Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 The squirrels' tiny claws clicked softly on the tiled floor of the basilica's long hallway. "Where to now?" Pearl whispered, her voice echoing off the walls. "We need to find a way to let Michael know where we are," Merle answered. "But how?"

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Suddenly, the sounds of an approaching crowd filled the hallway. Merle and Pearl scurried into a nearby alcove to avoid being seen. As the footfalls grew louder, the voice of a young woman rang out: "This church was built directly on the site believed to be the house of Mary. It was here where the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced that she would give birth to the Son of God, Jesus. That announcement is called the Annunciation— the event for which this church, or basilica, is named." Merle shrugged. "Makes sense," he said as a small tour group, led by the guide, passed their alcove. Pearl pressed her paw over Merle's snout to shush him. Once the group had passed, they peeked their heads out. "C'mon, let's follow them," Merle suggested. "This is interesting." "What about finding a way to contact Michael?" Pearl asked. "Maybe we'll figure something out along the way?" Merle took off after the tour. Keeping out of sight, the squirrels followed the group and their guide into the lower part of the church. A web of gray concrete beams supported an octagonal hole in the ceiling, and stone walls surrounded a small chapel, looking kind of like a futuristic basement. In the center of the chapel, railings surrounded an even lower level, which the guide called a grotto. Pearl struggled to keep her oohs and aahs to herself as they followed the group down a set of stairs into the grotto.

"We are now entering the Grotto of the Annunciation," the tour guide announced. "The modern church above us was built in the 1960s, but what you see here are the remains of the earliest churches on this site, dating back to the fourth century." Merle and Pearl hid behind a pillar as the guide continued, "This is the site of Mary's childhood home— where the Word was made flesh."

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