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One sleepless night, Aeyla took her usual trip to the Sacred Ceiba in the heart of Esha. A full moon illuminated the sky, reflecting off the surface of the ocean as she walked along the shore. Waves crashed down and lapped at her ankles as a cool breeze blew through her greying curls.
As she followed the water, she gazed at the fishing boats, considering what the consequences may have been if she took one of them to the main island without notice. For a fleeting moment, Aeyla weighed her options.
Abandoning my people would be selfish, but it would be nice to learn where I’m from.
Aeyla shook her head, took one last look at the boats, and turned her gaze back to where the beach met the rainforest.
“Healing is selfish work,” a gentle voice said.
Aeyla stopped in her tracks to look for the source of the voice, clutching her satchel close to her chest. When she turned back, a glowing figure stood at the edge of the rainforest. Aeyla ran, chasing the light to the burial ground.
The figure stopped at the base of the Sacred Ceiba, the light dimming as it transformed into a tall woman with waterfalls for hair and skin like clay-soil.
“Healing is selfish work,” she said, “But necessary for growth.”
“Mother Atabey?” Aeyla asked.
“You yearn to know where you come from. Allow me to show you,” Atabey said, gesturing to a portal in the Ceiba’s roots.
Aeyla couldn’t wrap her head around the situation. She looked around as spirits gathered around her in encouragement. She took a deep breath and, unable to bring herself to refuse the offer, followed Atabey into the portal.
As the portal closed behind them, Aeyla loosened her grip on her satchel and took in her surroundings before meeting Atabey’s kind, frog-like eyes.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Coaybay, of course! Follow me,” Atabey said.
“Right… The Land of the Dead. Where else would we be?”
Aeyla followed close behind Atabey. She noted that the cemi wore office attire, which wasn’t how she imagined the ancestral mother would look.
When did she change her outfit?
“The form I took in the mortal realm was simply the way you perceive me. The other cemi and I are bland-looking compared to the way humans perceive us,” Atabey said.
“Okay, the mind reading thing is really creepy,” Aeyla said.
Atabey laughed, stopping in front of a building that reminded Aeyla of the skyscrapers she’d read about. The building disappeared into the clouds, and looking up at it made her dizzy. The two were greeted by a creature with the skeletal head of a dog, a mane of thick curls, and the body of a man. His glowing eyes were fixed on Aeyla with an unreadable expression.
“Opi, this is Aeyla Ocasio. Aeyla, Opiyel Guobiran,” Atabey said.
“Pleasure to meet you.”
Opiyel looked her up and down and nodded, turning to lead them through the lobby to an elevator. Aeyla grew self-conscious by the number of spirits staring and whispering about her in her peripheral. Her face grew hot, and she fiddled with the strap of her bag.
After the fastest elevator ride Aeyla had experienced, the three walked to a set of tall black double doors. Carved into the wood was a bat-like creature with feathered wings and a humanoid skull. Aeyla’s hands felt clammy, and a pit formed in her stomach as realization hit her. She jumped back when the symbol glowed neon blue, and the doors opened.
“I smell a mortal.”
Aeyla searched for the voice’s source as they stepped inside, eyes landing on a mahogany desk and an office chair. She raised an eyebrow.
“Ay, cut the act, Maque. We don’t have all night,” Atabey said.
The cemi turned around with a pout and stood, towering over everyone in the room.
“You never let me have any fun, ‘Bey! Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I’m…”
He flew straight up, the wind from his owl-like wings sending papers flying, before floating back down and perching on the headrest of his desk chair. Aeyla watched in awe.
“Maquetaurie Guayaba! Lord of Coaybay and Ruler of the Departed! But you, little one, can call me Maque,” he said.
Show off.
Atabey pushed her glasses up the bridge of her hooked nose and placed her hand on her hip. Aeyla laughed. Maque gave Atabey a smug look, earning an eyeroll from the latter. As Aeyla’s laughter died down, the cemi directed their attention to her.
“So, Dr. Ocasio, you want to know where you come from,” Maque said.
Aeyla nodded.
“My mothers told me I was found in a crate by some fishermen from the village. They believed I was a gift from Mother Atabey,” she said.
“Well, they would be correct! Though, I’m sure as a 34-year-old doctor you know that you didn’t just appear out of thin air,” Atabey said, eyes closing from her smile.
“Honestly, part of me hoped I did so I could curb my curiosity.”
Maque’s bat ears drooped, and a short silence fell over them. Aeyla sat down in one of the two seats in front of the desk, peering at the paperwork in front of her. Atabey took the seat next to her, handing her a small stack of photos.
“Your mother, Elena Cruz, fell pregnant with you when she was 17. Your father, Oscar Castillo, was 18. For the first year of your life, they did their best to provide for you but realized you weren’t thriving. So, Elena begged me to give you a better life. You know the rest,” she said.
The cemi gave Aeyla time to process, something she struggled to do from a young age.
“So, they wanted me after all? Is it bold to assume that you want to bring me to see them?”
Maque shook his head.
“Couldn’t this have been a prophetic dream?”
Taken aback, the cemi looked between each other before bursting into laughter. Aeyla chuckled, shaking her head as relief washed over her and the cemi calmed their laughter.
“Where’s the fun in that? Besides, mortal travel takes too long; We’re offering the VIP package!” Maque said.
“Your kindness earned you your spiritual abilities, and it’s earned you an opportunity to meet your parents and heal,” Atabey said.
Aeyla hummed.
“I suppose it couldn’t hurt to meet them, but it feels a bit rude to drop in on them unexpectedly. Don’t you think?”
Opi cleared his throat, startling Aeyla.
“If I may interject, I don’t mind accompanying you. I can make you a portal back here anytime.”
“Everything will be fine,” Maque said.
Aeyla looked around at the expectant cemi before taking a deep breath.
“Fine.”
“Excellent!”
Aeyla stood up, attempting to back away from the cemi who were closing in on her.
“You mean now?”
“The longer you wait, the more time you have to change your mind! Good luck, Aeyla!” Atabey said.
Before she could protest, Aeyla was pushed through the portal, landing in white sand. She stood up, shaking the sand out of her curls and cargo shorts. Face hot, she dug around in her satchel for her phone before jumping back at the sight of an abnormally large Mastiff next to her.
“Opi?” she asked.
The dog barked and wagged his tail. Aeyla giggled as she finally located her phone, opened the camera, and snapped a photo. She turned it around to show him.
“You look kinda cute like this!”
Opi’s growl held no malice. Aeyla patted his head and looked around, shielding her eyes from the blinding sun before turning toward the cemi.
“Lead the way.”
Old San Juan was a stark contrast to Esha. The smell of street food and the number of people on the street made Aeyla feel small. Although she was happy to experience a large city, she missed the peacefulness of the little island she called home. She wished her mothers were with her to experience the main island.
Opi lead her to a giant lawn with a castle in the distance that Aeyla recognized as El Morro. Children’s laughter filled the air as parents sat on blankets nearby to keep an eye on them. Aeyla surveyed the area for her parents.
Her search was interrupted by a soccer ball rolling to her feet. Opi sniffed it, barked, wagged his tail, and ran in an excited circle. As she picked up the ball, she was startled by a miniature version of herself approaching her. The two stared at each other as she handed the ball back.
The little girl gasped, face lighting up before she ran back to her parents.
“Mamá, that lady has eyes like mine! One brown and one green!” she said.
As she watched the interaction, Aeyla was reminded of a time when she joyfully ran into her mothers’ arms to show them a shell she found.
Elena and Oscar exchanged looks before meeting Aeyla’s gaze. Time seemed to slow down as the parents stared for a moment, eyes widening. Aeyla nodded, a silent confirmation to their unspoken question. The little girl grabbed their attention once again.
“On second thought… Maybe I shouldn’t meet them,” Aeyla said.
Opi nodded, summoning a portal beneath them, and dropping them back into Maque’s office. Atabey greeted them with a knowing smile. Aeyla returned it, looking between each cemi.
“The mainland is a lot noisier than home,” she said.
“I agree. Why else would the Sacred Ceiba be located on Esha?” Maque said.
“I think my time spent there made me miss my family. My true family.”
“Then let’s get you back,” Atabey said.
Aeyla bowed to the three cemi.
“Thank you for the gifts you all blessed me with.”
“The work you do for your people will never go unnoticed, Dr. Ocasio,” Opi said.
The cemi smiled at Aeyla as Maque placed a large hand on her shoulder and snapped his fingers on his other hand, teleporting her back to the Sacred Ceiba where the spirits welcomed her back.
When she arrived home, she quietly made her way back to her room and placed her satchel on her desk. The photos of her biological parents fell out onto it, and she smiled fondly at them before picking them up and placing them in her drawer for safekeeping.
In the morning, Aeyla hugged her mothers tighter than she usually did. At breakfast, she told them about the cemi, her visit to Coaybay and the mainland, and how she finally received the answers she had been looking for her whole life. She showed them the photos, her mothers listening intently and encouraging her to be open and honest like they always had.
As she finished her story, she reached out to hold each woman’s hand.
“Thank you,” she said, “For giving me a home, for nurturing my passion for knowledge, and for loving the parts of me that none of us understood.”
A wave of emotion washed over the women, their hearts so full of love for their daughter that it spilled from their eyes. A hard woman with a head of fiery curls, Atelia tried (and failed) to keep her tears at bay. Marie, who wore her heart on her sleeve and had hair like puffy, white clouds, let her tears flow freely.
“You were the greatest blessing we ever received,” Marie said, “We couldn’t be more grateful to have you as a daughter.”
“No matter where you decide to go in the future, bizcochito, you always have a home with us,” Atelia said.
The floodgates finally opened. Aeyla stood up, walked over to her mothers, and leaned down to hug them from behind. She kissed their cheeks before standing up once again.
“As of right now, you two are stuck with me,” Aeyla said, “Now, I have patients to attend to. I’ll see you at dinner. I love you.”
“We love you.”