LA MORENITA, Chapter 6

As her mother spent more time taking afternoon naps, Araceli got in the habit of taking her brother down to the river front park at the end of Van Giesen, where they watched the river, the clouds, and the gulls flying low over the garbage containers. As two gulls hovered at the edge of a nearby trash barrel, she tried to talk them, but they only stared stupidly back at her. She missed her butterfly friends. She didn’t understand why they hadn’t come back.
On the second day that Araceli took Chad down to the river, a raven flew near them. Chad saw it and pointed. The raven landed on the branch of a nearby birch tree and called out in its unique, crow-like voice. Araceli almost told Chad that the Mexican name for raven was cuervo, but she remembered how angry her father had got when Chad said, “Pon la mesa.” Chad pointed again and imitated the noise he heard. The raven gave him a disgusted look and flew away.
The next day, when they went down to the river, the raven was hopping along the ground, gathering small pebbles with its beak. When it saw Araceli, it turned in her direction. Araceli looked down at Chad, who was asleep.
The raven opened its beak and let the pebbles roll out. “Hola,” it said.
Araceli thought she had imagined it.
“Hola,” the raven repeated. “Or do you prefer hello?”
This time Araceli knew she hadn’t imagined it.
“Cat got your tongue?” the raven said, chortling at her own joke.
“I’m sorry,” Araceli said. “I’ve never seen a talking raven before.”
“But you’ve seen talking butterflies.”
Araceli didn’t say anything for a while. Then she said. “Why won’t they talk to me anymore? Are they mad at me?”
“What did you say to them?” the raven asked.
“I asked them about my mother and father. I wanted to know why they never touch each other.”
“Ah,” the raven said. “That’s why.”
“Because I wanted to know that?”
“Yes,” the raven said. “They’re not angry. They just know they can’t help you. Didn’t they tell you to ask your parents?”
“Uh-huh,” Araceli said. “But my parents don’t talk about stuff like that. I guess I’ll never know the answer.”
“Yes, you will,” the raven said. “You have the gift. If you write down in secret what you think really happened, you will be right.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Araceli said.
“Try it,” the raven said. “You’ll see.”
Araceli sat quietly, contemplating what the raven had told her while the raven glided over to the stroller and landed on the side of the frame. Chad gurgled happily and tried to reach for it. The raven flew away, looped around and landed on the other side of the stroller frame. Chad giggled and reached again. Again, the raven flew away.
This time when the raven came back, it perched on Araceli’s shoulder. “I’ve seen you twice,” Araceli said. “Will you fly away like the butterflies and never come back?”
“No,” the raven said. “I will keep coming until you no longer need me. And when you do see me for the last time, I will tell you not to expect me again.” With that, the raven arched her back, flapped her wings and flew off.