La Virgen y el Búho

“Be still.” Whispers Juanita to her nine-year-old son, Renato. “Hold your breath or they’ll catch us”. The border patrols scan their luminous headlights out into the cold dusk air. Juanita grabs Renato’s hand as she adjusts her two-year-old daughter, Camila, who is wrapped in her serape and held close to her chest. The officers laugh and yell broken Spanish profanity as they step out and walk in the opposite direction. She takes the chance and makes a run for it. Renato is struggling to run because of the gallon of water he is carrying. She has to make a rash decision. “Drop it mijo”, she tells him. He understands the reason and drops the jug of water. The drop of the jug was louder than expected and the patrol officers quickly react and jump in the patrol truck. It becomes a chase. Juanita is sweating and decides to hide behind large boulders. The officers pull up next to them. “I saw shadows running this way.” says one of the officers as he walks near the boulder. Renato’s little hand is beside the officer’s boot. He retracts it back into the shadows. Camila makes a cry and the patrols jump their way when out of the velvet dark sky, sharp talons pierce through and a gust of wind charges at the officers. One of the officers gets sliced right on the cheek- the second officer start shooting his gun into the abyss. The bullet casings hit the ground. Juanita grabs Renato, leaving all luggage behind and makes a run towards the hills. Renato looks back as the illumination from the headlights paint his face with the moving shadows of a valiant creature that fights for their honor.

Juanita holds Renato and Camila close to her as the desert temperature drops even lower. It’s is now pitch black and she can’t tell if it is safe to return for her belongings. They wouldn’t survive the walk back anyway. She hears a screech and begins praying to the Virgen de Guadalupe. Everything goes quiet.

Renato wakes up to the sunrise discovering dead mice and desert rodents surrounding them- he screams. Juanita wakes up rapidly and is alert. "mama porque estan muertos? why are they dead?" asked Renato. "No se mijo. I don't know the meaning of this". She relocates a few boulders away. There, she breaks the last of the tortillas she had in the only bag she didn't leave behind. Camila is thirsty. They begin to start moving north again.

Dehydrated and exhausted, Juanita stumbles to her knees as Renato lingers a few feet behind. He too is ready to collapse. He sees figures in the distance. "mama, mira... look, it's grandpa and papa" Juanita knowing that both of them had passed away, still gave it a glance. To her surprise it was fellow immigrants also crossing the desert into the U.S.A. It was a family of four. Guillermo, the head of the household runs over to them with water. He gives Camila a sip while his wife Carmen hydrates Renato. Juanita bursts into tears, "Gracias, thank you. The Virgen answered my prayers". Carmen fixes Juanita's hair, "don't cry, you must save your tears and stay hydrated". Juanita smiles at her and passes out.

Fire flicks as Juanita comes back to her senses. "Renato! Camila!" she yells, searching for them frantically. Carmen rushes over to her, it's okay, they are here, slow down and take a seat. Renato walks in while holding Camila in his hands. "Where are we?" she asks as she analyzes the room. "We are in a safe house inside a cave." says Carmen. "Is this your home? how did we get here? what time is it?", "relax and I'll tell you" Carmen explains. "You fainted out there so we carried you. We began to march north with you but we all grew tired. the sun was setting again and we didn't know what to do. Until we hard that screech again that lead us to you guys in the first place. So we trusted and followed the sounds. It led us inside this cave and into this safe house. I don't know who this home belongs to but it has water and food". Juanita then recalled the screeches she heard in the other night.

Everyone is asleep and Juanita gets up and decides to explore the cave. She is running the screeches in her mind. Asking herself what it all meant. As she nears the entrance of the cave and the moon light caresses her skin, a gust of wind takes hold and suddenly what appeared like an angel begins descending towards her. "that's it mama!" Renato yells behind Juanita. He had followed her. "That is what I saw fighting the officers that night". She holds Renato close to her as a white barn owl lands right infront of them. It's holding something in it's mouth. Both Juanita and Renato look at eachother. It is a dead mouse. The owl places it infront of them, bows it's head and takes off into the night. It was an offering. Juanita sheds a tear. "Thank you Virgen De Guadalupe." she says. "Was that owl my papa?" Renato asks. "It was mi amor. It was your father, La Virgen De Guadalupe and a creature of mother nature offering us food and guidance. They hug and make their way back to the safe house.

The sun creeps into the cave. Everyone gathers their things and make their way to the mouth of the cave. Juanita looks at Guillermo and Carmen, "thank you for your kind heart." they smile. "Thank the voices of the desert that guide us" says Guillermo. And just like that, a screech resonates from the horizon. They all look at each other and laugh. "That's our call! Let's go!" yells Renato as he leads the march up North.