The Madre de Aguas of Cuba

by Adam Gidwitz

At the mouth of the cave, the bunny hopped around on the packed snow, snuffling with his soft gray nose. Every few hops, he would stop, and then start digging with his forepaws, until a tiny white blossom would appear. He would nibble at the blossom, and then suck up the stem, just as the young unicorn had done.

  When Lubna arrived, she pointed at what the bunny was doing and said, “Pretty yum yum!” And when the young unicorns came even with her, she added, “Oony-corn pretty yum yum!”

  The young unicorns moved out into the bright, snowy light. Two had off-white coats, the other two were the color of deep red wine.

  They began to snuffle at the snow. A young burgundy unicorn stopped. It exhaled a hot, smelly breath. Once. Twice. Three times.

  Alcuin was standing next to Welf, who was standing next to Eva. Khaled and Gisela were just behind them.

  “What is it doing?” Alcuin wondered.

  Welf hazarded a guess. “Using its foul breath to melt the snow?”

  And indeed, that is exactly what the unicorn was doing. A tiny white flower was revealed, nestled in a drift of snow and framed by the watery melt of the top layer. The young unicorn sucked it right up.

  The other young unicorns soon found flowers, too. And then the adults came out of the cave into the light, following their lead.

  “Oony-corn pretty yum yum!” Lubna cheered, clapping her little hands gleefully.

  The members of the Secret Order of the Unicorn stared as a thousand unicorns emerged from the cave and into the sunny, snow-covered mountains, and began to melt the snow, until they were standing in a huge meadow, covered in patches of snow and white wildflowers. Which they ate to their hearts’ content.

  “This,” said Welf, “is the weirdest thing I have ever seen.”

  “Weird and beautiful,” Alcuin replied. “Weird and beautiful.”

  Gisela had picked up her bunny and was stroking its head. Very quietly, she said, “I think we just might make it after all.”

  And do you know what?

  She was right.

  TO BE CONCLUDED . . .

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK Professor Raquel Otheguy, who introduced Emma and Adam to one another many years ago, and who has provided incomparable love and support for both of us, and to our spouses and families. Raquel also provided a beautiful description of the Cuban National Archives and the people there. (We used some of her account verbatim!)

  We are deeply grateful to Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, who read this book with a focus on Yoruba culture. Olugbemisola was a member of the Unicorn Rescue Society long before a single book in this series was published; we think of her as Uchenna’s cool aunt who makes sure her niece is up to date on all the latest music.

  David Bowles, another longtime member of the Unicorn Rescue Society, workshopped the end of this novel with Adam one morning, sitting on a bench in Brooklyn. The intertwining of the voices from different cultures—calling forth the Madre de aguas—was his brilliant suggestion.

  Professor Anasa Hicks, Emma’s longtime friend and scholar of Cuba, read the manuscript at a critical moment and offered her advice as she always does: directly, wisely, and caringly. Public historian Dominique Jean-Louis weighed in on the finer points of talking to children about difficult topics in history, a subject that has interested Dominique and Emma for many years, and Emma would like to thank her for her friendship, wisdom, and good cheer.

  Adam would also like to extend his deep and enduring gratitude to Emma. Your thoughtfulness, care, and insights about children, literature, and Cuban-American culture have made this project richer and more beautiful than anything I could have imagined. It’s also been a wonder to know you through your early writing career and PhD, to now, when I am honored and humbled to call you my collaborator—as well as my friend.

  Additionally, Emma would like to thank her big Cuban family for their unwavering support and steady flow of good chismes, as well as her community of scholars and historians for their opinions, fact checks, and great conversations about identity and history.

  PHOTO CREDIT: Konrad Brattke

  Emma Otheguy is a children’s author whose work focuses on Latin American history and Latino identity in the United States. She is the author of the award-winning bilingual picture book Martí’s Song for Freedom (Lee & Low, 2017) about Cuban poet and national hero José Martí, as well as the middle-grade novel Silver Meadows Summer (Knopf, 2019), which Pura Belpré—winning author Ruth Behar called “a magnificent contribution to the diversity of the new American literature for young readers.” Emma’s forthcoming books include A Sled for Gabo, the first of two picture books with Atheneum, due out in fall 2020. Emma holds a PhD in history from New York University and has been the recipient of fellowships and grants from the Mellon Foundation, the American Historical Association, the Council of Library and Information Resources, and Humanities New York. Emma lives in New York City.

  A NOTE FROM EMMA

  People like me are always visiting Cuba in our imaginations. I was born in New York City at a moment when it was difficult to travel to Cuba, even to see close friends and family. But Cuba was at the heart of every story my family told, and so it became natural to imagine Cuba richly, to keep this place always close in my mind. My childhood was marked by the arrival of relatives from Cuba, people who I knew through stories but had never met: when they came to the United States, it was as surprising to me as it would have been for a character to walk out of a book. But the relationships my mom had with these relatives, and the new bonds I was forming, quickly proved that Cuba was more than a story. As policies changed, it became possible for my family and me to visit Cuba ourselves, and reconnect with friends and relatives there. Thanks to our family, friends, and friends-who-are-almost-family, I’ve had the chance to visit the streets, the sidewalks, the parks and the backyards of my parents’ childhoods, and most importantly, to be with the people who matter to us. Gracias, por recibirnos y apoyarnos siempre.

  I hope this book will give you a small taste of what it is like to grow up Cuban-American and what it is like to visit Cuba and have friends and family there. I hope you will learn a little bit about the United States’ complex involvement with Cuba, and recognize that while ordinary individuals are often at the mercy of divisive policies, family bonds can transcend rifts, and that stories always do. Maybe because Cuba and my aunts, who existed for many years to me as fictional, turned out to be real, I trust stories and I trust family, and see in these the potential to bridge boundaries and distance. Thank you to all of the people who told me those stories, and all of the people who helped us write this one. Cuba is too big, diverse, and complex for any one person to tell her story. I encourage our readers to continue learning about Cuba through books, and I thank my friends, fellow writers, and scholarly community for their insights into this book.

  —E.O.

  PHOTO CREDIT: Lauren Mancia

  Adam Gidwitz taught big kids and not-so-big kids in Brooklyn for eight years. Now he spends most of his time chronicling the adventures of the Unicorn Rescue Society. He is also the author of the Newbery Honor–winning The Inquisitor’s Tale, as well as the bestselling A Tale Dark and Grimm and its companions. He is also the creator of the podcast Grimmest.

  PHOTO CREDIT: Amy Cao

  Jesse Casey and Chris Lenox Smith are filmmakers. They founded Mixtape Club, an award-winning production company in New York City, where they make videos and animations for all sorts of people.

  Adam and Jesse met when they were eleven years old. They have done many things together, like building a car powered only by a mousetrap and inventing two board games. Jesse and Chris met when they were eighteen years old. They have done many things together, too, like making music videos for rock bands and an animation for the largest digital billboard ever. But Adam and Jesse and Chris wanted to do something together. First, they m
ade trailers for Adam’s books. Then, they made a short film together. And now, they are sharing with the world the courage, curiosity, kindness, and courage of the members of the Unicorn Rescue Society!

  PHOTO CREDIT: Michelle Pinet

  Hatem Aly is an Egyptian-born illustrator whose work has been featured in multiple publications worldwide. He currently lives in beautiful New Brunswick, Canada, with his wife, son, and more pets than people. He has illustrated many books for young people, including The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S. K. Ali, the Newbery Honor winner The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz, the Unicorn Rescue Society series also by Adam Gidwitz with several amazing contributing authors, the Story Pirates book series with Geoff Rodkey and Jacqueline West, early readers series Meet Yasmin with Saadia Faruqi, and How to Feed Your Parents by Ryan Miller. He has more upcoming books and projects in the works. You can find him online @metahatem.

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