our jackets lik e pillows and plop down on the thick layer of gra.s.s that grew b etween the marble star spikes. By then it was eleven o'clock .

Amesh wanted to rest on the carpet itself, but that wa s something I just couldn't allow . T he way I snapped at him whe n he suggested it annoyed him. But I apologized, and a few kin d words seemed to go a long way with him .