The next morning, Estrea was awakened.

She didn't wake up from a deep sleep of her own accord, nor did she wake up from a deep sleep, nor did she wait for the cramped space between the barrels of the cellar and the mixture of mud and dust in the vat.

Rather, it is a hard touch, close to the skin of the forehead, with a hole in the middle.

- That's a pistol.

The moment he "woke up" and realized it, Estrea's body tensed, and her mouth opened wide, staring at the half-crouched figure in front of her in the dimly lit wine cellar, her chest completely tightened.

"Hey, boy."

The figure spoke to Estrea in a deep voice:

"—what are you hiding here...... What did you steal? ”

"I, no, sir...... I was just too sleepy, so I sneaked in and slept ......"

Estrelia said intermittently, because she had just experienced a bit of sleep, and her brain was not fully awake, far less alert than last night.

The man half-crouched in front of her hesitated, for he heard the voice of a girl in the voice of the "boy" covered in mud, though immature, so he shook the handle of his gun to the side and motioned to Estrea:

"You, come out."

Trembling, Estrelia crawled out of the barrel rack and stood in front of the man, who had long since blocked the entrance to the stairs where the only way up the ground, and Estrelia had cut off all thoughts of running away and could only wait for the judgment of fate, praying in her heart to God and Tezcatripoca at the same time—though she did not believe either of them.

In the soft light of the cellar, Estrelia could see the man's face clearly—his eyes were deeply sunken, but the bridge of his nose was erect high, and the contours of his face were as thin as if they had been shaved with a knife. His pure black eyes matched his countenance, giving him a dangerous and sharp edge, and he looked to be about thirty or forty years old, but stronger than the average man of his age.

And the man's right hand, which had been holding the pistol, had not relaxed his surveillance of Estrea, and he looked at Estrea with beast-like eyes, but his tone was a little calmer:

"Hey, little girl. Why is you in this place? ”

Estrelia didn't dare to hide a word, and out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the man's pistol and explained the reason why she came here from the beginning.

At first, Estrela stammered, and some words didn't make sense. But soon, as the man had not interrupted her, and had been listening in silence, Estrea spoke more and more fluently, more and more clearly, not only from last night until now—even the year and a half she had spent at her aunt's house, the thick ledger, the thousand pesos she had saved, the small village in Catemaco, her mother's rituals, the Aztec legends that had been left behind......

Estrelia almost forgot where she was for a moment, immersed herself in the narration, confiding in her past experiences. It wasn't until I finally finished talking that I realized what the situation was now, and I was so frightened that I was shocked.

The man stared at her silently, his eyes thoughtful.

He could tell that the girl was telling true stories, and that there were no hidden secrets in her. But even then, the man could have shot her with one shot, and then threw the body under a cliff or into the sea.

At this time, Acapulco, a homeless girl, was not much more expensive than a mouse.

But—the man noticed, in the soft light of the cellar, that Estrea, shivering, though her face was covered with a lot of dust, had revealed a wonderful outline, and if the sludge from her body was cleaned, and a suit of suitable clothes was put on, I am afraid that the potential of a beautiful embryo would be revealed at once.

Thinking like this, the man changed his mind.

"Hey...... Your name is Estrea, right, you don't have a place to go right now, do you? ”

Estrelia nodded slowly and fearfully.

The man patted her on the head:

"In that case...... Do you want to work here - in my tavern? With 500 pesos per month, the salary in the future can rise along with the increase in performance. ”

Looking at Estrea's incredibly wide eyes, and her head, which shook up and down vigorously, the man smiled with satisfaction:

"Very good...... My name is Patricio, this tavern is called 'Zaparos', and from today this is where you will work and live. ”

……

Thus, from the day he met Patricio, Estrea's life entered a new phase.

"Zaparos" is a tavern with three floors. The first and second floors are for drinkers, and the third floor is for Patricio's quarters, but just below the tavern, there is a wine cellar with a collection of Patricio's wines.

The tavern is located at the intersection of the Ancha Cross Street in Acapulco, one of the most prosperous places in Acapulco. Patricio, who can own a three-story tavern here, is naturally extraordinary. Later in her career at the tavern, Estrelia gradually understood the background of the boss from the small talk of the drinkers and the rumors of the neighborhood.

It turns out that Patricio used to be a well-known and prestigious figure on the dark side of Acapulco. But with the rise of a new generation and the onslaught of outsiders, Patricio chose to wash his hands and opened a tavern to get by. But because of the accumulation and precipitation of its past, even until now, Patricio is also a figure that Acapulco can count, "Zaparos" in addition to a simple tavern, also has the role of providing a "reconciliation field" for other intricate forces after they are tired of fighting, and in the whole of Acapulco, only Patricio can do this, and only Patricio is a character who wanders between various organizational factions, has a relationship of interest that is close to separation, but can get out of the matter.

After understanding these things, Estrelia had more respect and fear for Patricio who was able to take her in, in addition to gratitude, but Estrelia was able to clearly understand these things, and understood the distribution of power and status in the adult world, five years after she entered "Zaparos".

As for Estrea's first time working in "Zaparos", like any young and hard-working novice, there are not many mistakes, but there are also occasional mistakes.

And "Zaparos", as mentioned above, is not a casual place of relaxation, with the big names of the Acapulco underworld haunting them from time to time, for whom a tavern waiter cannot be treated with a good temper.

So when Estrea made the mistake of breaking glasses, leaking drinks, and playing tricks on the other waiters in the tavern, these people tended to make Estrea feel very uncomfortable, if not angry.

However, whenever this happens, Patricio always intervenes.

Although it is not strictly maintained, it can always be groomed with a little tactful embellishment, allowing Estrea to avoid the catastrophe and firmly remember this lesson.

Over time, Estrela became more and more comfortable with the job of "tavern waiter", but others were more and more able to feel Patricio's different attitude towards Estrea, so they showed her more and more kindly, making Estrea's work feel more and more handy.

……

During his time at Zapparos, time passed and Estrelia grew better and better.

She became more and more beautiful just as Patricio had envisioned her to be—slender, sun-skinned, and supermodel-like appearance. As time went by, the fame of the "Waitress of Zaparos" became more and more widespread, and there were even people who came to the tavern specifically for Estrea's sake and secretly rolled a two-hundred-peso tip in the palm of Estrea's hand when she brought her glass.

In this regard, Estrela must not be said to be ignorant.

However, always grateful to Patricio, she firmly rejects the temptation from others, even if she accepts a large tip, she will not do anything deviant, and will even ask Patricio specifically - and Patricio often just laughs at this, telling her to accept it without worry. However, Estrelia receives several salary increases from Patricio every year, and now his salary is more than 5,000 pesos a month, which is much higher than the income of a mid-level administrator in a company.

However, Estrelia stayed in the tavern for food and lodging, and spent very little money, except occasionally wandering the streets of Acapulco between work, and over the years she had amassed a sum of more than 30,000 pesos.

Although he worked in "Zapparos" for several years, Estrelia was not ignorant of the outside world.

She learned a little about her aunt's family, which had completely collapsed in their original idea of sending the child to the United States, and the study abroad agent she had found was a scammer, not to mention sending Estrelia's cousin to one of the top 50 universities in the United States, even if it was a community college, and all the expenses of her aunt's family were wasted.

Estrella also sent thousands of pesos and a letter to her mother, who was far away in Catemaco, in which she strongly asked her to move in Acapulco and live with her, so that with Estrea's current income, she could already buy a small house in Acapulco to provide a shelter for her mother.

But the mother did not come, and returned with another letter written by herself.

On the first half of the letter, the mother babbles about life in the village, that the plague has passed, and that the land near the lake is now back to its former prosperity, and that even if Estrea goes back, she will have plenty of food and a safe place to live, but now that Estrea has a life of her own, she will not force Estrea to go home. But she would not come to Acapulco herself, she had already decided to stay in the village for the rest of her life, which was her world, her whole shelter.

And on the second half of the letter, the mother shows the familiar side of the past. She also preached to Estrea her superstitious beliefs, "there must be gains and losses", "there is no unpaid gain, and there is no unconditional wealth", "the Aztec kingdom exchanged living sacrifices for the protection of Tyzcatripoca, and you also need to try to give up some things in order to maintain such a good life"...... Especially - "you have to be prepared to give up".

Feeling disgusted by the cliché narrative on the letterhead she had sent her, Estrelia shook her head, put it in her cupboard, and decided to have less contact with her mother from now on.

……

When Estrelia was eighteen years old, six and a half years after she entered "Zaparos", she and Patricio were naturally married.

Although Patricio is already a man over forty-six years old, he does not look old in the slightest, with full muscles and firm skin.

That year was the era of the financial tsunami in Mexico, a large number of dollars flowed back to the United States, the peso depreciated many times but there was still no end in sight, the number of tourists in Acapulco was instantly reduced by more than half, and the original prosperous coastal city was completely drained.

Still, Estrelia did not feel the shadow of fate looming over her, and the girl had a sweet smile shining from her forehead to the corners of her mouth in the photograph of the wedding scene with Patricio in the tavern of "Zaparos".

It's just that Patricio, who was also smiling at Estrea, had a faint hint of confusion in the smile on his lips.

In the year of their marriage, Estrelia became pregnant with Patricio's child.

During the October months of pregnancy, the atmosphere in Acapulco became increasingly tense, with many vicious shellfish fighting in the streets of the city, and fresh corpses falling on the side of the street every day, allowing flies to gather and feast.

For your own safety and that of your children. Estrea no longer goes out, staying on the third floor of "Zaparus" every day, can only lie bored in bed, and the tavern of this period also ceased operation, the other waiters received a severance pay and were dismissed, and in the entire tavern, except for Estrela and Patricio, there was only one old servant left to take care of Estrea.

Patricio loved her very much, but he went out early and returned late, and he was often not at home, not knowing what he was busy with, and even when he went home, he still frowned and did not speak, and Estrea did not dare to take the initiative to ask, and the atmosphere at home became more and more tense.

The only thing she could talk to was the old servant, who was missing a tooth and was always happy, and even if Estrea lost her temper due to bipolar disorder during pregnancy, he always smiled and cared for Estrea like a father.

The days went on for months, and Estrelia finally endured it.

But on a rainy night, Estrea, who was accustomed to Patricio's absence at home, was suddenly woken up in the middle of the night, and when he woke up, he saw Patricio standing at the head of his bed, looking a little embarrassed, and the suit he was wearing looked crumpled.

"Honey, get up—follow me downstairs."

Patricio's serious tone made Estrelia understand that it was not a joke, and she got up after getting dressed, and followed Patricio downstairs with a blank eye, where a small car was parked in the rain, and in the driver's seat sat a man with facial muscles as hard as a rock.

"Estrea, I remember you told you about your hometown—it was in the small village of Catemaco, right? He's Garfonso, the person I trust the most. He'll take you back. ”

As he spoke, Patricio slipped a small box into Estrea's hand:

"Now that the peso is about to become waste paper, this is 100,000 dollars, which will guarantee you and your children for the rest of your life."

Estrelia took the box abruptly, but subconsciously grabbed Patricio's hand and looked into the other's eyes in alarm.

“…… Pai, what about you? ”

Patricio didn't dodge, quietly staring at Estrea for a long time, a smile on his face.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine...... I'll come and see you and the kids. ”

As he spoke, Patricio slowly withdrew his hand and imprinted a smoke-filled kiss on Estrea's lips, and then, he pulled the car door and pushed Estrea in, and in the chaotic rain, only a lonely figure was left for Estrea, and the last sentence-

"Estrea, my dear...... Please believe me, I will be back. ”

……

Estreaa was sent all the way back to the small village of Catemaco by a man named Garfonso.

Despite many inquiries along the way, the other party never said a word, did not answer, like a stone, and just faithfully performed his duties.

When she was taken to the hut where her mother was, Garfonso turned and got back into the car and drove away.

Seeing the pot-bellied Estrelia returning home with a suitcase in her hand, there was no surprise on her mother's face, her body was still the same as when she had just left home, with a strong smell of copal fat, but there were a few more wrinkles between her brows.

"Estrea, you're back."

As soon as she saw her mother's face, for some reason, Estrelia's mood that was as turbulent as the sea during a storm became much calmer, and she forced herself to sob, and nodded to her mother.

……

For the next few months, Estrelia was cared for by her mother.

In a place like a small village, a shaman usually wears the role of a doctor, a midwife, and a caregiver, so it is easy for her mother to take care of her.

Perhaps it was because of the familiar environment that she grew up soothing her tense nerves, or because the scenery around Catemaco was suitable for recuperation, during this time, although she was away from the modern city, Estrelia felt more comfortable than when she stayed on the third floor of "Zaparos", without leaving the house.

It's just that there is one more thing in her heart that she can't rest assured, and that is Patricio.

On that rainy night, Patricio's attitude of sending her to the car was clearly goodbye, where is he now? Can his promise of "looking at himself and the children born in the future" be realized?

Every night, Estrelia would be haunted by such thoughts, and would often wake up from her dreams. Although her mother would use a sleep aid method from the Aztec era, mixing incense, pine resin, and coke, and burning plants to help her sleep more peacefully, the hidden anxiety in Estrea's heart could not be erased.

It wasn't until one day after she went into labor that that anxiety finally became a reality.

It was the news on the radio.

It was a radio purchased by the family, although the mother was not interested in this modern technological product at all, but in order to relieve the loneliness of pregnancy and the boredom of mobility, after returning home, Estrelia bought one.

On that day, a familiar name appeared on the radio station "Voice of Acapulco", which she focused on.

"Patricio", as soon as the name came to her ears, Estrea, who had been leaning against the window and looking boredly at the outside sky, immediately tensed up.

She turned around and quickly moved to the radio.

Although he was initially worried that it would be just a delusion, the news that continued on the radio soon proved that it was not Estrea's delusion, which Estrela preferred to be a delusion, something he had never heard.

“…… A few days ago, the police found the body of Patricio, the owner of the tavern, in the 'Zaparos' tavern at the intersection of Ancha streets, and the bodies of an elderly man and a young man were found next to it...... The bodies of the three were cut into dozens of pieces, causing great trouble in identifying them, and the faces of the three deceased had been peeled off...... In the end, it was through the acquaintance of Patricio that the identity of the tavern owner was identified through an old scar on one of his arms......

“…… According to the investigation, Patricio was a well-known 'mediator' in the Acapulco underground during his lifetime, and he was between various forces, and even the big lords outside the states could hear about his reputation to some extent...... But since the economic crisis, Patricio's overseas investments have gone bankrupt, and the debts he signed have become insolvent, perhaps because of this offended certain forces, leading to such brutal revenge...... In addition, Patricio had a new wife who had disappeared shortly before his death......"

Hearing the news on the radio, Estrelia lowered her body.

The psychological blow turned to physical nausea, and Estrelia vomited. She hunched her belly to the ground, as if she were about to vomit everything in her stomach.

But at this moment, there was a sharp pain in the stomach, and the inside of the uterus suddenly shrummed like a sponge absorbing water, and the world in front of me became blurry, as if the TV signal was interfered with by sunspots.

Estrea subconsciously exclaimed:

"Oh! Oh!! ”

Outside the house, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps, a pair of strong arms hugged Estrea's body, and the gentle voice of her mother came:

"Estrea...... Do you still have the strength? ”

"I ...... I can't get up anymore......"

There was a heavy pain inside the body, and there was a stinging pain that seemed to burst out of the abdomen. Estrea shook her head.

The mother forcibly picked her up, carried her to the bed, cut off her dress with scissors, looked at the large patch of blood flowing from the mouth, and held her breath:

"Estrea...... The baby is about to be born. ”

The intense physical pain and the blow of the mental fall made Estrea cry out in despair:

“…… I don't want to give birth anymore! Let this child die! I'll die with him, and we'll go to his father together!" Reunited in Hell! ”

Facing Estrea, who was on the verge of despair, her mother did not waver in the slightest, put down the scissors, held Estrea's hand, and said coldly:

"We are Aztec descendants, and it is impossible for us to go to the hell of Christianity – our destination after death is Mictlan."

It was probably the mother's calm performance that infected Estrea's heart through the contact of the skin when the palms of the two people were clenched, and for a while, Estrea did not speak again, but closed her eyes, breathed hard, and the upper and lower teeth clenched tightly, and the mother's calm words continued to be heard in her ears:

"Estrea, arch her legs and spread hard...... Exhale-inhale, exhale-inhale...... That's right, that's it...... Imagine, imagine what a child will look like coming out of it...... Charchutri will bless you...... River water...... Rainwater...... Lake...... The Water of All Things...... It's all ...... here."

The intense pain greatly diluted Estrea's spirit, and the words that came out of her mother's mouth were the only basis for her to persevere.

In the haze, she felt like a piece of soaked soil, constantly stirred and shattered by the rain, and it was like being in the infinite space, suffering from silent tinnitus and a huge emptiness. Because the strong sound inside has exceeded the limit, the violent convergence in the body has broken through the extreme.

Long.

Just as Estrelia felt that the pain had crossed the threshold and was about to shock her, her body suddenly tightened—and then loosened—and a sense of relief that had never been felt before spread throughout her body, causing her body to fall backwards and her tightly arched legs to stagger.

"Click".

The sound of a mother cutting the umbilical cord with obsidian scissors was heard, followed by the mournful cry of a newborn child.

Hearing this cry, Estrea forced her eyes to be gradually blindfolded, and stretched out her hands to her mother.

"I want to see him."

The mother placed the bloodied child between her arms, and as expected, it was a boy.

- The newborn child, with wrinkled skin, a depressed face, and a body stained with blood and filth, looked dirty and ugly, but the moment he hugged him with both hands and saw the face of his child, a trace of emotion flowed through Estrea's heart like an electric shock, as if an innate area in the depths of the brain was activated, which was driven by oxytocin, and tried its best to make Estrea motherly on a material level.

However, due to the impact of Patricio's death, this motherhood is still mixed with a lot of pain and hesitation, which prevents Estrelia from devoting herself wholeheartedly to this maternal love.

Looking at the child, the pain suppressed in Estrea's heart seemed to be relieved a lot for a while. She smiled at the child, and the newborn child opened its mouth as if it was pulled by her smile.

The next moment, Estrea noticed what was in the child's mouth, and the smile on her face froze.

"That's ......"

“…… He was born with teeth. ”

The mother's voice sounded beside her, and she stood by Estrelea's window, looking thoughtfully at the child, her eyes radiating a strange look.

"Estrea, do you remember the story of 'Toshcato' that I told you? In the Aztec era, the kingdom would choose a boy each year as the 'Toshkato' of that year, and through his death and sacrifice to welcome Tezcatripoca back to the sky, and Tezcatripoca was the wind of the night, and the god of smoke who mastered life and death, life and death, intersected with each other...... This child, who was born on the day he learned of his father's death, was born out of death like a 'reverse Toshkato' ritual, like the opposite of the 'Toshkato' ritual, which continued out of the mirror. And his teeth, the baby's teeth are the symbol of Hades...... Ah, he is destined to become the embodiment of Tezcatripoca on earth, and he is destined to bring the mists of death to this world! ”

Although her mother's voice tried to suppress her emotions, Estrelia could still hear the throbbing and proclamation like a prophecy in her words.

This made Estrea's heart twitch.

She looked at the baby who had fallen asleep not long after birth, but still opened his mouth slightly, revealing the snow-white baby teeth in his lips, a little dizzy, and the thin maternal love that had just been echoed in her heart because of oxytocin had completely disappeared at this time. His sleeping face, which he thought was a little cute just now, had become a look that disgusted her.

At the same time, the psychological shadow of Patricio's death made Estrea's mood worse and worse, reminiscent of the pain experienced in order to give birth to this child, Estrelia threw the baby on the futon at once, but fortunately it was soft enough not to wake up the sleeping child.

"The Fog of Death? Pai's Death ...... Is it because of this child? ”

She murmured, glaring coldly at her child, ignoring the same cold gaze her mother was glaring at her.

……

Half a month later, Estrea, who had just recovered a little, left her newborn child in the village of Catemaco and left with the small box.

Her goal is Tijuana City in northern Mexico, and she has learned a lot about it in her more than eight years of life in Acapulco. There, she prepares to go to the United States through intermediaries — Estrea, who has had enough of Mexico's frightened life, believes that America is the "life" that is furthest away from death.

Although it was not a farewell, the mother—or rather, the woman who had now been elevated to grandmother, knew everything about her departure, and stood at the window after she had crept out of the house, gazing at her fading away in the night.

"Navaly."

She held the child in her arms, called the baby by the name she had just chosen, and whispered to him, who was still asleep in swaddling clothes:

"Everything has its own certainty, and gain and loss always go hand in hand."

(End of chapter)