Page 113 of Fortune's Kiss
Mayté, Lo, and Carlos stepped back into the entrance lobby.Where all of this had begun.That felt like an eternity ago.Mayté ran her hand over the carved alebrije on the wall.The same peacock that had killed Misterioso.“Good boy,” she whispered.She and Carlos lugged around sacks filled with golden coins and precious gems.It was more than enough to last a lifetime.
“You’re both free to go,” Miguel told them.
Up ahead was the exit.Rays of light flitted through the cracks of the door.Milagro was out there.Mayté could have run, but she allowed herself one look back.
Her best friend stood next to the Banker, Miguel.Mayté held up her hand with the scar from their childhood pact.
With a soft smile, Lo held up her own scarred palm.Their blood was forever entwined.She whispered in Miguel’s ear.He snapped his fingers, and, in a flash of amber lights and glitter, a book appeared in his hands.He handed it to Mayté.“Take this,” Lo said.“Inside you’ll find the contents of my soul.That way, you’ll always have a part of me with you.”
Mayté took the book and studied it.The cover was glittering gold with pearlescent flowers blooming.The pages were also trimmed gold.Now wasn’t the time to look inside.
“Your soul book is here and I’ll treasure it,” Lo said.“And maybe, just maybe, we’ll happen to glance at each other’s books at the same time.”
Carlos cleared his throat, holding back tears.Mayté hooked her arm under his and tugged him forward.“Come on.Let’s go.”They stepped outside into the most gorgeous sunrise she had ever seen.The kind that made her want to drop everything to capture it in a painting.It was a new day.A new life.
Milagro was almost exactly how they had left it.The trees were green and flourishing, and the warm air promised to grow hot and humid in a matter of hours.It was still summer.It had only been two days, even though it felt like they’d been inside Fortune’s Kiss for much longer.
She nodded at Carlos’s coin sack.There was more than enough to spare.“This should be enough to get rid of father’s debtsandto secure a new life for our family.”
“Mayté … thank you.”Carlos squeezed the bag tight as if it would up and fly away.
“Be gentle with father.We know now what he’s been through, but that doesn’t mean you should let him take advantage of you either.”She wagged her finger in his face.“You’rethe head of this family, so you’d better start acting like it.”
“All right.All right.”Carlos headed down the street.It was a straight shot to their shack of a house, but Mayté didn’t follow him.He turned back to her, a look of confusion on his brown face.“You’re not—”
She shook her head.“I need some time … for myself.”
“When …” Carlos frowned.“When will you be back?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted.“But not for a long while.”
The two siblings stood for several moments in silence.Before Fortune’s Kiss, this would have caused a big fight, butnot this time.This time, Carlos came back and hugged her tight.“Do what you need to do.I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too.Tell Ma and them not to worry.I’ll be fine.”This time she meant it.
Mayté’s pulse drummed as she stepped out of the inn.A carriage awaited her.Her.How long had it been since she rode in a carriage on her own?She climbed inside and told the driver her desired destination.
“And what is the señorita’s name?”The driver tipped his hat with a grin.
Mayté sat back in her seat, trying to let herself relax.Her body was still stiff, which wasn’t a shock given all she had been through.“Mayté.”She smiled.“Just Mayté.”
“A lovely name.”The driver flicked the reins and the horses began to trot.They were off.It didn’t take long to leave Milagro’s city limits.A small part of her was tempted to look back, but she resisted the urge.A wave of emotions washed over her, devastating and bittersweet.But this was right.Or at least it was the most right of all the wrongs.
She pulled Lo’s book out of her bag.It had been two weeks since Mayté returned from Fortune’s Kiss, and she hadn’t had the courage to look inside until now.
With trembling fingers, she opened the beautiful golden book.The pages inside didn’t reflect the same opulence as the outside.The brittle yellowing pages were filled with angry images.Blood.Bruises.Tears.Words scribbled and scrawled out of pain.It was disturbing, but Mayté wouldn’t stop looking.She had to know everything about her best friend.
Interspaced between the macabre images were heartbreaking ones.Pictures that were clearly supposed to be of Lo and her mother, but Loretta’s image had been torn away.Quivering lips.Little eyes wide with terror.Some pages were empty.They felt so lonely.It broke her heart.
“Oh, Lo …,” she whispered.It finally sank in.She’d never truly known her best friend like she’d thought she did.Yet she didn’t love her any less.Mayté flipped through the pages until she landed on a picture of herself, Carlos, and Lo.The only joyous page in the book.
That’s what I love about you, and no matter what, you’ll always be my sister.
A wet drop stained the page.Mayté quickly wiped her eyes and dabbed the water with her rebozo.
She flipped to the end, where the pages were blank but tinged with gold and glitter.Her untold future at Fortune’s Kiss.“Lo, thank you for everything.Please be happy too,” she whispered.She could only pray that those pages would soon fill up with wondrous images of splendor.
The carriage stopped, and the driver opened the door for her.An older gentleman with warm eyes and a crisp suit helped her out.
