The Marketplace

Gael meets his distant ancestor.

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The second worst pain I experienced was during senior year of band. I practiced my trumpet multiple hours for a week, and because of my poor form my jaw locked itself to limited movement. 

The worst pain I felt was the brain aneurysm.

The band was rehearsing for a show commemorating the opening of a new tapas bar. I hit the highest note of the C5 scale when the sound of lightning split across my eardrums. I would have assumed it was another thunderstorm had it not been for the excruciating pain that exploded after the sound. Celia immediately took me to the ER.

I did my best to focus on the doctor’s questions, but a rolling sequence of headaches kept striking what felt like every thirty minutes. A med student sat by taking notes, and at one point she spoke to the doctor privately. Another headache struck me when the doctor made the decision to perform an endovascular coiling surgery.

They say it’s a less invasive procedure, but any procedure that involves putting a catheter through the groin seems pretty invasive to me. Neither Celia nor my mother, who later joined us at the hospital, were sympathetic to my discomfort.

After the surgery, I was assigned a room to rest for the next few days. Celia’s anxiety exhausted her, and she fell asleep by my bedside. I stared at the ceiling, feeling my eyelids grow heavier. 

Suddenly, I could hear a soft billowing of leaves. A tree provided shade from direct sunlight, and I sensed that I was lying on an uneven surface. I was laying on the roots of the tree. I sat up and discovered that I was alone in an open courtyard. 

Photo by Thaddaeus Lim on Unsplash

A marketplace was several yards away from me. I got up and approached the market. The only person I could find was a vendor at the end of the line of tents. As I moved closer, I could see skirts, dresses, and blouses on display. The vendor was sewing a simple, white handkerchief. She seemed so fixated on her work that she did not notice me approaching.

Her espresso hair gathered in a low bun, yet some strands of her hair hung over her face. When she finally looked up, her vivid hazel eyes cut through me. There was something about them that said she knew me. Like, actually knew me.

“It is good to see you, Gael,” She said with a smile. “Come, have chocolate with me.”

She gestured towards a stool across her table. A talavera cup of hot chocolate was waiting for me. Before I knew it, she held her own cup and took a sip.

She looked like she could be twenty, at the oldest. But she carried herself with so much grace I judged her as an “old soul.” I accepted her offer and took a seat. The smell of warm cinnamon and chocolate set off my stomach. She surveyed me, ignoring my stomach growls.

“Even with Aztec blood, you look like my brother.”

Was that a compliment? Maybe she is an “old soul” in more ways than one.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“My name is Catalina Ruiz. I am one of our ancestors, though I am rather removed from your lineage.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your bisabuelo, David Ruiz, is my brother.” 

“Wait, actually?”

She looked amused.

“Well, there’s a little more distance than that. But when has that ever mattered for our family?”

She was right. I have a primo who’s technically the grandson of my father’s cousin. He’s probably “removed” three times over, but it’s much easier to call him primo.

“So, you’re my tía…”

“Yes, to put it simply.”

A silence fell over us, setting off the wheels in my head.

“...I think we have something in common.” I proclaim.

“Yes we do.”

“Are you here to warn me?”

“That depends. Are you searching for a warning, mijo?”

It was a little off putting for her to call me mijo while looking younger than me. I sipped the hot chocolate. Catalina followed my lead. 

“I understand that few survive your type of injury. You are very lucky to be recovering.”

I looked to my cup for a response.

“Even under excruciating pain, I could tell Celia was terrified.”

She nodded. 

“I am sorry that she carries that curse.”

“That is not her fault.” I replied with an defensive tone.

“Indeed, it is not. But the truth remains that the curse is holding that family hostage. You are the only one that will feel its wrath. You will survive this injury, but can you be certain that no greater harm will come to you?”

I let a pause enter our space. I drank my cup to its last drop, and studied the kitchenware. I did not expect her to own a set of talavera cups. Especially a simple set like the one my abuela owns. I set it down.

“Did you know that I injured my jaw when I first started playing the trumpet?”

“Is that right?”

“I sustained a TMJ - a temporomandibular joint disorder. I could not move my jaw for weeks. I had to eat only soft foods, and I went to physical therapy to get my jaw back to normal mobility. Of course, I couldn’t play during my recovery.”

“I’m sure your family was concerned for you.”

“They were. Especially Abuela Lorena. She checked on me every day and made my meals. She got so worried that she tried to convince me to quit the trumpet.”

“Yet you persevered.”

I nodded. I didn’t tell her that my family tends to live on the edge of fear. They support everything we do, full-stop. But fear is always behind the scenes, tending to the slightest inconveniences and plotting a backup plan when failure is in our peripheral view.

I refuse to live under its shadow.

“Anything good is worth persevering. I just needed to have good form when I played. Once I mastered my form, I could play more complicated music.”

“You cannot conquer this curse, Gael.”

“Maybe not, but Celia is worth trying. You must know something that can help us. Why else are we here?”

Failing to hold back a smirk, Catalina sharply sipped her chocolate.

“Even across time, men are unabashedly stubborn.” She observed. She put down her cup and continued sewing the handkerchief. Sitting across from her, I finally noticed the initials of M.E.

“Martin was the same as you. He was quite romantic. It is rather ironic that you are my descendant, yet you share his traits.”

“I guess that makes Celia your double.”

There was a glint in her hazel eyes, which I took as her agreeing with me. She turned back to her needlework.

Thunder rolled from a distance. Dark clouds were speaking from the horizon behind her. It seemed like Catalina always chose to ignore her surroundings. Or maybe she, also, chose to persevere.

“I believed that I was in a courtship with one man. In truth, I was in two courtships at once.”

“How was that possible?” I asked with a curious eyebrow raised. I can’t imagine that sort of thing was allowed for her time.

“I was wholly unaware of my second courtship. It was a forbidden one at that. Nevertheless, he courted me in his heart. Even if I had known, there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

A deep thunder rolled as the clouds loomed over us. 

“Why is that?”

“He insisted that I was his destiny. Even though he witnessed my engagement, he still wanted me for himself. He would stoop to hell to fulfill his desires.”

A horrible thought crossed my mind.

“Did he…do anything to you?”

“Never,” She answered with conviction. I was surprised with how relieved I felt with that answer. 

“No matter how tempted he might have been, he was too cowardly to act upon it. But he did not need to act to poison our engagement. The heart can cause enough damage.”

A part of a storm cloud flashed green, but thunder did not follow.

“Though we both lived a good life apart from each other, Martin will always be my true love. I suppose even with the curse over us, we were both protected.” She mused.

Catalina handed her handkerchief to me. The initials were now threaded in gold, reading C.R.E.

“No one can conquer the curse alone. It was born out of defiance against a destined union. It will persist until the two are united.”

She reached for me and rested her hand on my cheek. Her smile reflected abuela’s own. Hers, however, was totally fearless.

I closed my eyes and accepted Catalina’s familial kiss on the forehead. When I opened my eyes, I was met with the hospital ceiling. Celia was still fast asleep to my right.

As long as she’ll have me, we will stay together.

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Part 13 / Part 15

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