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“Y a donde me quieres llevar? Con Huitzilopochtli? Me dicen que ya mi hermano no nos matan, pero que pruebas me tienes?” (Where do you want to take me? To Huitzilopochtli? They tell me my brother doesn’t kill us anymore, but what proof do you have?)
“Trajimos a otro de sus hermanos. El le puede decir,” (We brought another one of your siblings. He can tell you.) I replied, surprised that she hadn’t tried to run away yet. At that moment, I heard Uncle Theo coming around the corner and I was worried she would stop listening.
‘Stop. Wait. I think she might listen,’ I mind-linked in a hurry.
“Quien?” (Who) she asked.
“Beto. Ummm. No se su nombre de verdad. Lo encontramos en Chile.” (Beto. I don’t know his Aztec name. We found him in Chile.)
“Tochtli(toscht-lee),” she whispered. “Donde esta?” (Where is he?)
‘Bring Beto. She wants to see him.’
‘On it.’
“Ahorita biene,” (He is coming.) I told her, trying not to wince at my accent. I really sounded like a white boy in comparison. Mom taught us as best as she could, and we got lots of practice with Uncle Helios and our uncles, but I still stumbled a little when I went too long without practicing.
I heard rustling behind me and watched her eyes widen again before she lost all her fear and pushed past me. She ran straight into Beto’s arms, and they started talking rapidly in another language. Uncle Theo walked up to me as we watched their reunion.
“Fantastic Job. Your mom will be proud.” He beamed at me.
“Do you know what they are saying?” I asked.
“Yes. She’s asking about his kid and Helios.” Uncle Sebastian appeared beside Uncle Theo, startling me for a moment.
“It’s really creepy when you do that, Uncle,” I chided.
“Don’t encourage him. He loves to be told people can’t see him,” Uncle Theo teased.
“Don’t start, Corazón,” (My Heart) Uncle Seb growled, but I could see the blush blooming on his face.
“Is that because his gift didn’t work at first? Mom told me,” I mentioned, making Uncle Theo laugh, but it was apparently the wrong thing to say because Uncle Seb’s blush kicked up a notch.
“It did work! It just didn’t work with my tattoos. Now they blend too,” Uncle Seb replied indignantly.
“It’s okay, Uncle. She told me that, too,” I tried to calm him.
I could see Uncle Theo trying hard not to keep laughing and I knew that would just end up with them bickering before making up. I was riding in their SUV, so I would prefer to avoid having a make-out session shoved in my face. It was sweet and all but one, they were my uncles! I didn’t need to see that and two, it was just a reminder of what I had yet to find: my mate.
“She was trying to tell me every gift had a learning curve when I struggled with mine,” I finished explaining.
Uncle Sebastian was about to respond when Beto and the woman approached.
“Me llamo Ahuic(ah-hweek). Siento haber corrido. He corrido por generacciones. Es dificil quebrar costumbres.” (My name is Ahuic. I’m sorry I ran. I’ve done it for generations. Habits are hard to break.)
“No importa. Lo importante es que estes bien. Beto te dijo quien te busca?” (It’s not important. What’s important is you’re still alive. Did Beto tell you who hunts you?) Uncle Theo asked.
“Texcatlipoca,” she answered, spitting on the floor as she said his name.
“Si. Hay que llevarte a los Estados Unidos. Ahi te mantendremos segura.” (Yes, we must take you to the US. We can protect your there.)
“Necesito unas cosas,” (I need a few things.) she answered. We nodded and started heading to the vehicles. We drove her to a small house in the middle of Tehuantepec. Uncle Theo accompanied her and Beto inside while the rest of us waited outside. The humidity was killing me. It felt like my legs were going to melt in these jeans.
A few cars came around the street. They looked new and out of place in this small town with no parking on side streets or driveways and narrow streets. Our SUVs were already taking up almost half of the tiny street.
‘Uncles...’
‘What?’ Uncle Theo asked.
