Grief that Runs a River

Chapter Four: Actions Left Unexplained Give the Deepest Wounds

"Papi, can I go to the river? There's a nice lady there!"

Agustin's jaw fell from his face, "What do you mean, mija?"

"The lady in the river! She was crying and then I hugged her and she was okay again!" Mirabel exclaimed too enthusiastically for Agustin's anxiety.

He had grown up with tales of a weeping woman who roams the bodies of water, looking for her niños. He was a grown man, but hearing his youngest speak about her sent shudders down his spine.

"Cariña, let's go to our room. I have a story to tell you tonight." Agustin gently picked up the toddler, who then snuggled into her father's musky scent.

As they arrived in the room, Julieta was nowhere to be seen. Agustin knew that there were thoughts weighing on her mind. The ones that tipped the scales were Mirabel not getting a room and losing her brother on the same night.

He felt useless seeing her like this.

"Papi? Bedtime story?"

Agustin shook his head to clear the thoughts. He turned his focus to his cute daughter and gently patted her head.

"Okay. This is a little scary for you. Will you be okay?" The little girl nodded and just burrowed herself deeper into his arms.

There once was a beautiful woman who wanted to marry a rich rancher in hopes of a better life. But she was poor and below his social status. The rancher would never try to look at her that way. She used her beauty and brain to capture his heart. Soon they were married and had two kids. 

She got so busy taking care of her niños that she neglected her looks. Her husband went on long business trips, but when he came home, he would ignore her and put all the attention on their kids. She was jealous, to say the least, but she set aside her feelings and felt happy that her children would never experience the hardships she had gone through.   

One day, she came home to the sounds of laughter coming from their house. She was welcomed by the sight of her wonderful husband playing cards with the niños. From the kids' reactions, he was losing. It was heartwarming. She smiled as she remembered this scene in her heart. 

In the kitchen, the woman prepared the family's lunch. A shout from the living room reached her ears; her husband was going back to the city. She wiped her hands on her apron and bolted towards the door to say her goodbyes. She halted as a beautiful and elegant woman stepped out of the carriage. The woman kissed her husband on the lips and dragged him inside their vehicle. She peered at the shadow cast upon the cloth by two figures kissing. 

Her heart was broken into pieces. In a blind rage, she yanked her niños to the lake. The screams of the young children were muffled by the gloomy and cold waters. Once the angry stream of bubbles subsided, the trance was broken, and the woman was left regretful. 

The woman, in her grief and regret, wandered the earth, crying and screaming her children's names. Her curse was to search for her children's souls, but she would return to her grief and drown any children she found.

"But Papi! She wasn't crying! She was smiling at me and then she hugged me. She didn't drown me." Mirabel reasoned, clearly defending the woman in her dreams.

"No Mirabel, you are not going anywhere. This is for your own good. Go to sleep. Buenas noches, mija." The girl just pouted at her padre's words.

It was unfair, she only wanted to play with the nice lady. She slid back under the covers, earning a kiss on her forehead.

Mirabel finally went to a dreamless sleep.

Agustin went to the kitchen where his wife would be. As Julieta was scrubbing the dishes again, he fondly rolled his eyes. He embraced her from behind and nuzzled into her shoulders. Breathing in the smell of herbs and the food she cooked today.

Julieta was the best woman on earth. She cannot be compared to any other. Agustin worshipped the ground she walked on; he worshipped every inch of her body. But it saddens him that he was a measly and disastrous commoner whom this goddess fell in love with. She could have picked another man, more deserving of her love and the space next to her.

He groaned against her skin, "Juli, we've already cleaned that. Come to bed. You're stretching yourself thin. You know this can't go on."

"I can't. I need to take my mind off these... events." Julieta removed his hands from her hips and scrubbed the pans furiously. Sweat trickled down her neck.

Her husband tried to reach out to her, but she moved away. Her tears were falling more freely.

She used her sleeves to wipe them. Julieta's hands gripped the counter tightly to steady herself.

"I can't do this, Gus. It hurts. My brother disappeared one night without saying goodbye. Mirabel got humiliated in front of everyone. I saw her heart shattered. She asked me to cook her something. She was crying, asking what was wrong with her. My hija. Mi hija paqueña." She sobbed and clutched her chest, where the pain was the most intense.

"I was supposed to care for them. Protect them from harm. I'm the caregiver. I'm the fucking healer of this town and I can't fucking do anything!"

Agustin, seeing the mess of emotions his wife was showing, knelt and tried to scoop her up. He was also hurting.

Bruno was more than a friend to him; he was his hermano. And they hadn't anticipated that this would happen. And Mirabel, his youngest. She looked like she wasn't affected by this whole ordeal. He wanted to be there for her. He wanted her to cry. But his strong little Mirabel grew up too fast, like her sisters.

Silent tears slid down. His family bore too much responsibility. One small mistake toppled their whole beings.

Agustin was hurting for his family, and he couldn't do anything to soothe the wounds. At the end of the day, he was just a non-magic member of this powerful family. He felt like a burden.