Windward Review Vol 21 (2023): Myths and Hauntings

snores echoing in the house. Her chest rose and fell in anger. Every day it
was someone new. Yesterday it was the owner of the store around the corner.
The day before it was the new teacher that arrived in town a few weeks
ago. Each day a different man, but each day he beats her the same.
Mariela shook with excitement. This was the final piece. Letty’s eyes
were finally here. She would make sure he would pay, but first, she needed
her children. She had waited so long for this moment that she couldn’t
believe it was here. When her children were killed years ago, she was saved
by a bruja who taught her many things, including how to get peace for her
and her children. She only needed to find children that shared similarities
with her precious babies. This might have been a difficult task had Mariela
not stumbled upon a boy one day wandering alone by the river with a smile
like Mateo’s. It was yet another trick the bruja taught her. She would find
an arm that had a mole right where her son did. And she would take it. She
would sew it to the other parts she had found. The sweet boy was so naïve,
Mariela almost stopped herself, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. Now, Mateo
was complete. Letty was nearly there, missing only her eyes, but not for
long.
It was pitch black when the last light was turned off from Sr. Dominguez’s
home. Mariela was once again grateful for Dominguez’s greed, who
sought the land where he could build a house with the best view of the
winding river. He didn’t believe the warnings from the townspeople of a
wailing ghost wandering the water in search of the children she drowned.
All he cared about was his room having a view of the beautiful river Mariela
was now crawling out from. She began walking towards the window
she had seen the little girl in. She tapped on the glass three times. Tiny
footsteps began coming closer to the window. A little face appeared in the
window, searching for the source of the sound until they landed on Mariela.
The little girl, not yet tainted from the harsh world, smiled at the sight of
the woman in front of her. She pushed the window open causing Mariela’s
heart to twist. She didn’t like doing this, but her children needed her as she
needed them. The little girl’s hair blew slightly in the breeze as she pushed
herself an inch more out of the window towards the bruja in front of her.
“You’re really pretty,” she said, “My name is Rosa. What is yours?”
“Mariela!”
She flinched at the sound of her drunk husband storming through
the yard toward her. It was still bright outside. Letty and Mateo were playing
soccer near the river when they heard his voice. They looked at their
mother, fear in their eyes. She told them to hide behind a couple of barrels
nearby and be quiet. Then she turned towards him in time to see his fist
before it connected with her face.
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