“This is a special aquelarre for me because my son—”
Yadriel’s heart leaped into his throat.
“Our son”—his dad corrected, looking to Camila for a long moment before turning his gaze to Yadriel—“Yadriel, joins me as a brujo.”
My son.
A brujo.
How long had he been waiting to hear those words? Having them said aloud, to a room full of brujx, made Yadriel’s legs feel weak. It was like a dream, but so much better.
“I think it’s a special one for all of us, yes?” There was a murmur of agreement from the crowd. “The aquelarre celebrates transition. All of you are on the precipice between youth and adulthood,” he said to the line of young brujx. “Between uncertainty and confidence. Our traditions should grow and change with every generation. Just because we follow the ancient ways does not mean we can’t also grow. I have been shown that these past few days,” Enrique said. “I failed my son, Yadriel, as both a father and a leader,” he told the crowd.
Yadriel held his breath, frozen in place by his dad’s sincerity and candor. There were murmurs in the crowd behind him, but Enrique continued on.
“He tried to tell me who he was, but I didn’t listen, I didn’t understand.” He looked at Yadriel then. “But now I am listening, and I will learn to do better,” he promised.
Tears prickled behind Yadriel’s eyes, but he forced himself to hold it together.
“Growth isn’t a deviation from what we’ve done before, but a natural progression to honor all those who make this community strong.”
Cheers and applause ran through the crowd. Julian’s enthusiastic whooping cut through every other sound. A laugh quaked in Yadriel’s chest. His heart was so full, it would surely burst at any moment.
“It has been the joy of our lives to watch you grow into the incredible young people you have proven yourselves to be,” Enrique said, pressing his palm to his chest as he looked down at Yadriel. His brown eyes were soft, his smile adoring.
Yadriel’s chin wobbled and his eyes stung, but he smiled so big it made his cheeks hurt.
“Yadriel, you have shown great courage and strength, the likes of which no brujx has possessed in thousands of years,” his dad continued. “You sacrificed yourself to save your friends, your family, and, most telling, the lives of two strangers. To do that took more than just courage and strength. Our Lady saw the greatness in you that even I couldn’t. You will be a great brujo, and a great man, and we honor the sacrifice you made,” Enrique said in earnest.
Yadriel didn’t know how to respond. He was dumbstruck and bright red, so overwhelmed that he had to look away. Greatness? Sacrifice? He didn’t know about all that. He had just been trying to do the right thing.
“We also owe Maritza our thanks,” Enrique continued, shifting his focus to her. “She showed incredible strength in her own right.”
Unlike Yadriel, Maritza was perfectly comfortable taking praise.
She nodded in agreement with bold confidence. The proud lift of her chin eased some of Yadriel’s own nerves.
“Your healing of Yadriel was another act of great love and fortitude. Something tells me we will see great things from you both,” his dad said before addressing all four of them and adding, “From all of you.”
“He has no idea,” Maritza whispered to Yadriel from the corner of her mouth. She threw him a wink, and Yadriel grinned back.
Knowing Maritza, he certainly hadn’t heard the last of how he owed her his life, but Yadriel didn’t mind. Without her, he would be dead. And while death wasn’t the end, he wasn’t done living yet.
When Enrique spoke again, he looked at each new brujx in turn. “You are here because you have already proven you are exactly what you were meant to be. As you become full-fledged members of our community, we will help guide you to be the eyes, ears, and hands of Our Lady Death,” Enrique went on, looking at each of the four of them in turn. “We live in gratitude for the guidance and acceptance we can share with one another. We celebrate that we will move forward together as a stronger community than ever before.” He held his large hands out before him, his palms facing up. “Put your faith in Lady Death, and in your community, and we cannot falter. You have each been witness to that, and shown that to us, in your progress to this day.”
Yadriel took a deep breath, anticipating the next step of the aquelarre.
Enrique stepped back, making room for Lita to step forward. Parrot feathers of yellow, blue, and red splayed against Lita’s head before trailing off into the long tail feathers. She wore a turquoise dress, and jewelry of jade and gold adorned her wrists. A wide necklace of hummingbird featherwork hung around her neck and shoulders, iridescent and flashing in the light. As the spiritual leader of their community, she led the final rite of passage.
When Lita spoke, she said the words in Spanish, her Cuban accent ringing. “May we live in faith; we are on the true path of our spirit. May we never fear death but remember we live on in the love we nurture in our time on earth. May we preserve life and guide life to death as Our Lady wills it. May we heal and support one another in this life and the next.”
Yadriel turned to face the crowd with the other three.
“We welcome you!” Yadriel’s father called out, his arms open wide, smile wrinkling the corners of his eyes.
The crowd erupted in cheers. Trilling gritos filled the air that set Yadriel’s dagger exploding with golden light. Maritza laughed next to him, rosary cupped in her palms as sparks shot up into the air and rained down around them. Yadriel’s mom kept having to stop her applause so she could wipe tears from her cheeks. Still, in a sea of faces, his eyes went right to Julian, and he couldn’t look away. His sharp grin. His burning gaze. It sparked a fire in Yadriel’s chest. It smoldered in his stomach. It flooded him with heat. Yadriel would happily let himself be consumed by Julian’s fire.
Julian pinched his bottom lip, and a sharp whistle cut through the crowd before he punched his fist into the air and whooped loudly. Maritza bumped Yadriel with her shoulder, her laughter tickling his ear.
Things weren’t magically fixed by an empowering speech, but it opened doors and built bridges. It carved out space for Yadriel to step forward and be who he was, as he was. There were still more obstacles to overcome and battles to fight, but Yadriel wouldn’t feel alone in it anymore.
No, it wasn’t the end. It was a better beginning.