Anima Vestra ◀ I° 🔫 James Valdez

Chapter 2

Unknown.

Unknown.

White light glutted the space of an enormous airy room, it filled every corner of the room, every cut, and indent of the vaults on the high ceiling of the sacred church.

It was beautiful, something from the other universe and I was in love with places like this. Every voice seemed to echo from the walls of a spacious room I was in. Twinkling candles on the marble surfaces and the cloud of incense smoke rising before the altar bewitched me clouding my mind with whispers of sanctity that reverberated in my ears.

Today was a special day, I was extremely happy that my parents gave me a chance to sit in the first row, closer to the altar together with my friend and friend's family. I watched my older sister curiously, she stood before the altar with our mother and it made me giggle. I was thinking how ridiculously funny my sister looked in that dress of hers.

It was as white as the first snow that layered itself on the ground perfectly. It looked perfect.

My sister was the messiest in the family, much messier than me and it was funny to see her wear something so white without a tiny stain of mud on it. She always preferred to play with neighboring kids in la gallinita ciega, escondidas or bote pateado and for some reason, she always returned muddy and dirty from all the games she indulged herself in. I, on the other hand, found it difficult to play together with street kids, the way Teresa did. I preferred the company of my dog, Blanco, my family, a book that my Grandpa or Papá read to me every night before sleep, or my friend Ale.

Everyone called me Angel while they called Teresa a pretty, little imp. I was always quiet and calm, happy and satisfied with what I had, Teresa was too, but she had more fire inside her, more courage, braveness.

We both had white in us, but it was different shades of white.

I was wearing a familiar white dress mother chose for me, but it wasn't like Teresita's, mine was alabaster white, wan in color compared to hers. All in all, it wasn't my special day.

While my sister was devoted to the ritual at hand I watched her but somehow kept averting my attention to the Ale that kept cracking childish jokes to make me laugh. Grown-ups kept shushing us and we kept silent for a few moments before new jokes appeared in the head of my friend, mocking the priest or some lady's frumpy clothes.

I was far away from all the commotion faraway in the dreamland of laughter and happiness until I heard a loud bang followed by others, repeated sounds that kept getting louder. In a panic I turned my head and caught the gaze of my father directed to me, I saw him screaming something, but with all the loud banging I could not decipher any sound that came from his mouth. For some reason tears streamed down my cheeks, hot and unstoppable. Father rose from the seat but at the same moment his form inched closer there was a loud bang and he fell back. I wasn't able to see him anymore.

I cried louder and turned my head in panic, no one was looking at me. A loud sound filled my ears, there was screaming and intense banging that didn't stop. I caught a sign of my older sister when she ran down the aisle away from everyone and I screamed after her, "Teresa," again an again, choking on tears I kept screaming, yelling, but my voice was too weak and small to reach that far, I couldn't hear myself in all the cacophony.

I felt a small hand grab me and start pulling me with force, farther from all the chaos. I fought the hand in tears, hysterics; I tried to get away, but the hand was stronger, despite its size; and it made me follow.

I kept screaming "Mom, Dad," but no one answered, no one called out for me and when I kept screaming my lungs out feeling my throat go numb, another much bigger hand landed on top of my mouth and someone whispered, "Shh, angel," I saw a face I recognized and my panic subsided for a moment, but my tears kept streaming down my cheeks hot at first and cold against the wind of a street then.