《Guanínké The Amulet of Kakata》


 Before You Begin

    This book is a work of fiction, blending what little is known of the Ta¨ªno culture and mythology. Despite researching several books and scouring what I could find on the internet, I am in no way an expert on their ways and culture, nor do I claim that the information found in this story should be considered completely accurate. From all of my research there are still large gaps of knowledge about this particular pantheon, so liberties were taken, built on theories written by historians and Ta¨ªno culture preservers. If you find yourself curious about the people of the Caribbean Islands that were here before the Spanish arrived, I wholeheartedly invite you to dive into what is known, what has been theorized, and all of the contradictions found therein. Who knows, maybe you¡¯ll discover something I missed in my own research when writing The Amulet of Kakata. Perhaps this story will be the spark for your next adventure.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

 Chapter 1 I Think I鈥檓 Starting to See Things

    I have a very important question to ask you, but it has to stay between us. Have you ever felt something stirring inside of you? Kind of like a buzzing in your chest. Sometimes faint. Other times strong. And never completely gone. It¡¯s harmless, don¡¯t worry. In fact, it¡¯s actually really good. It¡¯s there to warn you of danger and you should never, ever ignore it.


    Now tell me, how would you react if I said there¡¯s even more to it than that? What if, all of a sudden, ancient gods you never dreamed could possibly be real just showed up and unlocked the stirring inside of you, giving you the ability to do magic?


    Pretty crazy, right?


    Yeah, it was super weird when it happened to me. I¡¯d be lying if I claimed I never want to do magic. Who wouldn¡¯t after all? I mean, yeah, facing off against mean bok¨ªbeys and scary hup¨ªas last year wasn¡¯t exactly on my to do list, but it was totally worth it. Probably. Just know that having magic comes with certain dangers, it¡¯s just par for the course.


    It¡¯s like in all the best books and shows, magic and grand adventures go hand in hand with peril and villainy. It¡¯s never easy. Heck, I¡¯d call you naive if you thought it would be. It¡¯s like that famous quote everybody used, with great responsibility comes great power, or something like that. I don¡¯t know. Papi was the superhero nerd, not me.


    Anyway, what I¡¯m trying to say was that you need to proceed with caution. Be careful. Listen to the gods. And most important of all, fight as hard as you can against abuelos* who want to sacrifice you to evil Cacica¡¯s from another world . . . What? Did I forget to mention there were other worlds out there? Did you think I was making this up?


    Okay. Fine, I¡¯ll start at the beginning.


    *****


    ¡°So, why are we visiting this guy again?¡± I asked while staring out the window of Papi¡¯s Toyota Corolla. The world outside was a blur as it passed by. I was glad the highway of Carretera Vieja #2 was fairly empty, especially at the start of summer vacation. Car rides were so boring. The only way this could¡¯ve been worse was if we were stuck in traffic.


    The name¡¯s Irene Rosales Vivas by the way, in case you were wondering.


    My papi, Jos¨¦ Rosales, snickered with a snort at my question. I was sat behind Mami, Yuisa Rosales Vivas, so I couldn¡¯t exactly see her expression but I knew she was upset. Papi cleared his throat and apologized as he always did when she was upset.


    ¡°Because,¡± she started to answer, ¡°this guy is your abuelo. He¡¯s family, and he wants to see you two.¡± Her accented voice seemed cheery, but I could tell it was forced.


    On the radio, Juanito Alima?a started up again for what seemed like the fiftieth time today. I glanced at my little brother, Alejandro Rosales Vivas, who was sitting beside me. He was in his booster seat, drawing in his sketchbook, and paying no mind whatsoever to the conversation. I always found it amazing that he was able to draw so easily in the car. If I tried to do that I¡¯d be puking my guts out with my head lolling out the window. The figures he was making resembled simple animals, just shapes and wavy lines really. Each one kind of looked like a little maze. This six year old kid was a real natural with pencil and paper.


    ¡°Some family,¡± Papi muttered to himself.


    ¡°Jos¨¦!¡± Mami exclaimed and slapped his shoulder with a loud smack. I was pretty sure she was glaring at him and silently telling him to shut up. This wasn¡¯t the first time I¡¯d heard them argue about the trip.


    Papi shrugged matter-of-factly. ¡°Qu¨¦? He hasn¡¯t seen OR talked to us in years, and NOW, all of a sudden, he wants to? Como sea, tu Padre siempre fue un¡ª¡±


    ¡°JOS¨¦!¡± Mami leaned over into view which confirmed my suspicion. She was definitely glaring at him. Her deep brown eyes were wide and intense. If a look could shoot laser beams, this was it.


    Papi jumped a little in the driver¡¯s seat and I couldn¡¯t blame him. I¡¯d been on the receiving end of that look and let me tell you, it wasn¡¯t a good place to be.


    I could kind of see where Papi was coming from though. This guy, our abuelo, called up Mami out of the blue, and the next thing we knew, we were packed up and on our way to a few weeks stay at his place. He lived somewhere in Puente, a barrio, or district, in Camuy, Puerto Rico. It was an hour from where we lived in Bayam¨®n and yet Abuelo had never been around. I didn¡¯t really understand why we left so abruptly for someone who never even came to visit. My parents rarely talked about Abuelo, if at all. I could probably count the amount of times he had come up on one hand and now we were staying at his place?


    Something fishy was going on if you asked me.


    Papi leaned close to the steering wheel. He stared at Mami for a long moment with curved brows, looking upset and more than a little nervous. My chest hummed as if in response. It was as if something inside of me had come alive. Like a hummingbird trapped in the cage of my ribs. I looked up at Papi and felt my anxiety rising. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was their argument or that he hadn¡¯t been watching the road, but whatever was causing the feeling, I didn¡¯t like it. Just then, as if Papi had felt my concern, he glanced at me then looked back to the road.


    My chest quieted.


    I first noticed the feeling when I was around my brother¡¯s age. It always came around to warn me, almost like it was a sixth sense, and only ever faded when the danger had gone. I didn¡¯t really understand that at first. I didn¡¯t know what it was. The only thing I knew was that the feeling was part of me, something to listen to and not be afraid of. It wasn¡¯t long before I understood what the feeling was trying to tell me. With its help I even dodged a few bullies in school. It also helped me avoid dangerous animals when I¡¯d been playing alone in the forest and once even warned me of a particularly irritated crab.


    I once asked Mami about it and she told me it could be an Op¨ªa, a spirit who was both a guide and messenger for the Ta¨ªno gods. I thought it was a neat idea. Before then I didn¡¯t know she believed in that kind of stuff. Most people I¡¯ve met turned away from the Ta¨ªno beliefs, instead following the singular deity religions.


    Honestly, I began to wonder if I might have more unusual gifts when I was younger. I thought, or rather hoped, I might have had latent powers locked away inside me. Magic just ready and waiting to burst out. I wondered if maybe I just needed to be in the right moment, something dangerous or exciting, but nothing ever happened and I wasn¡¯t about to go out looking for more danger than had already found me on a regular basis. So I let it be. Either I had super cool magic powers or I didn¡¯t. If it was meant to happen then so be it. I had turned ten a month ago after all. On that day I decided it had been long enough, and gave up the thought.


    Papi sighed, pulling me back to the present. His shoulders slumped and he continued watching the road. ¡°Pay no mind to me, sweety. Papi was just . . . taken off guard, is all,¡± he said reluctantly.


    I fiddled with the skirt of my bright blue summer dress. It wasn¡¯t because I was bored though; my fingers just needed something to do. ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± I answered. ¡°This trip was just kind of sudden; not how I expected to start summer vacation. That¡¯s all.¡± I looked back out the car window and watched the tops of trees rush by. Papi turned onto an exit between Zanja and Puente. I hoped this meant we were getting close.


    Mami turned around on her seat, smiling. The sun shined warmly on her brown skin and her black wavy hair fell long down her back. People often said we looked alike. I couldn¡¯t really see it though. Sure, I had her hair, but my eyes were a softer brown and my complexion was light like Papi¡¯s. I was pretty sure I looked more like him but it felt rude to argue.


    She winked at me and tilted her head playfully, probably noticing me flick the fabric of my dress about. ¡°I know, mi chiquitita.* Why not play something on your Nintendo. There¡¯s still a bit before we get there.¡±


    Keeping her eyes on me, Mami reached down and tapped my plain purple backpack by my feet. I sort of shrugged in agreement, not really in the mood since it was hard to focus in the car but my fingers needed to do something. Besides, playing something could help get my mind off of . . . well, everything.


    As Mami turned back around, I reached inside the already open zipper, and pulled out my Gameboy. With a click of the power button it was on and ready to go. The logo played its cute animation, then faded with a ding. All I did was stare at the game¡¯s menu. Generally an opportunity like this was something I would relish. It wasn¡¯t like I often had Mami telling me to play something. Usually it was the opposite. Something must¡¯ve been wrong with me if a game didn¡¯t seem appealing to even play with.


    Out of frustration, I turned the Gameboy off and dropped it on my lap. I let my head fall back against the car seat. Staring up at the black ceiling, I swayed my head left and right. Just what was going on with me? I let my head fall to the left and watched my little brother who was still drawing in his sketchbook.


    Now he looked more like Mami, I thought, down to the brown skin and super dark brown, almost black eyes. His hair was dark brown like Papi¡¯s, however, he wanted to let it grow out, to see how long it could get. I wasn¡¯t sure why and when I asked him, he didn¡¯t really have an answer. He just wanted to. It had grown to his shoulders in such a short time. It would probably reach the middle of his back, like mine, sometime around winter. I giggled softly. He really did look adorable. Don¡¯t tell him I said that.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I glanced down at his sketchbook and blinked a few times to clear my eyes. I couldn¡¯t quite make out what he was drawing. What was it he was working on that had him so focused? Finally getting off my butt, I leaned over as far as my seat belt would allow and examined the page.


    Alejandro drew a lot of animals, as I said before. They almost looked like the Ta¨ªno petroglyphs, ancient symbols the people used to carve into stone. I saw pictures of them in history books and from what I could tell, he was doing a really good job. I was impressed. He sure was a heck of a lot better at drawing than I was at his age. Honestly, he was still better than me. Some of the animals looked pretty familiar. I saw cats and dogs, manatees, and one that looked like a rabbit. He also drew various bird-like creatures that I couldn¡¯t identify. I just assumed they were from his imagination.


    My eyesight suddenly became weird. That¡¯s the best way I could describe it. The drawings shifted and distorted before my very eyes. The animals almost looked like they were dancing, which was, again, weird. Maybe I was just tired or something.


    I rubbed my eyes, hoping that would make it stop. Then, all of a sudden, I knew what one of the bird drawings was. It just popped into my head out of nowhere. I pointed at it and said, ¡°This is a cool looking raven.¡±


    Where did that come from?


    Alejandro looked up at me and blinked a few times, speechless. ¡°Thank you . . . but how did you know it was a raven? No one ever knows what I¡¯m drawing.¡± He tilted his head with a soft chuckle.


    I just shrugged and smiled. ¡°Lucky, I guess.¡± I then slid my Gameboy back into my purple backpack and found myself staring out the car window again.


    We must¡¯ve gotten off the highway because now the buildings were level with us as they zoomed by. I noticed a random KFC and my belly rumbled. Before I could say anything, Papi turned down a really bumpy street. My stomach protested, but he probably would¡¯ve said no anyway as Mami was busy singing along to a Rita Moreno song. She was even dancing in her seat, making Papi blush bright pink while he grinned at her.


    The road was a bit windy and much quieter than the highway. There were old neighborhoods to our left. The simple blocky homes were closely packed together. Each had clay shingled rooftops, ornate openings where windows would be, and were surrounded by bright white cement walls. On the right, however, the homes were larger, colored in pastel hues, and were spaced pretty far apart. Between them were thick patches of trees.


    Come to think of it, the forest around these homes looked like it stretched far behind them and seemingly above them in the distance. I raised my gaze up as we were driving by a small mountain. It was pretty cool. Or it would¡¯ve been, but then I saw the gray clouds up above. As if this trip needed ominous, looming storm clouds too.


    Jeez. I shrugged and leaned back in my seat, ready for this drive to end.


    Papi eventually slowed down and made a right turn. We drove up a hill covered completely in grass. The concrete road was gone, but it was clear other cars had driven up and down the same path we were on now. The single car length path was surrounded by flamboy¨¢n trees. My eyes widened at just how many lined the path. The way ahead was covered with beautiful red flowers that blew gently in the breeze.


    ¡°What do you think, really pretty huh?¡± Mami said with a giggle, no doubt seeing my astonished reaction. I replied with a nod, unable to pull my eyes away from the path. The ground was littered with small red petals and was really pretty.


    ¡°Mami, what does Abuelito do?¡± Alejandro asked curiously.


    ¡°He writes stories. Fun fantasy stories inspired by the island¡¯s past.¡± Mami smiled.


    I guess it made her happy that Alejandro had decided to call him Abuelito, matching our late Abuelita, who was Maria Y¨²ca. Honestly, I still hadn¡¯t decided what to call him yet.


    ¡°Fun stories for adults you mean,¡± Papi snickered.


    ¡°They don¡¯t need to know that,¡± she sang the reply with a wicked grin and shot him another glare, but he just shrugged.


    I chuckled to myself as I may be young, but I wasn¡¯t stupid. I knew what they meant by adult books. Mami liked to read scary looking books with dark, creepy covers. Papi, on the other hand, read those romantic books with the cheesy half shirtless people on the covers. They used ¡°adult¡± as a catch-all term meaning, ¡°not for you.¡± I swear, adults are so weird. They think us kids don¡¯t know, but we do.


    As we exited the flamboy¨¢n lined path Papi made a half circle, then stopped. The ground here seemed much flatter than it had been on the road. Before us was a pretty big, two-story house. It was a white cement home with vibrant red clay shingles and a wide open arching veranda lined with balconies. The building¡¯s corners were covered in plants. Vines and trees were filled with red, pink, and burgundy flor de magas.


    Mami immediately turned off the radio and lowered the car window. I could hear salsa music softly playing from the house. Soon, a tall man emerged from inside, dressed in a white, long-sleeved buttoned shirt, beige slacks, and brown loafers. His hair was dark gray and had been neatly brushed back away from his face. His skin was a deep brown, and his eyes were deeper still, so dark they looked nearly black.


    He stretched his arms out wide and his grin pushed the wrinkles around his lips back. ¡°Ah bienvenidos!¡±* the man greeted, sounding more like a ringleader of a circus than a man who had never been around. His accent was even thicker than Mami and Papi¡¯s.


    I assumed that was Abuelo, but I still didn¡¯t feel much of anything for the man, one way or the other. He was just a stranger. Mami, on the other hand, smiled wide and her eyes teared a little. She pushed the car door open and flew into the old man¡¯s arms, hugging him tightly. It was weird. I then realized how tall he was. Mami was roughly five foot, so most people seemed tall compared to her but she only reached the man¡¯s chest. Like WOW he was tall.


    Papi sighed, taking my attention from the scene. ¡°Go ahead and undo your seat belts you two. I¡¯ll get you first, Alejandro.¡±


    Just as Papi opened his car door, mine slid open as well. I quickly unclipped my seat belt and hopped out. My heart jumped a little. I was standing right before the tall man, forcing my head back just to be able to see his face. Mami was standing next to him now. My chest hummed all of a sudden. Pretty strongly too. It was giving off some crazy warning signals but I had no idea why. I thought maybe I was just nervous so I ignored the sensation.


    ¡°Irene, this is your abuelito, Zigor Vivas. Go ahead and say hi,¡± Mami said.


    I fiddled with my hands while my heart raced nervously. My eyes darted back and forth between the two, unsure of what or who to focus on. I ended up just raising a hand in a quick wave. ¡°Hola,¡±* I greeted softly.


    Abuelito grabbed his slacks and hitched the fabric up a bit, then knelt. A large smirk creased his face. ¡°Hola, my goodness look how big you¡¯ve gotten.¡±


    The feeling in my chest was out of control. It had never felt this strongly before but I had no idea what was setting it off. My stomach was churning into a tight knot. It felt like I was shrinking right before the guy. I nervously twirled a foot in the dirt, but then Papi came around the car with Alejandro in his arms, taking the focus off of me.


    ¡°Se?or Zigor,¡±* Papi said flatly, his expression pretty stern.


    Abuelito stood up, his expression changing weirdly to one of amusement. ¡°Jos¨¦, y Alejandro! C¨®mo est¨¢ mi nieto?¡±* He rubbed the top of Alejandro¡¯s head, making my brother giggle warmly.


    ¡°Bien,¡±* Alejandro replied with a big smile.


    Abuelito nodded with approval and then clapped his hands once, calling everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Well, why don¡¯t I take you to your rooms. The kids will be sharing, if that¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that won¡¯t be a problem, isn¡¯t that right, Irene?¡± Mami asked with a look that told me it wasn¡¯t a question.


    I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t need much space anyway,¡± I replied matter of factly. I then turned around to grab my purple backpack and Hello Kitty themed roller luggage which was situated on the floor of the car. After slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I stood before Abuelito, clutching hard the handle to my roller luggage.


    ¡°Very good. Let¡¯s get in before the storm starts,¡± Abuelito said.


    ¡°Storm? What storm?¡± Mami asked as she looked up, seemingly only then noticing the thick gray clouds overhead. ¡°How did I miss that? I don¡¯t think I remember the news saying anything about rain. It won¡¯t be a problem, will it?¡±


    ¡°No no, las noticias* said it would only be a light drizzle and might last for several days, but nothing to fear,¡± Abuelito replied self assuredly.


    ¡°Oh, I was hoping we¡¯d go to Playa Pe?¨®n Amador ma?ana,¡±* Mami said disappointedly.


    ¡°And we still can.¡± He laughed softly. ¡°You do have two weeks here with me. You worry too much, just like Mam¨¢.¡±* Abuelito¡¯s smile twitched a little. I raised a brow at him. He should¡¯ve known better than to bring up Abuelita in front of Mami.


    Mami¡¯s breath caught in her throat and she quickly looked away, a saddened expression on her face, but nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right, anyway, I¡¯ll get the other bags.¡± She rushed past Abuelito to the trunk of the car, grabbing the car¡¯s keys hanging from Papi¡¯s pocket as she passed.


    This time Papi did the glaring, but toward Abuelo, who stared back with a weird expression. He looked like he had a smirk on his face. It seemed like he didn¡¯t care how Mami felt. I was starting to like him less and less.


    Then with a wave of his hand he said, ¡°Vengan, vengan,* let¡¯s get you all inside and rested.¡± Abuelo bent down to grab my roller luggage and winked once at me, that same smirk on his face. It made my skin crawl. Why was he smirking so much? It was beginning to creep me out.


    The hum in my chest now felt like a heavy rumble, similar to a California earthquake. It definitely didn¡¯t like Abuelo and I was starting to agree. It felt like . . . I needed to watch out with this guy, but I really didn¡¯t know why at the time.


    I forced myself to let go of the handle and allowed him to take the luggage. After a deep breath, I followed him toward the house. Thunder suddenly sounded above, weak, like a grumbling stomach. The perfect punctuation to a bad first impression.


    Once we reached the veranda, I took one step and all of a sudden, an odd chill shot up my leg and spread throughout my entire body. I¡¯d be lying if I said that didn¡¯t freak me out. I was left kind of breathless and looked down toward the ground, to my simple white gladiator sandals on my feet. Had I stepped on something? I tilted my feet to check, but there was nothing.


    ¡°Irene, is everything okay?¡± Papi asked as he tilted his head back at me, confused.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I looked up at him and shook my head. Maybe it was just my imagination. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s nothing . . . I thought I forgot something,¡± I lied and looked away, but startled as there was Abuelo, standing beside me, giving me a curious gaze.

 Chapter 2 Awkward Dinner

    The sun was setting and it was almost dinner time. Alejandro and I were busy at work setting the table. Mami passed each of us a small stack of place mats to lay on the glass table. Of course it was glass, I thought with a scrunch of my nose. Whose great idea was it that the one thing missing from a big family meal was a front row display of everyone¡¯s feet? Bleh! Glass is also super easy to break. You have one impromptu game of indoor baseball and all of a sudden there¡¯s glass everywhere and you¡¯re grounded for a month. Anyway, I¡¯m getting off topic. The table was rather large, rectangular, and was held up by a simple, white wicker stand.


    We carefully arranged the white and gold bordered mats before the five chairs. Mami then called us back to the kitchen. My little brother was given five bamboo plates which was Abuelo¡¯s idea. He didn¡¯t want to dirty the porcelain plates which, in his words, were only to be used on special occasions. I supposed this didn¡¯t count. Mami then gave me two glass cups as she carried the other three, utensils, and a pitcher of iced water. Papi briefly came out of the steamy kitchen with folded napkins, plopped them on the table, and went back. Abuelo was busy inside, still finishing cooking.


    The smell of saz¨®n was pungent in the air. My mouth began to water and my stomach grumbled impatiently. Mami, Alejandro, and I took our seats. Abuelo and Papi soon started their way out of the kitchen with food in their hands and as they reached the opening, Abuelo rushed forward, nearly making Papi drop what he was carrying while sneering, ¡°Elders before youngsters.¡±


    Papi gave the old man an annoyed frown and looked at Mami. To my surprise she quickly looked away, which was unlike her. If I had pulled a stunt like that I¡¯d have been hearing about it for a week at least. Mami seemed to be more sad than she was upset. Leaning in between Mami and me, Abuelo placed a big bowl of arroz con gandules y pollo* on the center of the table. Papi mumbled something of which I just couldn¡¯t make out, then placed a plate of pan sobao* and butter, along with a small bowl of aguacate* beside it. He slumped down next to Alejandro and shot a glare at Abuelo, but the old man didn¡¯t notice, or if he had, he simply didn¡¯t care.


    Reaching over to grab the bowl of arroz, Abuelo scooped a hefty portion onto his plate and without looking up, said, ¡°I made plenty, so take as much as you want.¡±


    ¡°Gracias, Pap¨¢. Um,¡± Mami started, taking the bowl of arroz in hand to pour on my plate and then hers while Papi cut an aguacate in half, ¡°I wanted to tell you my¡ª¡±


    ¡°Pan sobao,¡± Abuelo interrupted without so much as a please, hand outstretched expectantly. I barely hold back a sneer. What was with this guy?


    Mami just sighed. ¡°Sure,¡± she said, grabbing the plate of pan sobao and passed it to him after taking one for herself. ¡°Anyway, my job opened up a new museum recently, Museo el Cem¨ª. It houses a vast collection of Ta¨ªno artifacts and the opening celebrations are still going on. I¡¯d be happy if you could come see it? I know how much you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Depends on my schedule, dear,¡± Abuelo interrupted again with a flick of his hand. He then plucked up a cherry tomato with his index finger and thumb and bit it in half, the juices spilling down the corner of his mouth and chin. Without even glancing at us, he got to work shoveling more food into his mouth.


    Mami¡¯s smile slowly faded. ¡°Oh, of course.¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    I poked at the food on my plate, my annoyance rising. Papi continued to glare at Abuelo while Alejandro fidgeted nervously in his seat. It couldn¡¯t have been more than a couple of seconds of silence but Mami¡¯s dejected words hung heavily in the air. I sat up as straight as possible in my seat and said, ¡°I¡¯d love to go to the museum again. The stuff there is really neat, Mami.¡±


    A small smile slid onto her face. ¡°Thank you, Irene.¡±


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Abuelo said, stretching a hand out toward Papi as if waiting for an aguacate, ¡°my next book comes out at the end of summer and I¡¯ve already received a string of adaptation requests. One was even for a¡±¡ªhe waved his hand in a circle¡ª¡°what¡¯s it called, comic book?¡± A hearty laugh boomed from his mouth. ¡°I won¡¯t be accepting that nonsense. Such a childish waste of time.¡±


    Papi rolled his eyes but managed to drop an aguacate into Abuelo¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s not nonsense you old fart,¡± he mumbled, which caused my little hermanito* and I to snort. Abuelo cut his fruit and continued boasting for several long minutes.


    As it seemed he was finally done and began stuffing his face again, Mami chimed in again. ¡°The food is delicious, Pap¨¢!¡±


    ¡°Of course it is.¡± Abuelo swallowed with a satisfied smile. ¡°There was a reason I always cooked instead of Maria.¡±


    The entire dining room went deathly quiet. I couldn¡¯t believe he would mention our late Abuelita* so callously. The color in Mami¡¯s face drained at the mention of her mam¨¢*. I was starting to see why Papi didn¡¯t like this man. He was arrogant, rude, and dismissive of each of us. Did he even want to reconnect with us? This trip had been his idea and he didn¡¯t even care to hear  anything any of us had to say. I glanced at Alejandro who visibly shrank in his chair. Papi was gripping his fork so tightly I thought he might stick it into something that wasn¡¯t food.


    Mami¡¯s eyes misted over and her voice was soft. ¡°R-Right. Um¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh, before I forget,¡± Abuelo cut her off, ¡°I¡¯m leaving you this house.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Mami exclaimed, dropping her fork which clattered against the glass table. ¡°But¡ªwhat about Alberto?¡±


    Oh, Alberto was Mami¡¯s oldest brother by the way; my uncle. Funny guy. Likes to sneak us candy when our parents aren¡¯t looking.


    Abuelo just shrugged. ¡°What about him? Ungrateful good for nothing. He and your other siblings have been ignoring me.¡±


    Papi snorted and mumbled again under his breath, ¡°I wonder why.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Mami squeaked seemingly to cover up his words. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know. This is such a big house, and I don¡¯t think I can afford¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already paid for.¡± Abuelo smiled. There was something about his expression that struck me as odd. It was like the smile didn¡¯t reach his eyes. He was starting to give me the creeps. ¡°Everything has been taken care of. You have nothing to worry about.¡±


    Papi narrowed his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡±


    ¡°Jos¨¦!¡± Mami chastised.


    Abuelo stretched his hands out wide and, for a moment, I thought I saw something sinister cross his expression. ¡°You brought me my grandkids. That¡¯s all I¡¯ve ever wanted.¡± As if the discussion was over, he then returned to his food.


    Papi watched Abuelo with a suspicious look for the remainder of the meal and Mami sat rigidly, not saying another word. I looked at Alejandro who slowly ate his food, occasionally glancing back and forth to each adult. I didn¡¯t dare to say another word either. Beyond Abuelo¡¯s rudeness, the hurt in Mami¡¯s face, the anger in Papi¡¯s demeanor, and all the unpleasantness of the conversation, one thing stood out above everything else that made my skin crawl. From the moment Abuelo had taken his seat, my chest thrummed stronger than anything I had ever felt in my entire life.

 Chapter 3 Coabey and Game Over

    I¡¯d never experienced a dinner so awkward before tonight, and that¡¯s saying something. Last Christmas one of Mami¡¯s older brothers drunk one too many coquitos, then decided to play soccer in his underwear and ended up slipping and falling on his butt. At least that had been funny.


    Tonight¡¯s dinner was unlike anything I could have imagined. It was as if Abuelo had wanted to drive us away forever. Once dinner had ended, Papi sent Alejandro and I to our room then he and Mami vanished into theirs next door. Had my brother or I any desire to explore the house or play outside before dinner, that feeling had long gone. Neither of us wanted to run into Abuelo after his self-absorbed display so we were content to hide in our room.


    As the night grew late, my brother Alejandro and I took our turns showering, and dressed for bed. I laid belly down on my bed and busied myself with my Gameboy, my fingers tapping away at the buttons, fighting the silly monsters in my game. My brother sat against the pillows on his bed with his sketchbook on his lap. He was probably drawing some more animals, I couldn¡¯t really see, while the coqu¨ªs sang outside.


    Although we were both pretty focused on our hobbies, bits and pieces of our parents¡¯ arguments ended up breaking through the somewhat thin walls. We were trying really hard not to pay any mind to what they were saying, but it was hard with how clearly upset they were about coming here.


    ¡°He . . . no right . . .¡± Papi sort of exclaimed, but I couldn¡¯t catch all of that.


    ¡°Jos¨¦ . . . don¡¯t . . . want to talk . . .¡± Mami sounded like she wanted to cry.


    I looked up toward my brother¡¯s wall, staring at it and hoping now would be the moment X-ray vision would kick in so I could check on them, but as usual, nothing happened. My heart felt heavy in my chest, especially for Mami. I wish I knew what to say to help her feel better, I just didn¡¯t know where to begin. They never told us why they cut ties from Abuelo for as long as they did but after tonight I understood all I needed to know.


    Alejandro¡¯s pencil scratched away at his sketchbook, until it suddenly stopped, which caught my attention. ¡°So . . . do you know why Papi is so angry at Abuelito?¡± he asked.


    I pretended to go back to my game, just clicking away at the attack buttons to give my fingers something to do while kicking my legs back and forth in the air. ¡°It probably has to do with Abuelita¡¯s funeral last year. Abuelo didn¡¯t show up for it, and both Mami y Papi* were really upset about that.¡±


    ¡°Oh . . . why would it matter though?¡± He tilted his head to the side, confused, but curious.


    ¡°Because Abuelo was Abuelita¡¯s husband, just like Papi is to Mami,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Oooooh . . . but then why did she live in a different house in Bayam¨®n?¡± He raised a brow, looking a little judgmental of Abuelo now.


    A monster ended up showing up in the game. I scrunched my face in annoyance because honestly, I wasn¡¯t really in the mood to fight anything right now. ¡°Who knows, maybe he was a jerk husband and Abuelita left him because of it. You saw how he was at dinner, all he did was talk about himself. Surprising, considering that his head is up his butt,¡± I snickered while defeating the monster in my game.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Alejandro stretched his legs out in front of him, leaning deeper into his pillows and rested his hands on his sketchbook. ¡°Why are grown ups so complicated?¡±


    I laughed because I was NOT expecting that. ¡°When you figure out the answer, please let me know.¡±


    My brother then stared out our open balcony, watching the rain gently falling outside. I suppose I kind of decided to do the same thing for a little bit, then scanned our sizable bedroom, and it was . . . really boring.


    The room was all white with two twin sized beds and two rattan dressers, also in white. My sheets were pink and Alejandro¡¯s were bright blue. A simple wooden fan spun in the center of the ceiling, the blades the shape of massive leaves, blowing a nice breeze down to us. Seriously, how boring could you make a kids¡¯ bedroom? No pictures or shelves hung on the walls. This room didn¡¯t even have a closet to hang our clothes in. Everything had to go into the rattans. Well, at least we had a nightstand by each of our beds with a simple lamp on both of them.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Alejandro slid his sketchbook off his lap and knelt on his bed. ¡°Did you see the kapok tree?¡±


    ¡°The what?¡± I looked at where my brother was pointing to and past our balcony was a thick, twisty tree with long and reaching branches. From the branches I could just barely see the kapok seeds hanging from them, not yet blooming with cotton. It made sense though, as it was July and they normally bloomed between January and March, but I still would¡¯ve liked to see them in bloom.


    ¡°The kapok tree, you know, the tree that connects us to the spirit world and beyond,¡± my brother answered with a smile.


    I looked back to the tree and noticed that it was closer to the house than I had realized. Its limbs climbed past the ceiling. Most likely the tree¡¯s leaves were creating a canopy for the balcony, stopping most of the rain from pouring in.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s cool. I didn¡¯t expect to see one here¡±¡ªI glanced at my brother¡ª¡°aaaaand I see you believe that stuff about spirits.¡± I shot him a mischievous smirk, making him wince.


    ¡°Well, yeah why wouldn¡¯t I believe that stuff? Mami does,¡± he replied with pouty, pursed lips.


    A menacing chuckle escaped my lips. I decided to have a bit of fun with him. ¡°Oooooh then you must know about the portal to the afterlife.¡±


    ¡°A-Afterlife? You mean Coabey?¡± Alejandro raised a skeptical brow at me. He put on a brave face but his trembling eyes betrayed how he really felt.


    ¡°Oh yes,¡± I continued in my best spooky voice, ¡°the place is guarded by the fearsome Opiyelguabir¨¢n, the canine-like beast to the Lord of the Afterlife, the Cacique Maquetaurie Guayaba.¡± I slid my legs under myself and curled my fingers to imitate an animal¡¯s claws. ¡°It judges all who have died. If you are just and good, then you will pass to Coabey, an island paradise. But if you are bad and evil. Then. You will¡±¡ªI scooched forward, inch by inch to the foot of my bed¡ª¡°be eaten whole!¡± I growled and roared, making my little brother jump.


    ¡°Nooooo!¡± Alejandro grabbed his pillow and buried himself in it. ¡°Why would you do that? Now I won¡¯t be able to sleep!¡± The pillow muffled most of his words.


    I fell back laughing onto my pillows, but as my amusement died down I heard something out of place. I startled as I realized it sounded like singing. It wasn¡¯t just the coqu¨ªs. It was soft, as faint as a whisper, and it was coming from outside the house. Whatever it was had made the coqu¨ªs quiet down. I sat there for a long moment, unsure if I should look. Several seconds ticked by before I realized my chest wasn¡¯t tingling. I took it as a sign that I might just be paranoid. I turned to look toward the balcony, out to the kapok tree, and then the singing began to grow louder. Just then a bright blue glowing ghost in the shape of a manatee suddenly popped up, floating inches above the balcony¡¯s railing. I let out a gasp just as the door of our bedroom opened.


    I¡¯m not proud to admit that I jumped with a shriek.


    Mami was standing in the doorway. ¡°Dios mio Irene, what was that?¡±


    ¡°Oh, um.¡± I looked down at my Gameboy, to the words GAME OVER slapped across the screen. ¡°I just got scared by a boss fight.¡± I said the words too slowly to really be believed and clapped once with a forced chuckle. ¡°That¡¯s all.¡± I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Papi standing behind her, hoping they bought the lie, because there was no way they would believe me if I told the truth.


    ¡°She also told me a scary story!¡± Alejandro pouted with an annoyed expression, still hiding behind his pillow.


    Papi chuckled. ¡°Ah, is that so?¡± He walked past Mami and softly patted my brother on the head. ¡°Well, stories are stories, they can¡¯t harm you, unless you let them.¡± Alejandro slid the pillow from his face and meekly nodded in understanding. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s tuck you into bed.¡±


    Papi grabbed my brother¡¯s sketchbook and placed it on his nightstand while Alejandro slid under the blankets. Mami walked over to me, grabbed my Gameboy, plugged it into the charger, and set it on my nightstand while I climbed under my blankets as well.


    Once I was settled in, Mami grabbed my comforter and pulled it closer to my shoulders. I was almost comfy when I noticed the red around Mami¡¯s dark brown eyes. I couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Mami, are we gonna be okay?¡±


    Mami paused, surprised. ¡°Ye-Yeah, why do you ask?¡± I¡¯m pretty sure she was forcing her small smile.


    ¡°We heard you both arguing,¡± Alejandro replied and their expression made it clear they didn¡¯t realize we could hear them.


    ¡°A¡ªWe¡ª¡± Papi stumbled over his words and looked at Mami with curved brows as though unsure of what to say. He planted himself on the edge of Alejandro¡¯s bed with a sigh. Mami did the same, but on mine. ¡°I promise you both, Mami and I are fine. Your abuelo just . . . irks me.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s irk?¡± Alejandro tilted his head curiously at Papi.


    ¡°Abuelo upsets your papi . . . a lot,¡± Mami answered, her eyes turned down to the floor.


    It looked like she was upset too, but I had the feeling Mami was forcing herself to give Abuelo a chance. I turned over on my side to try and get a better look at her and folded an arm under my head. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you upset with him like Papi?¡±


    Mami¡¯s hand twitched on her lap. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out, and she closed it instead.


    After a minute I thought she wasn¡¯t going to answer but Mami took a deep breath, and looked at me with sad eyes. ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s hard to explain. Pap¨¢ does upset me, and at times . . . I do hate him for what he put Mam¨¢ and I, and the rest of my siblings through, but . . . there¡¯s still a part of me that just . . .¡± She immediately shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but like Papi said, you two have nothing to worry about. I promise.¡± Mami smiled as best she could. It had to be hard for her to be here, so I vowed there and then to be on my best behavior.


    ¡°And with that¡±¡ªPapi stood up and walked to the balcony¡ª¡°it¡¯s time for bed, you two.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    Papi paused as he grabbed for one of the balcony door handles and looked at me, raising a brow. For some reason, even though I was sure I had seen a ghost of what looked like a manatee outside, I didn¡¯t feel scared. In fact, I felt . . . content.


    ¡°Can you leave the balcony doors open? The rain is nice.¡± I smiled at Papi, and no I wasn¡¯t lying, the rain was nice.


    ¡°Um.¡± He scratched the back of his head and looked outside with a perplexed expression. ¡°Aren¡¯t there bats in the area?¡±


    Mami stood up and smiled at Papi with an amused smile. ¡°Yes, but they mostly eat bugs or fruits. You have nothing to worry about dear.¡± She winked playfully at him and then bent down to tap my forehead with hers. I giggled as Mami kissed the very top of my forehead, and then walked over to do the same to Alejandro.


    Papi shrugged nervously and came over to kiss the top of my head and did the same for my brother. He then followed Mami to the door of our bedroom and glanced back at us. ¡°Alright then, you two have a good night¡¯s sleep.¡±


    ¡°Recuerden que los queremos mucho.¡± Mami blew the both of us a quick kiss.


    ¡°Los amamos m¨¢s,¡± Alejandro and I replied in unison.


    Mami and Papi grinned at us, turned the lights off, and closed the door behind them. I ended up turning around to look outside, to the kapok tree. It was weird, but just knowing and being by it seemed to have quieted the humming in my chest a bit. It was still there of course, buzzing and buzzing. However, after a few minutes, with the rain softly falling and the breeze gently blowing, my eyes closed and I fell fast asleep just as the coqu¨ªs returned to their singing.

 Chapter 4 We Were Pushed into a Mirror

    I awoke to the sound of rain pitter pattering outside my room. Rubbing the crust of sleep from my eyes, I turned over in my bed to look out the balcony. There I found the familiar view of the kapok tree, now no longer shrouded by night but instead softly bathed in the bluish gray hues of the overcast morning.


    ¡°Huh,¡± I said groggily, ¡°I guess the rain hasn¡¯t picked up yet.¡±


    I raised my arms high overhead, stretching and looked over to Alejandro¡¯s bed, to where I should¡¯ve found my slumbering little brother. He, of course, wasn¡¯t there. His bright blue covers looked as though they were cast off in a hurry. They hung untidily off his bedside and pooled on the floor. ¡°Weird.¡±


    Papi had a saying: How can you expect to get anything done if you can¡¯t even make your own bed? I had taken this as a personal challenge and haven¡¯t made my bed since the first time he said it but for some reason it seemed to work on my hermanito. He¡¯s been making his bed every day for the last year.


    I rubbed my eyes one more time and glanced toward the door which had been left ajar. Sliding the pink covers off of me, I swung my legs off the bed. The moment my bare feet met the black speckled tile floor, a terrible shiver shot up my legs. Goosebumps stippled my lightly tanned arms. ¡°Oh wow! Why is it so cold in here?¡± I quickly wrapped my arms around myself as I stood up.


    While making my way toward the door, I noticed my purple hooded jacket hanging on a hook behind it. I rushed over to grab it and slid it on. It wasn¡¯t thick enough to keep the cold completely out, but it was better than nothing. I zipped it closed and then stepped out of the room.


    The windows all seemed to be open, letting in more of the bluish gray daylight which gave color to the otherwise white hall. I looked left and right. The hall was filled with colorful croton plants and lush corn plants. Various wooden Ta¨ªno inspired totems and colorful vejigante masks decorated the walls.


    I tilted my head and blinked curiously at one of the vejigante masks in front of me. It was positioned between two windows. Its colors were earthy and warm. Greens, oranges, and reds. It was oval in shape and had a wide smile. The fangs were painted on in white, which was in contrast to the paper-mach¨¦ of some of the others on the walls. Four horns, two short and two long, jutted out from the top of its head. It seemed to be looking at me through its empty eye shaped openings.


    Something about the mask just felt off to me, and once I straightened my head, I realized what that was. It was nothing nefarious or anything really all that noteworthy. The mask was simply crooked. I walked up to it, grabbed it by the chin, and straightened it back out.


    ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± I giggled to myself and turned right to continue on. Before even taking a step, I completely stopped dead in my tracks. The door into my parents¡¯ room was still closed. ¡°Okay . . . weeeeeird. Aren¡¯t they usually up by now?¡± I asked, even though, and I¡¯m being honest, I had absolutely no idea what time it was. It¡¯s just that they were always up around the same time as Alejandro and they never closed their door if they weren¡¯t asleep.


    I startled at what sounded like a chorus of wind chimes erupting into song behind me. My heart almost leapt from my chest. Spinning around on my heels, I saw nothing. I didn¡¯t know what I expected to find but all that was there were more giant potted plants. Laughter then sounded from the same direction as the wind chimes.


    ¡°Alejandro?¡± I called out.


    I didn¡¯t get a reply.


    Rubbing my arms, I decided to walk down the hall, following the sound of my little brother. Each step on the black speckled tiles was seriously like walking on ice cubes. I couldn¡¯t stop shivering. Come on, I thought, why was it so cold here? Puerto Rico was a tropical island, not a freezer like . . . Whatever, some place that¡¯s super cold! You get what I mean.


    Eventually I came upon stairs that led back to the first floor, but suddenly heard more wind chimes again, this time coming the other direction. Behind me.


    As I turned around, a blue ghost spirit thing came floating up through the floor. If it were really possible to scare the pants off of someone, let¡¯s just say I wouldn¡¯t have even had the time to wave goodbye as my pants ran down the stairs, out the front door, and hailed a cab.


    I jumped back with a gasp, ready to shriek, but I managed to hold on to a little bit of my dignity. After a blink or two, I noticed it looked like a manatee. In fact, I realized it was the same manatee from last night.


    ¡°Wait . . . No way, are you the same ghost from last night?¡± I narrowed my eyes at it and stared at the floating apparition, but it didn¡¯t answer. It just floated in a circle before me, almost like it was dancing.


    I raised a brow at it, curious as to what it was doing and tilted my head to the side, a little suspicious of it. As I was about to open my mouth to say something else, someone came running up the stairs sounding out of breath.


    ¡°Oh! You found her.¡± It was Alejandro and he was still in his pajamas. He walked up to me with wide, excited eyes and a beaming smile. I couldn¡¯t help but be taken aback.


    ¡°Her? Wait, do you know . . . what she is?¡±


    My chest was quiet, so I guessed I didn¡¯t need to be afraid, but I was standing in front of a flipping ghost. I think I handled it pretty well. My only experience with ghosts up until then was with the adult movies that I totally, definitely, never ever watched, but in those, the only time scary ghosts came out was at night, so I should¡¯ve known it was safe.


    Alejandro nodded with a now relaxed smile. ¡°She said she¡¯s a spirit, and she¡¯s asking for help.¡±


    ¡°Help? Help with what?¡± I asked, still pretty shocked that there was a literal spirit of an animal right in front of us.


    Wind chimes sounded again, even louder than before. It seemed to be coming from the manatee spirit. My brother and I both turned to find it floating away from us, back where I came from down the hall, and turned into a room on the right.


    ¡°Come on Irene!¡± Alejandro exclaimed as he dashed past me after the spirit.


    I reached out for him, hoping to stop him, but I missed. ¡°Alejandro, wait! How do you know what the she-spirit thingy is saying anyway?¡± I chased after him, of course. His laughter echoed down the hall. Weirdly enough, our parents still hadn¡¯t woken up yet.


    As we made it to the room the spirit disappeared into, we skidded to a stop and just barely managed not to slam into each other at the open door. The manatee floated about in a circle at the center of what looked like a study.


    Two of the walls were lined with bookshelves filled with books and what were either really well-made movie props or ancient artifacts from the past. I had absolutely no idea where they could¡¯ve come from. There was also a big mahogany desk that had . . . actually, nothing whatsoever on it. Not even pictures or stationeries. It was like the desk had been brought in here and abruptly abandoned.


    Wind chimes sounded again. I was starting to get the impression that the chimes were the spirit¡¯s way of calling us and as I spotted it, the spirit flew into a large, oval, wooden frame hanging low on a mostly empty wall. It looked like a mirror or picture frame but I couldn¡¯t tell from where I was standing. Alejandro didn¡¯t chase after the spirit this time, for which I was super thankful because I was still trying to catch my breath. He instead was clinging to the door frame.


    I looked around the room. Although the blinds were open, it seemed only a little of the outside light managed to break through their barrier, leaving the simple study looking pretty dreary and maybe a little spooky.


    I was the oldest and so I stepped into the room first, staying as quiet as I could and walked straight to the oval frame. My little brother shifted nervously at the doorway, but after barely a minute, he came in after me. I felt him grab onto the back of my purple jacket hoodie.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I took a sudden breath as my chest started to hum. This wasn¡¯t a mild hum, mind you, it was a full on salsa. Like, there was something really, really bad about to happen, but I had no idea what that could be. After all, it was just me and my little brother in my abuelo¡¯s study. Okay there was a ghost too but whoever saw a manatee and yelled danger? I decided to ignore the warning signal and continued toward the frame.


    Once I got to it, I was taken aback. At this distance I could tell it was definitely a mirror¡¯s frame but inside it, instead of finding my reflection, or that of Alejandro¡¯s, or anything at all, all I saw was . . . nothing. The face of the mirror was some sort of shiny black surface. If you walked into a windowless room and turned off each and every light. THAT¡¯S how black the surface of the mirror was. It looked like I was staring into a black onyx gemstone. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was pretty or scary. The wooden frame was cool though. It depicted a bunch of symbols of the Ta¨ªno gods carved from top to bottom. Someone must¡¯ve spent a really long time adding every line and detail to the totems.


    ¡°Oh my, I see you¡¯ve found my mirror.¡±


    Alejandro and I jumped. We turned around to find our abuelo standing in the doorway. He had clearly been up longer than us. At the very least, he had gotten dressed. He stood there in dark blue slacks and had his hands tucked casually in his pockets. In no time at all he strode on over and stopped behind us, his eyes looking straight into the mirror and a curious half smile creasing his lips.


    ¡°If it¡¯s a mirror,¡± I said while turning back to the inky black face before me, ¡°then why doesn¡¯t it show our reflections?¡±


    Abuelo knelt down and placed a hand on each of our shoulders. ¡°Because this is no ordinary mirror. I had to sacrifice a kapok tree to make it.¡±


    I gulped. The humming in my chest was going absolutely nuts. Alejandro and I glanced at each other and not knowing what to do, I just shrugged.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s a magic mirror? Like in Snow White?¡± Alejandro asked.


    Abuelo chuckled with amusement and looked at my little brother. ¡°S¨ª, y no. Kapok trees are magical, and the older the tree, the more power it holds. Its connection to the spirits is especially potent. I couldn¡¯t cut down la Ceiba in Ponce; too many eyes on her, so I had to search about the island for another.¡±


    ¡°So, what are we looking at then?¡± I asked, growing increasingly suspicious. Abuelo was acting weird and I couldn¡¯t shake away the feeling that something bad was about to happen. The way he looked at the mirror was all wrong. There was a strange longing in Abuelo¡¯s eyes as if there was more to it than he was letting on. It gave me the creeps.


    ¡°Kapok trees, according to what we know of what¡¯s been left behind by the Ta¨ªno tribes, are our connection to the spirits, but that¡¯s not all. They also serve as a sort of link to other worlds.¡±


    ¡°Other worlds?¡± I looked at him with a raised brow.


    ¡°S¨ª. The Ta¨ªnos believed that there are alternate worlds out there, both similar and different from ours. Think of it like looking at your reflection in a pool of water. While you see your reflection looking back at you on the water¡¯s surface, each ripple makes the image unique. Although magic is rare, and here it has been dying for a long while, it is bountiful elsewhere. Even though this Earth is incredibly old, another might only be a few centuries young.¡± Abuelo patted our shoulders and his smile left large crinkles around his eyes. ¡°Here, why not touch the mirror¡¯s surface and see for yourself.¡± He then gently pushed us toward the mirror.


    Alejandro and I hesitated, barely taking a step forward. I rubbed my hands together anxiously. My little brother looked to be just as nervous as I was, but he nodded bravely all the same. I blinked, honestly stunned by the gesture, and with that we both looked at the mirror.


    Raising my hands to the shiny surface, I ran the tips of my middle and ring fingers against the mirror. A cold sensation raced up my arm, causing me to lightly shiver. Alejandro did the same. I gasped as bright blue ripples spread out from where we touched it. As I slid more of my hand through the mirror, more and more ripples formed and crashed against the edges of the frame.


    ¡°Oh wow,¡± I said breathlessly.


    Alejandro laughed sweetly. ¡°It¡¯s like I¡¯m touching water in a fountain.¡±


    For a moment we smiled at each other and I thought I might¡¯ve been overthinking things. Maybe there was nothing to be afraid of, but then why was the buzzing in my chest still freaking out? It had never been wrong before.


    My smile faded as I felt an immediate tug against my hand, jerking me even further in. Judging by Alejandro¡¯s face he had felt it as well. We both quickly yanked our hands back and thankfully we both came free without a problem. My hand was incredibly cold to the touch though.


    As I rubbed away the pins and needles in my palm, I glanced up to the mirror, and startled. An image now showed itself in the mirror. It looked like winding pathways of glowing tree roots, like those of a kapok tree. The paths were surrounded by a faint night sky complete with twinkling stars in all directions. At the very end of each of the branching paths were glowing, swirling, glittering portals.


    ¡°Perfect,¡± Abuelo said softly.


    As it turns out, I really should¡¯ve listened to the buzzing. Electricity suddenly shot up my spine, making the hairs on my neck stand up on end. ¡°Abue¡ª¡±


    Before I had even managed to react, Alejandro and I were thrust forward. The world was a blur as I stumbled and did everything I could to keep my footing.


    My heart jumped into my throat. I braced for the inevitable crash against a glass surface, which with hindsight was silly since I had just poked my hand through it but magic was still new to me and in my defense, most mirrors are quite solid thank you very much. I was instead plunged into a freezing, jelly-like substance. Imagine a gel pad after it had been in the freezer for twenty-four hours.


    The sensation didn¡¯t last long, maybe only a couple of seconds. We fell downward, landing on the intertwined root path hard with a pair of loud thuds. Everything felt cold. I could see my breath hanging in the air, which given I was still in my pajamas, meant I should¡¯ve been absolutely freezing. My teeth should¡¯ve been chattering away and my body should¡¯ve been shaking for warmth, but neither of those things were happening. It was no colder than if I were standing in front of the fridge, doors open and searching for a midnight snack.


    I slid my hand back across the rough cool surface and lifted myself lightly. The ground was hard, but didn¡¯t feel like stone. It was far too smooth, like those trees that don¡¯t have that scratchy bark attached to them. I shook my head and looked up in shock. We had entered the bizarre night world with the windy tree root paths.


    I pushed myself up, my brown eyes wide, and my stomach heavy with dread. Jumping to my feet, I looked about our new surroundings. A vast emptiness filled the space between the network of root paths and in the distance was a sea of stars and deep, rich hues shifting between blues, purples, and pitch black. Looking at the wood beneath my feet I then felt thankful. Although it looked to be kind of translucent, I was glad to find it to be quite solid. At least I wouldn¡¯t be falling again.


    I then heard a clunk from somewhere behind me. Spinning around as quickly as I could, I found Zigor smearing something red across the mirror¡¯s surface. He drew a big X. Yeah, there was no way I would be calling him Abuelo ever again.


    ¡°NO!¡±


    I ran toward the mirror portal thing, but instead of going right through it like we had a minute ago, it was now completely solid and I slammed into it with a thwack. Adrenaline pumping, I slammed my fists against it with all my might. Tears tried to fight their way out of my eyes but I was too angry to let them come.


    ¡°What are you doing!? Let us out!¡±


    Alejandro was knelt on the ground where he had fell, crying and clutching his knees. Zigor wrapped his hand with a cloth and the bandage quickly soaked with red. His only acknowledgement of us was a disinterested smirk.


    My heart was attacking my rib cage with the same ferocity as I was attacking the portal. Just what the heck did this man plan to do to us?


    ¡°Now listen to me very carefully Irene, because I¡¯m only going to say this once. Find the Op¨ªa I know you two have been seeing. Once you do, it will take you to where I¡¯m from.¡±


    Zigor¡¯s amber brown eyes hardened into such a scary glare that I could¡¯ve sworn they turned to a deep crimson. He leaned his uninjured hand against the mirror¡¯s edge. His expression made me shudder.


    ¡°Where you¡¯re . . . Why don¡¯t you go there yourself!?¡±


    ¡°Because I was banished from Guan¨ªnk¨¦, never to return. My beloved Cacica was turned to stone. Find my world and set my Cacica free.¡±


    Cacica? The term caught me by surprise. Wasn¡¯t that Ta¨ªno for chief? What was he talking about? This only served to make me more upset.


    ¡°I¡ªMami y Papi won¡¯t let you get away with this!¡± I shrieked, no longer able to hold back the tears rolling down my flustered cheeks.


    Zigor chortled with amusement. ¡°My dear Irene, my daughter and her husband will remain asleep until you do what I say. Use that as your motivation. Now, a ponerse en marcha.¡± He waved his hand at us as one would shooing away a pest.


    I glared at him. My hands balled into fists and I could feel the anger pooling in my temples. This man was supposed to be our abuelo, but Zigor had made it very clear that he didn¡¯t care about his family. I now had a much better understanding of why Papi didn¡¯t like him.


    My chest was tight and the humming continued. I should¡¯ve listened to the warning, but how was I supposed to know THIS was what it was trying to warn me about?


    I grunted and turned around to Alejandro, grabbing his hand. ¡°Come on, the faster we do this, the faster we can go home.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit.¡± Zigor smirked wickedly.


    ¡°C¨¢llate!¡± I shot the jerk a challenging glare, hoping to annoy him but he simply shrugged and nudged his head forward, leaving me beyond furious.


    ¡°NGH! Come on, Alejandro, let¡¯s go!¡± I yanked my little brother¡¯s hand for him to follow and must¡¯ve pulled too hard because I thought I heard him yelp. I knew I needed to apologize to him, but for the time being, I needed to get him as far away from Zigor as possible, even if that meant wandering into the strange unknown of the mirror world.