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The first time Leo had a nightmare was the night after his mom died. Many years down the line, Leo would look back and decide that this made almost too much sense, but eight-year-old Leo didn’t think that it made much sense at all. Nothing made sense to him. Nothing made sense in a world that didn’t have his Mamá in it. So, Leo was stuck reliving the worst thirty-six hours of his life over and over. Being helpless as he watched his Mamá die to the sound of Dirt Lady's cruel laughter. Spending the night in a hospital bed, knowing he was alone. Having Aunt Rosa scream at him, accusing him of being a devil and killing her sister (never his Mamá, only ever her sister). Running from the police in charge of him, only to round the corner and have them grab him up in too-big, too-rough hands and drag him back to the station. And then he was back at the warehouse.
He was running from the cops to the sound of laughter for the third or thirtieth or maybe three hundredth time when the dream suddenly changed. Instead of running headlong into a pair of sturdy, uniformed legs, he ran into a pair that seemed almost frail in a long, black dress. He held tight to the fabric beneath his fingers and looked up at the person he'd run into and gasped. “Tía?”
Tía Callida frowned down at him, but she just carded her gnarled fingers through his hair. “Leo, what are you doing? You could have knocked me over being so careless.”
“I'm running from bad guys,” Leo said, furtively glancing over his shoulder. “They want to take me away.”
“Are they bad guys, or are you just scared of them?”
“I don't know,” Leo frowned. He cocked his head to the side. “What's the difference?”
“Oh ho! Isn't that a clever question!” Tía Callida cackled in delight. “Though, I'm afraid I cannot answer it for you.”
Leo considered his own question and the one Tía Callida asked. "I don't think they mean to be bad guys, but I think they're dangerous. I can't trust them.”
Tía Callida nodded and she seemed a bit sad when she said, “You likely won't come across many people you can trust for a very long time.”
Leo bit his lip and pressed his face into Tía Callida's hip. He took a deep shuddering breath. Just like always, she smelled like some kind of flower Leo didn't know the name of. Then he said the words he hadn't been able to bring himself to say. “I killed my Mamá.”
Tía Callida clucked her tongue, but she sounded almost amused rather than angry. “My, my, my. What a self-important little thing you are! Why, you no more killed your mother than that nasty Aunt Rosa of yours did, you silly boy.”
Leo didn't respond, he just pressed his face deeper into her dress. She sighed and then stooped down to pick him up. He was a little surprised — he certainly wasn't the biggest kid in the neighborhood, but even his Mamá had grunted picking him up sometimes and Tía Callida was so old — but he didn't complain as she settled down in a rocking chair. He realized then that they were on Tía Callida's porch, the same one that had been across the street from Leo's house. He stared at his old front door like if he pretended hard enough, his Mamá would come walking out in her shop apron and take him away. He wrapped his arms around Tía Callida's neck and hugged her tight and she hugged him back. Leo suddenly remembered that Tía Callida was actually kinda nice when she wasn't setting him on fire or giving him snakes to play with or putting jalapeño juice in his eyes. He wasn't sure if his sniffling now was because he realized that he missed his old babysitter or if it was because she was the first person to hug him since his Mamá died.
“You have a long, difficult road ahead of you, my little hero,” Tía Callida said softly, rocking them both back and forth. “You will meet many of these so-called ‘bad guys’ in your travels. They will chase you, and if they catch you, they will kill you. You cannot fight them, so you must never let them catch you. Do you understand?” Leo nodded, even if he didn't understand. Not really. She untangled his arms from her neck so that she could meet his gaze. Her eyes seemed to almost glow in the Texan sunset. “But you can win , my little hero. You are smart, and you are fast. You just need to be smarter and faster than the ones chasing you. Keep moving, and keep your mind sharp. Learn what you can do with your hands, child.” Leo flinched at the mention of his hands and she let out a soft, huffing laugh. “No, not that gift. Not yet. Your hands are made to build and create. You are your mother's son, are you not?” Leo nodded furiously. She smiled at him, and it didn't look as much like baring teeth as it used to. She hummed and tucked him back under her chin and began rocking again. “Oh, my brave little hero. I wish things were different. I wanted you to stay with your Mamá. Mamás who love their babies make the best heroes. Your Mamá would have made you the greatest of them all.”
Leo sniffled and clung to her a little tighter. “Tía Callida, where did you go? After Mamá said you couldn't come back?”
“I went home,” she said simply.
“No you didn't,” Leo argued. “I saw your house. It's been empty ever since you left.”
She laughed at him. “No, silly boy, that wasn't my home. My home is very far from here. It’s at the top of a mountain, above the clouds, and overlooking a vast city. It has grand halls and beautiful gardens and music floats through the air day and night. My family has lived there for many, many years. That’s my home. Not this house.”
Leo blinked, mystified at the picture her words painted. “Will you take me there? Will you come get me and take me to your new house?”
“Oh, I can only imagine what my husband would have to say about that,” she cackled. “No, my boy, I cannot take you there. Not yet. I would like to show you one day. Maybe when you grow up to be my big, strong hero, you’ll visit me there and you will walk me through the gardens and I will show you all the places I know you would love. But not yet. You cannot visit me yet. You must be my brave, little hero first.”
“I don't feel very brave,” Leo admitted. “I'm scared.”
“Of course you’re scared. Only a fool wouldn’t be scared. You’re much too smart to not be scared,” Tía Callida dismissed. “But since when is being scared a disqualification for being brave? No, silly boy, to be brave you must first be scared. You must be scared, but you must not let your fear conquer you. Can you tell me how you will do that? Can you tell me what it will take for you to win?”
“I have to be smart and fast,” Leo recited. “Smarter and faster than everyone else.”
“And you will,” she said simply like she was telling him the end of a story she’d heard a thousand times. Then she sighed and it sounded so much like heartbreak that Leo had to blink back a new wave of tears. She hugged him so tight it almost hurt. “Your destiny is coming, my little hero; this will be the last time I will be able to interfere with you so directly. I will get you to shelter, but we won't speak again until the time comes. But never fear. I will stand guard over you, and I will always be there when you need me most. And then one day, when your destiny arrives, you will be the one to keep me safe when I need you most. Until then you know what you must do. Be brave. Be quick. Be clever. One day you will save the world.”
Then, she pressed a kiss to Leo's hair and started to sing. It was the same one that she always used to sing to him. That same warm, familiar tune sung in a language he didn’t understand but still somehow knew. He let out a deep, shaking breath and closed his eyes, letting his Tía’s voice and rocking lull him to sleep.