I am no one, I'm nothing

Capitulo Uno

Aldonza placed the wooden pails on top of the crumbling brick well, lowering herself onto it with a heavy sigh and a hefty scrape on her exposed legs. She lowered the buckets into the well and felt her arms ache as they gathered the heavy liquid, her biceps straining as she retrieved one and eventually the other. "Aldonza!" a gruff voice yelled from the direction of the inn. It was the innkeeper, her boss, of sorts, and he sounded harried. His bloated form wobbled quickly towards her, his mumbled words drifting towards her through the thick heat of the late afternoon. "Aldonza, hurry, we have new guests!" he cried. "We need fresh water for the men and their burros; throw something on the fire for supper, straighten up the rooms-you did change the linens from the last guests, yes?" He asked, placing a sturdy yet aging hand on her shoulder as he checked off items on his mental, jumbled checklist. "Look nice, my dear." He concluded, sweeping her dark curls to expose bare shoulders. "Where there are men there is desire, and where there is desire there is opportunity." He patted her shoulder gently and turned to leave.

"Comprendo," she sighed, loading her weary arms with the filled buckets as she trudged behind him.

The innkeeper turned to her, a new thought registering and spewing out of his cracked lips. "It might just pay off, Aldonza." He murmured, taking a bucket from her as the two walked quickly to the inn. "Remember what you are here for, mi hija." He told her, glancing at her with a fatherly gaze. Aldonza nodded, yielding but understanding, and watched as the innkeeper hurried towards the inn and grumbling about chores and money and time.

The young woman hauled the pails to the courtyard, murky water sloshing out as she advanced with quick, uneven steps. She dumped the entire contents of a pail into the water trough for the horses and burros, the other to boil water for what would soon be chicken and pepper stew. Aldonza made her way to the stables to fill the hay bins and sweep away used hay, broken bottles, ratted blankets from previous guests who were too rude, drunk or a combination of the two to clean up after themselves.

The sounds of crude laughter, yells and the metal clanking of saddles, boots and whips filled the air as the new guests made their way to the rough-looking inn. Aldonza scurried towards the inn and up to her solitary room, hoping to hide herself from the appraising eyes before she absolutely had to. She closed the wooden door behind her and sunk onto the floor, lifting up the floorboard to retrieve a shard of mirror. Placing it on the window sill, she gazed at the sliver of her reflection; she appraised her appearance, noticing the angles of her eyebrows, the cut underneath her left eye, the way her caramel skin flushed above her cheekbones and how the tiny hairs near her forehead and ears plastered themselves to her face with thick, sticky sweat. She rummaged once more through her secreting hiding place in the floorboard and retrieved a darkened piece of wrapped up cloth. Unfolding it, she placed her finger in the red glob and smeared it on her lips, her cheekbones, trying desperately to achieve a healthy looking glow. Dipping another finger into the brown, dirt-looking mound, she darkened her eyebrows and eyes, brushing some of it on her eyelashes so that they spread apart, so that they would dance through the wind and catch the attention of the men.

Aldonza continued her ritual, doing the best she could to cover up scratches and bruises from work-related injuries. Nobody wanted to buy a broken toy. A harsh whistle pierced the air, and Aldonza quickly put her mirror and makeshift makeup into the floor, covering it up as she made her way to the courtyard where the muleteers and innkeeper were gathered. She approached the innkeeper, bowing to him as she waited for her instructions.

"Aldonza, we have guests." The innkeeper told her, gesturing to the rough men. Most had climbed off of their horses and were shielding their eyes from the sun, trading glances with each other as the appraised the young woman. "Attend to their animals and gather their things. Then join me in the kitchen, as I'm sure they've worked up quite the appetite after traveling so far!" The innkeeper appraised the men and pushed Aldonza's lower back, forcing her forward to attend to the chores he had assigned her. "Date priso, mi hija." He murmured to her. "This way, men. Your animals and possessions are in good hands."