CHAPTER 34 - THE STORY
Maria sat huddled in the chair, a small, miserable figure, as she recounted the tale of how her mother had been a powerful Santera. She told how the book was to have been passed to her, of how her husband had discouraged her from digging it up, and how her brother claimed it. Then she slowly, painfully told of her miscarriages and the mysterious disappearances of women and children over the years. In the end, she came to the part where her own children had been struck down on the day of Carlos' wedding. Both with an undiagnosed affliction and less than an hour apart.
"Sounds like they caught their deaths, thanks to Uncle Ramon!" hissed Cat to Robin. Maria heard the remark and the little composure she had crumbled. She broke down completely, mumbling the names of her children over and over, as if praying. As they listened, to their horror, the four Wiccans slowly realized that little Rosalinda had died and the woman before them must surely be the child's mother. With great sobs, the gringas fell on the box of tissues. Minutes ticked by as they fought to compose themselves.
At last, Raven handed the woman the rest of the tissues. Tears streaming down her face, Maria fumbled with the box. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose, while a teary Robin patted her shoulder. The others waited patiently until she was able to continue.
Maria resumed the tragic tale, but her speech became more halting as she came to the part about finding the tiny rose. "I had a strange feeling at the cemetery. It was as if the very gods had been displaced," she added.
Samantha was aghast. "Can't you go back to the cemetery," she asked. "If you take people to help you, can't you check the graves?"
Maria shook her head. "Jose will not help me."
"Then you can’t be sure the graves are empty," whispered Robin.
Maria’s face twisted in pain. It was all she could do to stammer, "The graves had been dug up after the burial, the earth again displaced."
Raven patted her shoulder.
"Now," Maria sobbed, "it is too late. The book belongs to Ramon. He has become even more powerful than our mother. And he is evil! EVIL! Nothing can stop him!" Tears ran down her cheeks. She covered her face with her free hand and sobs shook her body.
Raven knelt before the chair and took one of Maria’s small, brown hands in her own. "No, Maria," she said in a grave manner as if instructing a child. "If that book truly belongs to you, then it’s magically bound to you. That means no one, I repeat, no one, can break that magical bond. Ramon may have borrowed the book, but that’s all he can do."
"Raven is right," chirped Robin. "No matter what Ramon may have achieved by using it, it still belongs to you."
"AND YOU CAN TAKE IT BACK!" thundered Cat, involuntarily exercising her glamour. As her emotional outburst lent energy to her aura, enhancing her natural height, Maria shrieked.
Robin jumped up. "Damn it, Catherine Elizabeth! Put a lid on it!" Cat’s image wavered for a moment, then, in the blink of an eye, as if it had never taken place, Cat appeared as herself.
"Now see what you’ve done," chided Robin. "You’ve frightened Maria. She’s been through enough without you putting in your Wiccan two cents!"
"There are those who say my brother can appear as a large, black dog or a horse," Maria whispered. "He does it to frighten people."
"Well, I can’t maintain my illusion for more than a few seconds," Cat snapped. She still hadn’t gotten control of her emotions and turned on Robin with offensive stance. Little Robin stood her ground. As the two stood confronting one another, neither planning to give an inch, the hotel lights began to flicker erratically. Off, on. Off, on.
Raven’s worried glance shot from the combatants to the overhead fixture, to the desk lamp, and back again. "Stop it! Stop it now! You’re interfering with the electricity." The lights ceased flickering, but only for a moment, then resumed flashing.
"Stop it!" Raven commanded in an angry tone. "Stop before the hotel manager comes in here to find out what’s wrong."
"Yes," Samantha added, "we don’t want anyone to know Maria is here."
"Yes," Maria whispered, "I don’t want Joseph to know."
"Isn’t your husband’s name Jose?" asked Samantha.
"Yes, but I mean Joseph. The really big man, the Haitian. The one with the limp. He works here at the hotel."
Ears perked up. "What about Joseph?"
"He has been seen many times whispering with my brother. They drink together. They shop together. They travel together. It was Joseph who came to my home to help secure the coffins and I was forced from the room. Joseph helped Ramon do this to my family. I am sure of it."
Just then, when she thought she’d lost all hope, Maria reached deep inside herself and drew up a parable from the depths of her memory. It was a story of creation from her former religion. A story about the power of women. And she recounted it now to her new friends. It was the story of the orisha called Ochun.
Once, a long, long, long time ago, before the beginning of all things, when a terrible choice was made. The male orishas, being foolish as men often are, held a secret meeting, without inviting the female orishas. But Ochun uncovered their plot. She dressed in great finery and hurried to the meeting place. When she arrived, the males shunned her.
Ochun was enraged at their rudeness. She swore to avenge herself against those who had treated her so badly. First she threw our world into chaos, then she considered making all the women barren.
The male orishas cowered before Ochun’s fury, realizing they'd finally gone too far. They tried their best to flatter Ochun, giving her precious gifts of copper and gold, and they begged her to forgive them, but she would not. Finally, in desperation, they made her a special offering of sweet honey. It was only then that the great and powerful Ochun forgave them.
To this day, Dominican mothers tell this story to each generation as a lesson that women and children must never be abused, neglected, or shown disrespect. And our men soon learn that if they forget this teaching, our lives become chaos. Since it more often the men who cause this chaos, it then it falls to the women to find a way to restore order.
"So you see," Maria concluded, "by remembering the teachings of my beloved Santeria, I have gained the strength to do what I must, whether or not Jose will stand with me." She rose and thanked her new friends. "It will be dangerous enough for me to go against my brother. It is not right that I place all of you in danger as well."
Maria remained adamant despite their protests and insisted upon leaving the hotel on foot, but that didn’t keep Cat from sticking her Wiccan two cents in.
Spellbound: a Tale of Magic, Mystery & Murder Page 37
