Revolution by W. L. Goodwater

Author:W. L. Goodwater [Goodwater, W.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2019-11-12T00:00:00+00:00

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When they finally were able to dislodge themselves from the students with the help of a pair of unfriendly and uncompromising nuns, Karen and Isabel wandered out of the stuffy building and sat underneath the heavy branches of the courtyard’s ceiba tree. There were a few dark clouds in the evening sky, the first Karen had seen since arriving in Cuba. Beyond the walls, she could hear car horns and distant music, but within the compound, there was an undeniable peace she hadn’t felt in too long.

“I came here,” Isabel said, “when I was a girl. My parents . . .” She waved them away with a dramatic hand. “The sisters took me in. First they gave me food and shelter, and then when they discovered I had magic, they had to decide what to do. Some voted to send me away. Some voted to ignore it. But the woman in charge, bless her soul, sent for a local Yoruba woman who was known as a worker of magic. She taught me everything she knew, and then the sisters bought me books, and then when I was strong enough, I used my magic to make my own money and bought even more.”

“I’m surprised members of the church were so supportive.”

“The church is just people,” Isabel said absently. “Some good, some terrible. I got lucky. And now I help these kids to be lucky as well.”

“And the orphanage doesn’t mind keeping a room for La Bruja?”

“Cuba has its orphans, just like any other place. Children that no one knows what to do with. If those children have magic? No, no. There are no options, not for these kids. So the orphanages like having an option. Now they send them here, from all across Cuba, because we know what to do with them. It is our little secret.”

A few of the children burst out into the courtyard, free for the moment from their overseers. Karen didn’t recognize some of them, likely the orphans who lacked magical ability. They clustered by the gate and tossed a ball against the wall or played jump rope with a frayed rope. Closer, Karen saw Rogelio and Marisol shepherding some of Isabel’s youngest students. They had chalk and Ishu with them and were trying to help the younger magicians figure out how to make the bear move. When the bear’s legs started to twitch for the first time, laughter filled the echoing courtyard.

Isabel’s youngest student, a wisp of a girl called Aleja with huge brown eyes too big for her tiny face, ran up to them, a small purple flower in her hand. She held it out to Karen, murmured something in Spanish, and then ran off with a squeal.

“She says you are pretty,” Isabel said with a laugh.

“Your students seem very happy here.”

“This place is an escape for them,” Isabel said. “An escape from pain, hunger, fear. They don’t mind a little scolding from the sisters, not if there is a roof over their heads.

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