Now
- We hope you're not afraid, because it's dark everywhere. The book starts off without telling us who's speaking or where we are.
- Here's what we do know: (1) A guy is in the dark after something bad has happened; (2) we figure there's been an earthquake, since the ground shook and he can't remember much else; (3) bodies are all around him, dead, mangled, or bleeding.
- As he tries to figure out what happened, dude tells us that yesterday he was in the hospital. He went there to get his arm stitched up after he was shot.
- His buddy Tintin came to se him and signed the bandage with "Route 9" just like he tags everywhere. We guess that this guy is part of a gang, but we're not sure about the details yet.
- He remembers that Tintin was shot a few years ago, and Biggie and Stephanie got him all stitched up and good as new. They must be paying for his hospital room, too.
- He explains to us that Route 9 gang members call themselves "Vre chimere," or chimeres for short. Translation? A real ghost. Since gangsters rise out of nothing and usually die pretty young, they figure the name fits. Um, okay.
- Hmm… perhaps he's a ghost right now. He's trapped under a bunch of rubble, and when people came searching for survivors, he shouted back to them—but no one heard him.
- He's not sure whether this means he's dead or alive, but he's pretty sure he'll be dead sooner or later if no one finds him.
- Here's the thing: He can't prove he exists. He's lying there, wanting help and a tall glass of water, but can't even verify if he's alive or not.
- So he decides to tell us his story. Partly this is to pass the time until someone comes to rescue him. As a bonus, we get to find out why he has a bullet in his arm.
- First, he tells us that his dad was killed by Boston (a rival gang) and his sister was taken 2,531 days (read: almost 7 years ago).
- Sure, most people would be sad if their sister was taken, but for him, it was an even bigger deal. Why? She was his twin.
- These two were super close, especially since their birth was magical. He explains to us that everyone in Haiti believes in Voodoo.
- His mom (a.k.a. Manman) really ate this Voodoo stuff up, visiting the psychic (houngan) often to learn about the future.
- Of course, his dad still died and his sister still got stolen, so our narrator has his doubts about whether the houngan is legit.
- One day, the houngan told his mom that her baby would be born in blood and darkness. Creepy, much?
- She moved to Port-au-Prince to find a job and make her life better. Too bad no one told her there were no jobs, water, or electricity anywhere there at the time.
- Our narrator stops to tell us that it was 1995 when this all went down. He points out this makes him fifteen now, when the story is taking place. We go the extra mile and figure out that this means the story is set in 2010.
- There was a big rally for the Lavalas one night, so Manman went to check it out. Sure, she was nine months pregnant, but that didn't stop her from going.
- When she got there, everyone was cheering for some bigwig political leader named Aristide, who wanted to bring equality back to Haiti—or so he promised. Since the Americans and French messed stuff up, he wanted to make things fair and right again.
- During the rally, there was an earthquake. People start freaking out when the lights go out. Luckily, Aristide has candles ready so everyone calms down after a while. Everyone, that is, except Manman, who goes into labor.
- Aristide delivers the babies right then and there.
- So that's how our narrator and his twin were born in blood and darkness. He let's us know that the houngan said the kids would die this way, too (a.k.a. in blood and darkness). Eek.
- Even though his mom knows there's blood when everyone is born, it still makes her sad that the houngan was right about the birth. She hopes he's wrong about their deaths.
- Everyone celebrates the narrator and his sister's birth since they are the first babies born in free Haiti. People send gifts to them to bless them, and everyone seems to think that they are magical and can change the world somehow.
- Back to the present, he thinks about eating and drinking since he's trapped in the dark. He also clutches the heart necklace that he and his sister both have.
- They each have a side of the heart, since they are one person, broken in half—or so his sister used to say.
- His sister, Marguerite, might have been his twin, but she could not have been more different than him.
- He was into machines and electronics, while Marguerite loved everything. You heard us—even the rats were friends with Marguerite.
- It's almost like she had a soul that lived before and was too big for her, he tells us. She cared about everything and everyone, even if she shouldn't give them the time of day.
- Marguerite was always fixing pigeons' wings or rescuing monkeys, even if they were dirty and sick. You could beat or stab Marguerite, and she'd still want to help everyone out.
- He decides to tell us a story about Marguerite so we get to know her.
- One day, they found a baby in the trash and knew they had to rescue it. They were about seven at the time. Anyway, the narrator followed Marguerite as she walked for two hours to get the baby help. He knew where she was going, though he didn't bother asking her.
- They walked over to the highway, where cars were zooming by really fast. They stopped there and held out the baby so the people driving could get a good look at her.
- Marguerite held the baby like that for over an hour. It was super hot outside, but she didn't flinch.
- Suddenly, a car stopped and a woman jumped out and ran over to them. She reported the baby had hydro-encephalitis and needed to get to the doctor right away.
- The woman have them some water and took the baby. They never heard whether the baby lived or died.
- Either way, though, that's the kind of thing Marguerite did all the time. She just wanted to help people.