Thirteen Senses (31 page)

And that was when Domingo looked up and saw the legion of Ten Thousand ANGELS, Singing to them in Unison!

He dropped to his knees before the Hand of God even touched him, and he was Praying!

Yes, he was Praying—he'd seen
la LUZ!

Part Five

LA VIDA LOCA

8

And so the Gates of Heaven opened wide and a flash flood de AMOR came pouring forth out over all the land— BURSTING with VITALITY!

E
ARLY THAT MORNING,
Salvador and Fred Noon were at the gates of San Quentin, trying to gain entry, but the guards at the guardhouse were giving them a hard time. Finally, they were told to return the following day. Fred Noon and Salvador could feel the tension. Something really big must've happened, but no one was talking.

Early the next day, Salvador and Fred Noon returned. Fred Noon did all the talking and finally they got past the guardhouse and into the visiting room. They could still feel the tension. Everyone was being very careful and extremely courteous. And when Domingo came into the visitors' room, it was written all over his face. He looked like somebody had just given him a million dollars—he couldn't stop grinning.

“Salvador!” said Domingo, taking his younger, shorter brother in his arms, giving him a big, wonderful
abrazo
and kissing him. “So how is
mama
and Luisa? Good, I hope! And how did your honeymoon go, eh,
hermanito?!”
And Domingo hugged Salvador close again. “It's so good to see you!” he added radiantly.

Salvador looked at his brother suspiciously. Domingo never acted like this, unless he was drunk or—then it hit Salvador. His brother must be completely
loco-happy
and out of his mind on
marijuana.
“So our friends were able to get you the good little weed for your medicinal tea, eh?”

“Oh, yes, they were!” said Domingo, still grinning from ear to ear.

“And this is why you're so happy, eh?” continued Salvador, nodding at Domingo with a knowing little look.

“Oh, no!” said Domingo, seeing how his brother was regarding him. “This isn't why I'm so happy! Haven't you heard?” he added. “Surely you've read about it in all the newspapers!”

“Read what?”

“The
pinchi
news,
hermanito!
”

“What news?” said Salvador. “Fred Noon has been calling all week, but he can't get anyone to say nothing. So no, I don't know what the hell is going on, Domingo!?”

“Well, I'll be damned!” said Domingo, scratching his head as he swayed back and forth on his feet. “Then I bet that these tricky
gringos
didn't let the news get out. You really don't know, do you?”

Salvador shook his head. “No, damnit! I don't!”

“Why, we've taken over the prison,” said Domingo, grinning with joy “Us,
los Mejicanos,
have taken over the
pinchi
prison.”

Salvador was taken aback. “You took over the prison? You,
los Mejicanos,
now run the place?”

“Orale
! Now you got it! And we've come to terms with the guards and warden and we, too, now don't do no work that the
gringos
don't do!”

“What?” yelled Salvador, absolutely shocked by this last statement.
“Los Mejicanos
now don't do any work that the
gringos
don't do?”

“Orale!”
said Domingo, full of
gusto.
Then he opened his mouth and shouted, mouth open wide, giving
un grito
here in the visitors' room. “We are ALL now EQUAL!”

Salvador's eyes went huge. He could hardly believe what he'd just heard. “My God!” said Salvador, now understanding the full impact of his brother's words. For he, Salvador, had been in jail enough times in this country to know how things were inside the prisons. Why, this was incredible! This was the most far-reaching news that Salvador had heard since he'd crossed the border coming into this country, more than thirteen years ago! The
gringos
had lost their all-abusive power!

“But Domingo,” he said, “how did this miracle come to pass? My God, this is what our mother was praying for! A miracle with ten thousand Angels!”

“She was!” Domingo now yelled. “Well, I saw them! All ten thousand! Tell
mama
that her prayers came true! Oh, Salvador, I tell you,” added Domingo with tears coming to his eyes, “it was a visit straight from Heaven! That's exactly what it was, a visit of TEN THOUSAND ANGELS straight from HEAVEN who came to save the day for all the world to SEE!

“You tell
mama
when you see her that I will never, never again doubt her powers as long as I live!” said Domingo. “And you tell her that I will never use the Lord God's name in vain again or tease her anymore when she says that she talks to God, for I saw the Angels that she sent here to us in this prison as well as I see you right now!

“I saw them come down from the Sky and one of them—brighter than the rest—entered into the body of the tiny, little dark
Indio
as he went to do battle with this giant Goliath, just like little King David! I swear it, God as my witness! I saw the Heavens open and smile down upon us, Salvador! God loves us! And He's
pinchi
real
a toda madre
!”

As Domingo spoke, Salvador watched his brother's eyes, and he could see that this brother of his had truly been touched by the Hand of God— just as their beloved
papagrande
Don Pio had been Touched by the Hand of God back in their mountains
de Jalisco
!

And so Salvador now listened to his brother, Domingo, tell this incredible story about these twins from the state of Guanajuato and how one brother gave his life—deliberately impaling himself—so that all of his brothers could live on with respect and equality!

“I saw his soul!” said Domingo. “His
pinchi
SOUL!” Tears were streaming down Domingo's face, but he didn't bother to wipe them. “And the White Enforcer, he saw none of this! He was just so full of hate and rage, like a sickness, that he couldn't see the miracle that was happening before him.”

Domingo continued and the story brought tears to Salvador's eyes. Little by little, he was beginning to see why Domingo had used the words “we,
los Mejicanos,
have saved the whole world!”

Yes, indeed, something extraordinary had come to pass.

His hardheaded brother was a changed man! You could see it in his eyes. Domingo's eyes were now all alive with heart and love, compassion and wisdom, qualities he'd never had before.

And the tears that now ran down Domingo's face weren't tears of fear or anger or those of a doped-up
marijuana
user; no, these were the tears of joy, of
gusto,
of—why, they were the tears of
un hombre
who'd finally seen the Light of God! That Light, that Luz their mother had always told them about, that 'til you saw this Light, you weren't even ALIVE!

The tears continued streaming down Domingo's face, and Salvador took his older, bigger brother in his arms, and they held each other in a big
abrazo
for a long, long time.

“So, then, you're okay?” asked Salvador.

“I'm more than okay!” said Domingo with power! “They feed us good three times a day, 'cause we now got a head Mexican cook, and we got a good roof over our head that don't leak. I swear, for the first time in all my life I feel, like, well, I'm alive, Salvador! And the future is good!” he said, pounding his chest. “Here, inside my heart and soul! And you tell
mama
that when I get out, I'm going to find my children that I left scattered to the winds like a dog, and I'm going to make
mi casa
! For now I really do see
con todo mi corazón
that God loves me! He does, and I'm going to be
un hombre de los buenos
from now on! Hell, we're good people, Salvador,” he added. “If we can turn a prison around like this, imagine what we could do for this whole
pinchi
country!”

Laughing, Salvador wiped his eyes. “I'll tell
mama
,” he said. “And she's going to be so proud of you!”

“Good,” said Domingo, “it's about time, damnit!”

And so they hugged again,
corazón-a-corazón,
feeling more love for each other than they'd ever felt before!

DRIVING BACK THAT AFTERNOON
, Salvador tried to explain to Fred Noon all that Domingo had told him. But it was difficult, especially the part about the Angels and the Light of God.

Finally, Fred Noon just said, “Stop talking to me in English, Sal. Hell, there's no way a man can talk about
milagros
and angels in English without sounding silly.”

“Hey, I think you're right,” said Salvador, and so he switched over to Spanish and the whole story instantly became much easier to believe and understand.

Noon had been right, there was really no way a person could talk in English about miracles and angels without sounding, well, kind of phony, or holier-than-thou.

Hearing the whole thing in Spanish, Fred was stunned. “My God,” he said, “no wonder they won't let out a peep. Do you realize what this means, Sal? If word ever gets out, there's going to be rioting in every prison across the entire country.” He took a big breath. “Mark my words, Salvador, your brother is right, the truth cannot be kept secret for very long. Entire social upheaval is going to start happening everywhere. Like it or not, this country is going to be forced to start living up to its own ideals; of the people, for the people, the land of the free.”

And so feeling ten feet tall, Fred Noon and Salvador drank coffee and whiskey the whole way back to Southern California, and they talked and laughed and became even better
amigos.
They, too, were now both rooted in the reality of the Light of God, a Doorway once opened, then All was Possible within the Miraculous Wonders of Creation!

LUPE WAS AT HER PARENTS
' HOUSE in Santa Ana. Salvador had dropped her off a few days before, and ever since that time, Lupe had been talking non-stop with her mother, asking her mother all kinds of questions, like how had she, Lupe, been born, and how had her mother felt during the pregnancy.

“Well, tell me,
mama”
said Lupe, “how did you and
papa
get along when you first married?”

“Mi hijita,”
said Doña Guadalupe, “are you trying to tell me that you think you're pregnant already?”

Lupe's whole face flushed.

They were on the front porch, overlooking the street. It was midafter-noon. Lupe's brother, Victoriano, and her sister Carlota still hadn't come in from working in the fields. Lupe's father, Don Victor, had gone for his afternoon walk around the neighborhood.

Lupe had been shocked to see how much her parents had aged when Salvador had first dropped her off. Why, her parents had really gotten old in the month and a half that she'd been away. She'd never noticed that her father stooped, looking almost hunchback, and that her mother had all this loose skin hanging below her chin on her neck.

Lupe had almost been embarrassed to look at them at first, for fear that they might read her thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, Lupe nodded. “Yes,
mama
,” she said, “I think that I might be pregnant.”

The old woman's eyes exploded with excitement, and she looked at her young daughter—this baby of the family—and she was overjoyed with
gusto.
“Oh,
mi hijita, mi hijita
,” said the old Yaqui Indian lady, “but why didn't you just tell me when you first got here?”

“Because, well, I don't know . . . but I haven't told anyone yet, not even Salvador,” said Lupe. “And why, I don't know, but it's almost like I don't want to share this feeling I have here inside of me with anyone. You're the first person I've told,
mama
,” added Lupe.