Neophyte

Father & Son

Mitena's eyes and lips widened and quivered seeing her daughter's clothes in blood. She went to her son and grabbed the clothes. "V-Valentina!? Where is she!? Where is my daughter!?" She cried.

Metztli went and tried to comfort her, but Mitena was inconsolable. Victoriano tried to remain calm, but his heart was rapidly beating when he saw his daughter's blood-stained clothes. Seeing Esteban and his son, they, too, were reeling with worry. "Where did you find it?" Victoriano asked, quivering.

"We found it not too far from the Mission, Victoriano. I checked the nearby homes of the Neophytes and other small ranches, but no one had seen her. Guillermo and I then checked the opposite way where we found a pile of Valentina's clothes."

"Wh-What? What do you mean parts of her clothes!? Why would her clothes be outside this Mission!?" Everyone was silent, but the Soldados noticed the ruckus and couldn't help but look on. "Y-You knew something was wrong, didn't you, Victoriano? Why didn't you tell me!?"

Victoriano went to Mitena, but she moved away from him and Metztli. "Mitena, I only knew about the situation earlier in the day. If I had known that our daughter went missing, I would have informed you."

"You should have told me before the trial, Victoriano! I should have gone and tried to find her! All the time we had spent on trial, we could have used it to find our daughter! Blood! She could be hurt! In danger! She-!"

"Mitena, contain yourself!" Victoriano raised his voice as he firmly held her arms. "Our daughter will be found if it is the last thing I do! We will not leave here until she is found! I will ask Padre Fermin for one final favor to ask his Soldados to look for our daughter!"

"Victoriano, Manuel, and some others are still looking for her. Even if you ask Padre Fermin for this favor, I do not know if he will send more Soldados to help."

"I-I don't want to admit it, but he may be right, Victoriano. Padre Fermin was very merciful with his verdict. He also looked adamant of wanting all of us gone so they can have full control of our people. We shouldn't ask too much of him. Padre Fermin may change his mind." Metztli was worried, but they would still be in danger if they stayed longer than they had intended. "We have to leave by tomorrow or else you can be executed, Victoriano. Mitena and I will finish packing while you men try to keep on looking for her."

"No! I will go try to find my daughter! I-"

Guillermo went to his mother as he roughly held her arms. Everyone was surprised by his sudden action. "Mother, enough." His stern voice made Mitena and Victoriano shiver. They had known him to be kind and gentle, but he had changed. "You will go and help Metztli pack and you will leave everything to us."

G-Guillermo?"

"You and Victoriano kept a secret from Valentina and me. You knew that Valentina is vulnerable. You two did enough." Mitena bit her lower lip while Victoriano felt his heart skip a beat. Guillermo called Victoriano by his name. He couldn't fault his son. Victoriano promised himself that he would spend the rest of his life making amends to his children. "Mitena, please. Leave this to us. I will find our daughter if it is the last thing I do."

Guillermo let go of his mother as he walked away. Mitena gave her son and Victoriano a glance, then departed for her room with Metztli in tow. Victoriano and Esteban stayed behind. "Victoriano, I am sorry. I didn't know that Mariana was-"

"Her real name is Mitena. Mariana was a name I gave her to hide her identity. There is no point in calling her that anymore. There isn't time to lose, we must find Valentina. Are there more horses in the stables?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, I will get a horse and you will show me where you found her clothes."

The men walked out of the Mission. Guillermo wasn't seen; they believed that he, too, had gone to get a horse. Victoriano asked to go alone; Esteban respected his decision. Victoriano walked to the Soldado's barracks and then to the stables. There, Guillermo was preparing a horse. 

Victoriano knew that his son heard him, but Guillermo still didn't look at him. He slowly walked toward his son but stopped midway. "Hijo..."

Guillermo momentarily stopped what he was doing, but then continued. "I know that we didn't have time to speak alone while I was still Bishop. I wanted to ask for your forgiveness for lying to you and your sister all your lives. Please understand that I wanted you, your sister, and your mother to be safe. It hurt me to not be a proper father to you and your sister. How much I wanted to be there as you both grew. I-"

"Enough." Guillermo looked at Victoriano. "You did it to protect us. I understand. Even as an Español, you knew that you couldn't protect your Metizo children. Or was it something else?" He slowly walked to Victoriano; his eyes did not waver. "Or was it because you weren't ready to be a father?"

"Wh-What?" Victoriano was stunned. "No, hijo. When your mother told me about her pregnancy, I was happy. I was happy believing that we could have the family we always wanted. You must understand that we were fugitives. I was a Soldado who broke my oath, and I did not have any  other prospects. I did not have much to provide. Soldados were everywhere. They could have killed me and taken you all as slaves. My only hope was to join the Mission to protect and provide for you all."

"So you chose the easy way out to become a Padre and then as Bishop? You had it easier than the rest of us. Ever since I could remember, my mother had to raise us on our own. The village women helped her as much as they could. The village men tried to raise me to be a man, but I knew that I was different; their eyes told me that. Valentina had difficulties making friends since, like I, was different. We felt and looked different. We also didn't have a father. Valentina and I always asked about who our father was and what happened to him. She always spoke with pain. Now I know she was hurting for speaking lies. You then called us upon the Mission to teach us English and Spanish, while other Tongva children didn't have that opportunity."

"Guillermo. I know it was difficult for your mother. Do you not think I didn't think about how much you all went through? I also went through hell going through the Mission. I had to lie and risk life and death to protect much of the Tongva and neophytes while I was still a Padre. I secretly stole money from the Mission to provide not only for you and your mother but for the village." Guillermo was silent, but Victoriano continued. "Padre Fermin and the others didn't know what I was doing since I was in charge of the records. I could have been killed for what I have done. I was willing to risk death for you all since you and your mother were my only reason to live and survive. Hijo, I will give you all the time you need but please know this. I love you, Valentina, and your mother with all my heart. This you must know."

Father and son looked at one another until Guillermo returned to his horse and finished putting on the saddle. He got on the horse, looked at Victoriano, and said, "You love us. Yet, not enough. We didn't care about safety. All Valentina and I wanted was our father." He commanded his horse away.

Victoriano looked down at the ground, his heart clenching, his heart breaking.