A Voice from the Past
During their second meeting, Fr. Agustin and Emilia exchange news.
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I walked into the parish office with my laptop bag hanging on my shoulder, while holding two covered 4oz styrofoam cups in each hand. His email had an undertone of urgency, so I thought cortaditos would help us both take in whatever news we had to share.
Elena greeted me kindly at the front desk before allowing me to follow the hallways to Father’s office. Though his door was half open, I knocked on the door to signal my arrival.
He greeted me without breaking his focus on his desktop, apparently reviewing an email exchange with the Archdiocese of Miami. I apologized for my intrusion, but he assured me that I was not an interruption to this particular email. I suppose like any institution, churches also have to manage housekeeping tasks.
Father looked away from his computer and smiled at the sight of his cortadito. He accepted my offering and gestured me towards the armchair closest to his desk. I adjusted my bag to my lap before taking of sip of my own drink.
Judging by the time he took to savor his cafecito, it seems that none of us were in a rush to share updates. I brought up the tone of his last email to me, and confirmed that it was written in haste. Celia and Gael experienced a distressing incident. Luckily, no one wound up hurt.
Celia and Gael were out on Coconut Grove when a man with a gun approached Gael and held him hostage. It seems that this man was trying to rob a jewelry store nearby, but had failed and fled the scene. Once outside, he decide to take a hostage and unfortunately Gael was the first person he bumped into.
Celia was quick to call the police, while Gael tried to negotiate with the criminal. The police arrived just in time to apprehend the man. The poor couple came home stunned. It seems that Celia does not spook easily, and this event left her anxious. This, in turn, left her parents - and Father - concerned.
I assured him that the man is off the streets, so that particular danger has passed. While he agreed, this event seemed to confirm a connection between the family tree and his niece’s relationship. After all, the book glowed around the same hour that the two were at Coconut Grove. This led him to question why this family tree would target his niece specifically.
I opened my laptop and segued into my findings. I made digital copies of both the Echevarria and Ruiz family trees to guide him in my findings. He recognized the parallels in their migration history, and pointed out that both ancestors - Martin Echevarria and David Ruiz - migrated from different Spanish towns.
Once he made that conclusion, I opened David’s migration records from a separate tab. He migrated to Mexico with his wife, Ana, their son Emmanuel - and his sister, Catalina. David kept a variety of letters from his friends and family, which wound up in our database. Unfortunately, I could only find one letter involving Catalina. I opened a digital copy for Father to review:
May 26, 1845
Querido hermano,
Mamá always said that in order for a marriage to work, the man must be more in love with the woman than she is to him.
But what happens when his love runs out?
Martin broke our engagement, and has returned to Guernica without warning.
Though the doctor assures me that I have fully recovered from cholera, I cannot bring myself to eat. My nights are restless. He haunts my every thought. I cannot walk around this town without a memory holding me hostage.
I will soon depart for Madrid to focus on my craft. La Infanta Cristina seemed to adore her bridal dress. So much so that I received requests from her many acquaintances. Perhaps this is a sign to devote myself to my craft.
Tell me, David, did you ever doubt your love for Ana? Was there any hesitation?
How does a man suddenly run out of love? Without explanation?
The only blessing from this curse is that I will see you and your family more often. I am excited to finally meet Emanuel. Perhaps he will be walking when I arrive.
I will soon meet you with a broken heart, but I am determined to move forward.
Con todo cariño,
Catalina MarÃa Ruiz-Gonzalez
Father sat in contemplation over the letter. I imagined that the original letter carried echoes of tear drops. I interjected to summarize what we know so far: Martin Echevarria and Catalina Ruiz were engaged until Martin broke things off, and suddenly abandoned Catalina. And now their descendants are in a relationship, causing the family tree to act out.
This led Father to question why the Echevarria family tree would interfere in the relationship if Catalina was wronged by Martin. It stands to reason that the Ruizes would have the motive to get involved.
I added that all of the misfortunes fall on Gael. The brakes on his car did not operate. He was the one taken hostage at Coconut Grove. Unfortunately, he is bearing the brunt of the curse.
Father suggested that I look into Martin’s history for clues, and determined to continue keeping track of the couple. He vowed to include Gael specifically into his daily offerings in order to protect him from future mishaps.
As historians, we have the responsibility to unleash the voices of the past. After our meeting, this mission weighed on me like our infamous humidity.
🤯🤯🤯 Trying to puzzle this one out! Very cool historical connection and very puzzling drama unfolding between the trees! Perhaps because the roles are reversed (Mr. Echevarria scorns Ms. Ruiz; now Mr. Ruiz has a chance to scorn Ms. Echevarria???) And how can the family trees impose "bad luck" on Gael? More questions than answers!! Enjoying this, looking forward to the next!