CHAPTER SEVEN

BAPTIZED IN FIRE

The years went by and Tulio was respected by everyone he knew, his fame preceded him, and even those who didn't know him had heard of him. He was sought out to settle disputes and prided himself on never having taken anyone down, never having taken the life of an innocent.

Mrs. Layla, his grandmother, who was sixty"eight years old, had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, treated him like a boy still, stood by him, and when she learned of his accomplishments at eleven, she had made such a big deal out of it, inventing that he was suffering from blood pressure, bronchitis, diabetes, and so many other illnesses, that he hid to go when she came with his eyes watering, his glasses soaked through, and his hand on his chest simulating a threatened heart attack.

When Macca started going to her house after Tulio had freed her from the beatings of her drunken husband, and bent her knees in front of the child, thanking him, it was the first time he had ever se