Part 30 (1/2)

preferred her own view, through her own eyes.

”Can we live here?”

Bev fiddled with the telescope until she focused on the Statue of

Liberty. ”Here, in New York?”

”Here. On top.”

”No one lives here, Emma.”

”Why not?”

”Because it's a tourist attraction,” she answered absently. ”And one of

the wonders of the world, I think. You can't live in a wonder.”

But Emma looked out over the high wall and thought that she could.

THE TELEVISION stuDio didn't impress Emma. It didn't look as pretty or

as big as it did onscreen. The people were ordinary. She did like the

cameras, though. They were big and bulky, and the people behind them

seemed important. She wondered if looking through one of the cameras

was like looking through the telescope on the Empire State Building.

Before she could ask Bev, a skinny man began talking in a loud voice. It

was the oddest American accent she'd heard yet. She couldn't understand

half of what he said, but she caught the word ”Devastation.” Then came

the explosion of screams.

After the first shock, Emma stopped cringing into Bev's skirts and

leaned out. Though she didn't understand the screaming, she realized it

wasn't a bad sound. It was a good, young noise that bulleted off the

walls and slammed off the ceilings. It made her grin, though Bev's hand

trembled lightly in hers.

She liked the way her father moved across the stage, prancing and

strutting as his voice, strong and clear, merged with Johnno's, then