It would change if they helped me. I’d be introducing them to something dangerous and terrifying. Death and destruction. Children left as orphans. Families ravaged. But what choice do I have? My people need their chance to get their homes back. I say in a small voice, “I don’t regret asking for your cousin’s help.”
She turns to me, her black brows gathering together. “We face war here in the jungle, Catalina. It’s coming for us whether we want it to or not. I have been trying to discover the source of the evil.”
“What do you mean?”
“Something or someone is killing our jungle,” she says fiercely. “It’s awful dark magic, and it must be stopped before it’s too late.”
“Do you know how? What does Luna say?”
And for the first time, she sounds bitter. “Not one word.”
CAPÍTULO
Veinticuatro
The rest of the day is spent exploring. Chaska leads me to the market, where children learn how to weave tapestries and dye cloth from plants, their sweet little faces smiling and eager to please. We pass vendors carting husks of corn and bundles of coca leaves, and women cooking meals over outdoor fire pits. The city bustles with life, particularly the market, where beads are sold as necklaces and anklets.
By evening I’ve been fed by so many people—Illari who’ve opened their doors and invited me into their homes—that any more food and someone will have to roll me home. Chaska laughs when I tell her this, and bids me good night.
I don’t want to go to bed, not even the slightest bit, so instead I rush back to my sleeping quarters and grab my telescope before climbing up the hill, yearning to talk to Luna.
That moment is now.
I settle onto the soft earth, away from the rubber tree so that I might see the stars more clearly. Down below, dozens of fires flicker in the night, people laughing and enjoying one another in the moonlight. I shut my eyes and wait for my heartbeat to slow. Gradually the noise fades away, until all I can focus on is my breath grazing against the back of my throat.
Slow inhale. Soft exhale.
My mind settles and reaches for the heavens. There is an answering calm that clings to my skin, seeps into my bones. I hold on to the feeling as if it were a lifeline. When I open my eyes again, I bring the scope higher and peer through it.
The stars shift, creeping across the inky night, finding one another in the near dark. Luna shines bright, guiding her children into formation. My heart kicks against my ribs as the constellations form—and stay.
Bienvenida, hija.
I drop the scope and laugh. I laugh until tears pour down my cheeks. Happy, relieved laughter that I feel all the way to my toes. When I’m calm, I once again bring my dented telescope to eye level.
The stars have moved again. Another warm greeting. It’s as if I’ve stumbled across a cottage in a forest, my mother waiting at the threshold with a plate of toasted marraqueta and a cup of tea. She pulls me inside her home, asking about my journey, how I’ve been, and if I’m happy. The connection is strong, feelings of love and respect from both sides. She is a long-lost friend, one I’ve missed and yearned for, despite not really knowing her.
I tell her I’m sorry for my absence, but she brushes that aside.I know, she says.I’ve always been here, ready and waiting.Just when I think I might burst from happiness, a warning whispers against my cheek. My elation dims as Luna guides my eyes to a corner of the sky, shadowed and so far from where I sit. The stars rearrange, lines shift to show the face of a young boy, desperately unhappy and alone. His hair is long, his lips thin, his nose pronounced.
“I don’t understand,” I murmur. “Have I seen this boy before?” He doesn’t look familiar.
The stars rearrange themselves.Yes, Luna says.Be careful when your paths cross again.
Fear spikes my blood. I rack my brain, trying to remember this dangerous boy. When the constellations change again, Luna’s tone is softer, a mother soothing the fears of her little one. I’m so engrossed in our conversation that I don’t hear someone approaching until they’re sitting beside me. I lower the telescope.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Manuel says gruffly. “It’s near midnight.”
“Were you worried?” I ask, unable to keep the smile off my face. I’ve had my first real conversation with Luna. I could roll down this hill and laugh the whole way.
“You know I was.” He stretches his long legs in front of him. “Tell me about your day.”
So I do. By the time I tell him about Luna, I’m sure my eyes are shining with more tears. There’s so much I want to ask her.
Manuel grins. “I knew you’d be able to figure it out.” It’s not until I see his smile that I realize just how tired he is. There are dark circles under his eyes. Deep lines carved into the corners of his mouth.
I bump his shoulder with mine. “You look terrible.”
“And smell it too.”
