30. La Siguanaba, part one
On a brisk evening, Felipe was on his way to visit Maria, when he was caught off guard by the whisking of a soft silken veil across the dirt tracks of the dimly lit town. He went to investigate, to find a woman as beautiful as Julia and Maria sulking around the back of a local building. She was covered in a woven silk veil like a blanket, while her rosy complexion was shrouded by thick brown hair. Felipe tried to speak to this woman, but her sultry voice ended up nearly seducing him into a hole of darkness. As he leaned in to kiss her, the woman's face seemed to melt away to nothing, leaving the ghastly emptiness of a human skull in front of him. Felipe stepped back as the woman postured upright. This was no ordinary night maid, but La Siguanaba, a being of legend like any other.
The skull edged around while her body stood still. Usually when men had seen her true face in the past, they had either died from fright or been driven insane from the experience, but Felipe looked absolutely fine, merely spooked by her true form. Felipe wondered why La Siguanaba had led him astray, what she wanted from him. He soon saw tears drip from the eyeholes of the skull, as if she was sad. Felipe even dared to console the creature, asking her as to why she cried. She shared with the human a tragic tale of how she was doomed to search eternally for her son El Cipito, a punishment for having affairs behind the back of her husband, the ancient rain god Tlaloc.
In a bold move, Felipe went even further, offering to help La Siguanaba find her child and promising to return the following night to help her begin the search. Away from his close encounter, Felipe finally found his way to Maria. They discussed their future together, when they wanted to get married and find a house somewhere, what careers they wanted to follow, whatever options they had. Maria still had the proposal playing on her mind as she had not actually accepted it yet. She was waiting for the opportune time, with a simple yes on the way while everything else was being taken care of. Felipe knew she was on board with their plan of marriage, and that a word was just a word at this point.
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La Flor de San Juanita
Historia CortaEl Salvador, 1800. prodigal son Felipe Sanchez returns to the small town of San Juanita, setting the stage for a mythical tale filled with vengeance, drama, legends and adventure. the second short-ish myth in the ever expanding pantheon.
