Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs

Author:Alda P. Dobbs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2021-06-16T00:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

Las Cabras

Early the next morning, I awoke to the smell of coffee and opened my eyes to a strange, red world. I propped myself up on one elbow and blinked at the crimson light seeping through the mesquite branches above me. I rubbed my eyes. Small clouds filled the sky, lots of them, but each puff, lined with darkness, held the color of a ripe, prickly pear—a deep bloodred.

“Buenos días, Petra,” said Amelia. “You want some coffee?” She sat near the fire next to the old woman who’d fed us the day before. Her name was Doña Amparo. She was a small woman, but despite her age and stature, she carried herself with strength and a lot of pride.

Abuelita slapped tortillas into shape while Luz, baby Chencha’s young mother, ground corn on the metate. Not far from them, on a sarape, sat Luisito. He gnawed and drooled on a cartridge bigger than his hand while Chencha invited him to play with her tin cups.

I walked toward the fire, tightening the shawl around my shoulders and staring at the plum sky that grew fiery near the sun.

“Ten, m’ija,” said Doña Amparo. She handed me a cup of coffee.

I sat on a log and let the coffee’s warm steam soothe my face.

“Buenos días,” said Marietta.

I quickly put the cup on the ground and jumped to my feet.

Marietta turned to me. “Please, sit. I’m between meetings and came here for a quick bite.”

Marietta wore a small-brimmed hat and a different jacket, but the scarf around her neck was the same purple one.

Doña Amparo handed Marietta a taco and a steaming cup of coffee. Marietta drank the coffee in two quick gulps and wolfed down the taco. She turned to me as she chewed her last bite.

“We’re leaving earlier than expected,” she said, looking at the sky. “The repair train leaves in a couple of hours. After they depart, we need to board our train and leave before the storm comes.”

I looked up at the sky and then turned to Marietta. Her gaze was on me, and my hands grabbed at my skirt to stop them from trembling. I didn’t yet have an answer to her proposal.

She wiped her mouth with her hand. “Don’t board the train until I get back. Wait for me here.”

I agreed with her, but I could feel my heart beating fast. I wondered if Marietta wanted an answer to her proposal by then, or maybe she had a special mission planned for me.

Marietta thanked Doña Amparo for her breakfast and marched off.

“It’s going to be a long day for us soldaderas,” said Luz, dipping her hands into a bucket and grabbing handfuls of soaked corn. She was a pretty girl with long, slender arms, and she looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. She had a smile as bright as Chencha’s.

“What do soldaderas do?” I asked loud enough for Abuelita to hear. Perhaps becoming a soldadera was something that would interest her.

“People call us camp followers,” said Luz.

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