Chapter 23

23

CAROLINA

A buela died of a broken heart. My dad died trying to save my mom because he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. Camila’s adventures in love had caused her more heartbreak than anything else. As far as I was concerned, love was just another way to give someone the power to hurt you.

I must have been a junior in high school when Camila claimed she’d had her heart “ripped out of her chest and stomped on” by her then-boyfriend. With red-rimmed eyes, tears streaming down her face, she sat at the kitchen counter while abuela made pozole for dinner, Camila’s favorite food, to comfort her.

When Camila’s sobs quiet, she drags herself upstairs for a pre-dinner nap.

“I’m never going to fall in love,” I tell abuela , helping slice radishes and other garnishes.

She looks over her shoulder at me as she continues to stir the soup with a wooden spoon. “Is that so, cari?o ?”

I nod, returning to my task. Fingers curled against the tiny red vegetable; my knife cuts were methodical. In the kitchen with abuela was my favorite place. It was easy to find a role to fit into, and we never talked about magic while we cooked. Cooking was its own form of magic , she’d often say. Though, we both agreed baking was more of a science and left that for Cami.

“It seems like it’s more trouble than it’s worth. Just look at Camila.” My voice is confident, decided.

Abuela hums in thought while she covers the soup with a lid. The humming is a habit of hers that Camila told me I’d picked up recently. It irked her beyond reason.

“Carolina, I’m going to tell you something I don’t think you’ll want to hear.” Here we go . “But I’m going to tell you anyway because I think you’ll need to hear it one day.”

“Why can’t you just tell me then?”

Her hand reaches in front of my field of vision from across the island counter. She covers my hand, and I set down the knife to look at her.

Abuela looks like me. Her frizzy (but somehow in a neat way), wavy hair is parted down the middle. Her eyes are a deep brown, and there are wrinkles in the outer corners that you don’t really notice until her smile is wide enough to make her eyes squint. Even though she moved to a place that seems like it’s under a constant cover of clouds, her skin is still a deep tan shade, and it makes my light caramel coloring pale in comparison.

She holds my gaze almost sternly like it’s imperative that I listen closely to what she’s about to say, but there’s a sadness in the set of her mouth.

“Because one day, I might not be here to tell you when you need to hear it, so I’m telling you now.” I swallow a lump in my throat that emerges at the thought of her being gone one day. “You’re not like your mother and Camila; you don’t wear your heart on your sleeve. No,” she shakes her head slightly, “you keep it locked inside your chest, just like abuelo. He told papá Miguel that he was never going to get married in a million years.” She says it like it’s the funniest thing in the world, and I can see the crinkles appear by her eyes.

She’s told this story to Camila and me a thousand times, but I don’t tell her that because I like that she doesn’t seem so sad anymore.

“I know, I know. You know this part,” she says, reaching out with the hand not holding mine to smooth the crease between my eyebrows. “But what you don’t know is what papá Miguel told abuelo .”

“What did he say?”

Her smile is warm, and it makes my chest feel lighter. “Love, mijita , is like our magic. Sometimes subtle, sometimes overwhelming, but always a force of nature.” Her thumb strokes the back of my hand in soothing circles. “You may see the future, Carolina, but there are still things in this world that may surprise you. No matter how much you try to avoid them. When that day comes, remember, even the most powerful of witches can find themselves bewitched in ways they never imagined.”

I let her words sink in as she pats my hand and pulls the cutting board to her.

“Now, go set out aspirin for your sister, mijita. With all that crying, she’s going to need it.”

Abuela was right. I never saw their deaths coming, and what a terrible surprise they were.