Thirteen Senses (68 page)

“Oh, she's so beautiful!” everyone was saying about Hortensia.

“Here, let me hold her!” said Doña Margarita, reaching for the baby.

“No,
mama,''''
said Luisa, cutting in. “You better sit down first. You know how you've been lately.”

“What happened to her head?” asked Salvador of Luisa.

“Oh, at the church, you know, one of her old lady friends stoned her just as I knew they would.”

“Sssssh!” said Doña Margarita. “She only stoned me because you half choked her to death and put that idea in her head.”

“Now you're blaming me,
mama
! Me, who saved your life!”

“But what are you two talking about?” asked Salvador. “What woman stoned you, and why?”

“Does it ever really matter why,” said his mother. “The important thing is that it's over. Now let me hold your baby. Oh, she's so beautiful! Just look at her eyes!”

Salvador turned to Luisa.

“Don't look at me,” said his sister, “it was our mother who was holding court with Moses and brought this whole catastrophe upon herself!”

“You were talking to Moses, mama?” said Salvador. “The Moses of the Bible?”

“Yes, why not,” snapped the old woman. “But enough of that. I want my granddaughter,” she added, pushing Luisa aside and reaching for Hortensia once again.

But as she took the infant from Lupe, she lost her balance and almost fell. Jose caught his
abuelita
in his arms and helped her to sit down on the running board of the old, abandoned truck in their yard. The old woman never let go of the child, holding her to her heart.

“What are you going to name her?” asked Doña Margarita. “Have you decided yet?”

Salvador glanced at Lupe, then back at his mother. “We, ah, already named her. Her name is Maria Hortensia. But, well, it wasn't really us who named her,
mama?'

Everyone went silent. They were all staring at Salvador, trying to understand.

“It was Lupe's sister Maria,” continued Salvador, “who took the baby from Lupe while she was sleeping and baptized her Maria Hortensia without our knowledge.” He swallowed. He felt so ashamed. He could see his whole family was shocked. “You see,” he added, “Lupe's sister had a terrible dream, and I guess the dream scared her so much that she—”

“All right, no more!” said Doña Margarita, seeing how uncomfortable the whole story was making Salvador and Lupe. “The important thing is that she was baptized, and with such a beautiful name! Why, she has the name of the Mother of God and then she was blessed with the name of a big, beautiful flower! How perfect for such a gorgeous child! Now get away, all of you! I need to speak to my newest granddaughter alone!”

“But,
mama,”
said Luisa, “you really shouldn't—”

“GET!” snapped the old woman. “Get away all of you! Or I'll take a stick to you right now! And don't think I can't! I'm still very quick!”

And she laughed, truly enjoying herself, and began to sing to Maria Hortensia. Lupe didn't know what to do. She didn't want to just leave her little daughter with this old woman, whose head was all bandaged up.

“Come on,” said Salvador to Lupe. “She's raised dozens of children. She knows what she's doing.”

Reluctantly, Lupe began to go with Salvador and the others, but she didn't like it. Then Doña Margarita, who was rocking Hortensia in her arms as she sat on the running board of the old rusty-red truck, saw Lupe leaving with the others, and said, “No, not you, Lupe! You stay with me!”

“Oh, okay,” said Lupe, quickly coming back to the old woman and her child.

“You see, Lupe,” said the old woman, pulling Lupe in close on the running board, “we—the mothers—need to welcome this little woman-child into the world!”

Hearing this, Maria Hortensia screeched with joy, kicking her feet.

“See, she understood me,” said the old woman, kissing the child again and again. “Please understand, Lupe, that children—no matter how young—truly comprehend what people say. In fact, I'll tell you, many a child's life has been ruined by parents not realizing this and saying hateful things in front of them. I swear, Lupe, children actually understand more of what we are really saying than we, ourselves, understand. Just like dogs and cats understand what is going on within
a familia
—even before the family knows itself—so do children. For they are our latest messengers straight from God.

“Eh, isn't that right,
mi hijita
?” said the old woman, turning to Maria Hortensia, “you already know everything there is to know, don't you? For you are an Angel, our latest little
Rayo,
Lightning Rod, from the Heavens.” Maria Hortensia looked straight up at the old woman and started kicking wildly once again. “See, Lupe, she knows, she Knows!”

Lupe was astonished. “I've never seen her kick like this before,” she said.

“Watch this,” said Doña Margarita. “Hortensia, do you remember flying about in Heaven with
Papito Dios
and the Angels?”

Hearing this, Hortensia's eyes lit up with joy and she began waving her arms like they were wings, screeching to the Heavens!

“Listen closely, Lupe,” said Doña Margarita, closing her eyes in concentration, “the more and more we move through the Sixth Sun to the Seventh, our children will be born with fuller remembrances. The Holy Day is not too far away when the bulk of Humanity will be Awakening. This, even the Incas and the Mayans still did know. Isn't this right, Maria Hortensia,” added Doña Margarita, turning back to the child, “it is now safe for you,
querida,
to be here on this
Tierra Madre
with your
familia
and keep your memories of Heaven, for you are surrounded
con Amor
! Tell her, Lupe, she needs to hear this from you, her mother.”

“Why, yes, of course,” said Lupe, “but she already knows that she's loved,
señora.
”

“Yes, but you must also tell her in words, Lupe,” said Doña Margarita. “Words, you see, Lupe, were originally sounds, chants, Vibrations that fed Love from one Heart to another Heart, so these Sound-Vibrations must be fed to a child several times a day from the one who nurses her and gives her warmth, in order for the child to feel anchored.

“There's so much I need to tell you, Lupe. I should've started telling you months ago, as all wise midwives have been doing since the dawn of time with every young mother. Men, you see, they just don't understand this Voyage that Hortensia just completed of coming Here to the Earth from the Stars.

“Each Child,
mi hijita,
is a Sacred Blessing, having traveled here on the Breath of God. Each is the Reflection from that Star from which they traveled. This
planeta
is a school, if you will, for the unveiling of the Understanding of Creation, God and Ourselves. And so, Lupe,” she added, “when you lay down to rest always put Hortensia on your chest so she can feel your Heart, beat, Beat, Beating, then she'll grow up Knowing the Heartbeat of Creation wherever she goes.

“Isn't that right,
mi hijita
,” said the old woman, turning to the infant once again. “Your mother's Heartbeat was your First Song of the Universe, beat, Beat, Beating to you while you were inside of her womb. It would Sing, Sing, Sing to you Night and Day, sending you Love and Good Tidings, teaching you to Relax and Trust the Universe as you slept. Well,
mi hijita,
I want you to know that out here in this world the same is true and here is also a heartbeat and this is the Heartbeat of the Holy Creator, that will also continue teaching you of the Universe every time you sleep and your Guardian Angel takes you up to visit
con Papito Dios.
Eh, you remember, don't you. You Know what your grandmother is talking about?”

Suddenly, the child was screeching once again as if she'd truly understood every Holy Word.

Lupe had never seen an adult, much less a young child, behave like this before. Tears came to Lupe's eyes. She felt so Blessed to have a mother-in-love such as Doña Margarita.

“Always remember,
mi hijita,
you are God's One Singular Note in His Great Symphony!” continued the old Indian woman. “You are Special, you are Unique, no one, but no one like You was ever Created before in all the Universe! And each night when you go to sleep, always Know that your Guardian Angel will come and take you hand-in-hand back up to Heaven, so that you can sleep with
Papito Dios.
And then when you Awake in the morning, you'll feel good and wonderful! Welcome to our
familia,
little woman! Welcome to your short stay here on
planeta
Earth!”

Maria Hortensia screeched again, kicking and kicking.

She'd been ANCHORED!

Her Soul had been REAFFIRMED!

Lupe was beside herself with joy. She had all but forgotten that her own mother, a Yaqui, had done almost this exact same thing with her when she'd been born.

Each and Every child needed to be presented to the Stars and the Mother Earth to have their Soul Reaffirmed, or they'd be lost and floundering about all of their Life!

Tears were streaming down Lupe's face.

“What is it,
querida
?” asked the old woman.

Lupe shrugged. “Oh, I don't know. It's just that every time we get together,
señora,
I just feel so good! I'm so sorry that Maria took Hortensia and baptized her without you being present, but—well, she'd had this terrible dream, and—oh, I just don't know!” Lupe added with frustration.

“Lupe, what's done is done,” said the old woman, “and who knows, dreams can foretell the future, so maybe your sister did the right thing. There are no accidents. Now, give me your hand and place it gently here on Hortensia's stomach.

“Now,” added the old woman, “feel the child's breathing? Breathing is the single most important thing we can teach any child. To breathe slowly, slowly, calmly, especially when things aren't going well; this is the True Baptism a mother gives her child. These priests and their fine robes know nothing of baptizing children. That's all just show. But we, women, must forgive them, Lupe. They're just men, they never had the miracle of Life,
la Vida,
pulsating here inside of them like you did for those nine months. Oh, Lupe, you are now the Miracle Maker
de tu Casa
!

“So forgive your sister Maria,” continued Doña Margarita. “I, too, was young once and had many powerful dreams and didn't know what to do. In fact, this is why Moses and I have been spending so much time together.”

“Then you really did see Moses?”

“Well, yes, of course,” said the old woman, laughing. “I just don't understand why this surprises people. Talking with the Virgin and Jesus is accepted quite easily in
nuestra cultura,
but then people are so shocked when anyone says they've had a conversation with Moses.”

Seeing Lupe's reaction, the old woman laughed again. “
Mi hijita,
it's okay. I'm really no more crazy
-loca
today than I was day before yesterday. You see, Moses and I are re-doing the Ten Commandments.”

“You and Moses are re-doing the Ten Commandments?!?” said Lupe in astonishment.

“Of course. What do you think, that they were written in stone?” added Doña Margarita, laughing
con carcajadas.

But she could see that her daughter-in-love wasn't laughing. Lupe truly looked very frightened.

“But why are you frightened,
mi hijita
?” asked the old woman.

“Well, because,” said Lupe, finding it hard to believe that her mother-in-love wasn't shaking with fear, “the Ten Commandments are the LAWS of GOD,
señora
!”

Doña Margarita burst out laughing again. “And so is Breathing. And so is Birthing. And so is Loving. And so is—I could go on for hours, for days,
mi hijita.
All Living are the Commandments of God. These Ten,” she added, “just got more attention. And they aren't even the main ten.”

Lupe nodded and nodded again. “And Moses, he went along with you on this?”

“How could he not, I had him by his
tanates.
”

It was very hard for Lupe to hear anything after this. Just the image of her mother-in-love to have hold of the Great Man of the Bible by his private parts was too fantastic for her to—but then Lupe remembered what she'd learned about men since she'd married, and she couldn't believe what came out of her mouth.

“Did he enjoy it?” she asked.

“Did who enjoy what?” asked Doña Margarita.

Lupe turned a dozen shades of pink, she became so embarrassed.

“Oh, Moses?” said Doña Margarita. “When I had him by the balls? Oh, yes, he loved it! Nobody had fondled him in years!”

And now they were both laughing
con carcajadas.
Salvador and Luisa were watching them through the kitchen window. The two women looked so beautiful, laughing together on the running board of the old abandoned Model T with the missing doors and motor. This was an old wrecked truck that the people of the
barrio
had been cannibalizing for parts for years.

“How did you get stoned,
señora
?” Lupe asked, wiping her eyes.

Doña Margarita ran her hand over her bandaged head, taking in a deep breath.
“Mi hijita,”
she said gently, reaching out to caress Lupe's hand, “I wasn't alone when I spoke to Moses. Many of my church friends wanted to talk to Moses, too, so I invited them to join me. And well, birthing has frightened women since the dawn of time. And you see, to meet with someone like Moses, from the Other Side, is to Birth One's Self out of the flat and narrow five sensory world and back into the Whole, Complete, Wide Universe of our Full Thirteen Senses.”

Hearing this, Lupe said nothing. She just looked at her mother-in-love, not really knowing what to think or even feel—anymore.