~Z~
Chapter 3 Like A Fox, Adapt & Be Yourself
Diego opened his eyes at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. His reflexes as Zorro kept him on alert even when was sleeping. His surroundings suggested that he was still in the future and the dream had actually been that he was in his own time with Sargent Mendoza and his beautiful Victoria. "Who is this guy and why do we have a horse in our pole barn?" the masculine voice asked. Diego stood up and turned towards the direction of the voice. "Oh Dios mío!" the man across the room exclaimed.
"Zorra, this man looks like Grandpa Victor…" the man slowly said as he looked at Diego with a puzzled expression. "Greetings señor, I am Don Diego de la Vega, and apparently I am your grandfather," Diego greeted him. The man across the room appeared to be dumbstruck and in disbelief. "Dad it's true!" Zorra exclaimed as she excitedly retold the story about Felipe and the disaster in the science lab. Her father squinted at him and said, "Well I did hear from my cousin that a very old laboratory was found in a cave hidden underneath my family's ancestral home. Your story matches up with the description of what they found."
"Ah, the hacienda, I hope it has fared well over the years," Diego found himself saying. "My cousin tells me that they rescued the property from a demolition crew when they found a hidden document proving that it belongs to our family," her father updated him. Diego smiled to himself as he realized his plan had worked after he found the document that the alcalde Luis Ramone had been so interested in. It had been a shame that the man's greed led to his death when he unmasked him instead of caring for his own safety.
"What may I call you?" he asked her father. Still quite dazed, her father replied "I am James de la Vega." "It's a pleasure to meet you James," Diego eagerly responded as he walked over to shake the man's hand. He could definitely see that the man bore a slight resemblance to his father Don Alejandro de la Vega. He wondered what his father would think if he were here and able to meet his future, however many times great grandchildren. "We're going out to a restaurant for dinner tonight," James informed him. "You should probably get a shower, and I will find something more modern for you to wear," James added. After noticing that Diego was still trying to figure out what a shower was Zorra led him to what she explained was the bathroom.
She showed him the shower and how to make the water flow in it as well as how to regulate the temperature with a set of knobs. What a truly fantastic invention it seemed to be. He was even more impressed by the toilet she had shown him. A tiny lever controlled water that allows someone to relieve themself in the house and the toilet paper that is used along with it was simply genius. Her father had brought a black shirt with what he called buttons down the front and a pair of black trousers called jeans to him. After they left him alone in what they had called the bathroom he quickly "took a shower" as they had described getting clean in the cleaning device and dressed himself in the borrowed clothing.
They had led him outside to a strange looking metal carriage with wheels unlike any he had ever seen. "Where are your horses?" Diego asked. "This is what we call a truck, '' James answered as he opened what definitely appeared to be a door in the orange and white metal carriage that contained the word Dodge on it. "It works with mechanics, a fuel source, and a lot of applied science," Zorra offered as an explanation. He climbed in it and watched in awe as James steered the metal carriage along the black path that led to another black path where several other metal carriages were traveling without horses. "Ah," he thought to himself, "this must be a modern road."
After the excitement of riding in it and eating at a modern restaurant where he had discovered what a cheeseburger is, Diego was glad to be able to return to James and Zorra's home to check on Toronado. After making sure that he was comfortable, well fed, and had been brushed Diego went back inside their house which kept perplexing him.
He discovered the chair he had sat in earlier was empty and sat down to once again watch the moving people in the box with them. This time he saw something which looked familiar on the strange box. There was a man in the box moving about who wore something very much like what he wore when he went out in public as Zorro. James and Zorra explained to him that they were watching a show which was like a play where the characters acted out the stories told over the years about him and the legend that had been passed down over the years.
Apparently people hadn't forgotten about him, but they thought that his role as Zorro had been a myth. Diego felt a sense of pride that people had actually remembered him. He laughed heartily at the inaccuracies and mistakes during the sword fights. He laughed the loudest when the alcante and his men were once again defeated and fooled over and over. He enjoyed the way they accurately portrayed his love story and loyalty to Victoria, but the actress wasn't as beautiful as the real Victoria.
As Diego had begun to nod off again in the chair they had woken him up to show him to the guest room where he would be able to sleep. He discovered quickly that the bed was more comfortable than any bed he had ever slept in. "Good night Grandfather," Zorra said as she leaned in to hug him. He hadn't expected that from her, but he greatly enjoyed it. "Goodnight Grandpa Diego," James said as he put his hand on Diego's shoulder.
As he once again found himself alone after James and Zorra had gone to bed he realized that he was going to enjoy spending time with his family until he discovered a way to travel back home to his own time. At least when he dreamed at night he would be able to be with Victoria and his father as well as Felipe until he could finally get home to them.