![\"\"](\"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/maite-and-kepa-v3b.png\")
Kepa gave a slight nod as Maite pushed the buzzer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cZer?\u201d answered a male voice from the speaker. \u201cNor da?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are friends of Ainhoa. Is she home?\u201d replied Maite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a pause before Ainhoa\u2019s voice crackled from the speaker. \u201cNor da?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAinhoa, it is Maite and Kepa. Can we talk?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaite and Kepa?\u201d replied Ainhoa with surprise. \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll explain everything. Can we talk for a minute?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBai, noski.\u201d Maite and Kepa heard a muffled shout as Ainhoa told her parents she was heading out to the street, that she wouldn\u2019t be long. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within moments, she was at the front door to the apartment complex. She gave Maite a hug and Kepa gave her a kiss on each cheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ainhoa led them down to the plaza and one of the few bars that was open this early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat brings you to Mallabia?\u201d asked Ainhoa as they sat down at one of the tables and ordered a round of coffees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need to talk to Marina,\u201d replied Maite with such sternness that Ainhoa was taken aback before she could parse the request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMarina?\u201d she repeated. \u201cI don\u2019t know\u2026\u201d she began but then her eyes glazed over and a flash of light swept across her pupils. She looked exactly the same when she looked back up at them, but there was something different about her eyes, something older, wiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMarina,\u201d said Maite almost nonchalantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ainhoa, or rather Marina in Ainhoa\u2019s body, nodded. \u201cBai, it\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDammit!\u201d barked Maite as she slammed her fist on to the table, rattling the coffee cups. The few other patrons of the bar looked up. Maite\u2019s shoulders slouched as they returned to their conversations. In a barely audible hiss, she glared at Marina. \u201cYou didn\u2019t tell us how dangerous this would be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marina almost shrugged her shoulders. \u201cWould you have agreed to help me if I had?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cOf course not!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, there you go. I need help. And if I told you all of the dangers, you would have told me no.\u201d She paused for a moment as she took a sip of her coffee. \u201cOh, I do so love the coffee from this time. But, I digress. Look at you both. You are both perfectly healthy. What\u2019s the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the problem?!?\u201d repeated Maite incredulously. \u201cWe\u2019ve now gone on four excursions to retrieve the zatiak from the bubbles. Twice, Kepa has been shot. I\u2019ve been captured and nearly tortured. And I almost died myself\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAh, but you didn\u2019t, did you?\u201d interjected Marina. \u201cYou are finding the zatia and gaining power, becoming powerful enough to protect yourselves in the bubble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat happens if we do?\u201d responded Maite. \u201cWhat if we both die? Garuna says\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho is Garuna?\u201d interrupted Marina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite pointed to her head. \u201cThe AI I\u2019m stuck with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite could hear Garuna rumble in her head. \u201cI beg your pardon\u2026\u201d it began, but she ignored it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGaruna said that, if we both die – \u201c she pointed to herself and Kepa \u201c – we are stuck just watching the bubble from afar, almost like ghosts, until someone miraculously finds the zatia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marina sighed. \u201cI guess that is a possibility, yes.\u201d She looked at first Maite and then Kepa, recognizing the fear and the panic rising behind their eyes. \u201cBut,\u201d she quickly added, \u201cit isn\u2019t going to happen. As you grow more powerful, there is nothing that will stop you from finding the zatia and staying out of harm’s way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHas it happened to you?\u201d asked Maite coldly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHave you died, only to watch the bubble from the outside?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marina shook her head as it drooped. \u201cNo. There is always another descendant or ancestor I can occupy. I\u2019m not tethered to a specific body like you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut you knew it could happen to us?\u201d asked Kepa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI knew it was hypothetically possible, but I really didn\u2019t think it would ever happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite stood up and turned to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are you going to do now?\u201d asked Marina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEz dakit,\u201d replied Maite, her back to Marina. \u201cI don\u2019t know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n