Page 15 - Mateo and the Gift of Presence audio flip book Ch 1-2

What Happened Next

the nitrogen bubbles in his blood to expand in a most uncom-
fortable way until he swelled up to twice his size. (Divers experi-
ence something similar when they surface from the deep ocean
too quickly; it’s a condition called “the bends.”)
No one wants to die as a monstrous ice cube gasping for
air, so I’m pleased to tell you that Mateo was spared this fate.

Instead, all he really suffered was a nasty sunburn from being
exposed to ultraviolet light with no space suit for protection,
and he arrived at his final destination unscathed and back to his
normal human-boy shape again, standing upright and alert in
the middle of a forest, surrounded by trees bearing purple fruit.
The forest was eerily quiet, and after his adventure
through space, Mateo instinctively knew he was no longer on
Earth. But while you and I might have been a little nervous,
and maybe even scuffled our feet to make some noise to keep us

company, Mateo just stood there for more than a minute, feeling,
more than anything else, that he’d arrived home. If you’ve ever
come back from a long vacation, even one that was lots of fun,
and felt an overwhelming sense of peace and safety when you
walked in your front door, you’ll know how Mateo felt. It was
odd and unexpected, but he’d never felt so good in his entire life.
Mateo tried to hold onto the feeling, but it slipped

away, and soon he was examining himself to make sure he
wasn’t injured. He seemed okay; no bones were broken at
least. But the lavender color on his fingers had returned with
a vengeance. No amount of soda, he was sure, could get rid of
it now. If he ever got back home, his mother would be furious.
But maybe some good could come from it.

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