The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero Lacruz

Author:Gabriela Romero Lacruz [ROMERO LACRUZ, GABRIELA]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2023-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

They went into a trading post as the cloud-blotched sky turned stark with the shadows of the dying sun. A shopkeeper sat on a rocking chair on the porch, his bloated child playing with twigs and rocks by his side. They were shaded by eaves heavy with plantain bunches and sacks of cassava and the occasional pork rinds.

They walked through a screen door woven from leaves and seeds, which rattled as Javier opened it for her. The shack was hot and smelled of sweat, like a dirty rag overdue for washing. The trader gestured at the pots and bags filled with trinkets and stones and spices to either side. Among the goods was a tray of sliced fried plantains and queso de mano. At once Eva’s gaze fell on the plantains. She was so hungry she could have eaten the whole dozen of them. Javier bought them for her.

“I’m looking for conduit jewelry,” he told the shopkeeper.

Eva was too hungry to listen to them. The plantains were cold—probably cooked early in the morning—but the edges were still crunchy, the center sweet from a properly ripened plantain. She stared at the street through the screen door, daydreaming herself into the celebrations, even if here they worshipped Ches. From the thrum of the faraway drums, it sounded like it had already started.

Moments later Javier turned to her, showing her a necklace with a crystal container.

“Did you eat them all?” he asked, amused.

Eva was in the process of chewing the last one, so it was no use lying about it. She shrugged.

“Not that I wanted any.”

She sucked the gunk off her teeth and said, “You don’t care for nozariel food, remember?”

“Right.”

He showed her the necklace and said, “It’s not the prettiest, but it’s got the biggest crystal container.”

Her eyes went from the necklace to the shopkeeper, who had a display of jewelry laid out on a velvety cloth across from him.

“To hold your iridio,” Javier said as he wrapped his arms around her (she flinched, expecting something else entirely) and latched the necklace to her neck. “You’re also getting rings for geomancia.” This close he looked young, boyish, like the highborn boys who’d come to visit her grandfather’s court and ignored her for being bastard born and ugly. Heat radiated in waves off him, making it even harder to breathe in the already sweltering day.

He gestured to the rings. “Try them and see which one fits you. Not the silver ones, though. Gold complements your color.”

Eva did her best to disregard the compliment. Eventually they left the shop and walked straight into a sea of people.

The parade for Ches—or Saint Jon the Shepherd. Eva couldn’t tell if there was a difference. The crowd was as big as the village population. Everyone had taken to the streets, all dressed in clothes dyed a pigmented red. With their torches burning bright in the darkness of early dusk, they were an ocean of crimson.

The people’s singing bordered on shouts. They danced, and sang, and followed the Ches statuette, which was now far from view.

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