My Grandmothers Stories - Pt. 1
❤The Heart and Soul of Our Familia❤
My abuela was one of a kind. Her love was eternal and everlasting. Her smile could brighten up even the most darkest of clouds. Her voice was unmistakable. She could feed an entire army and still crank out more food. She was a never-ceasing whirlwind of kindness. She was 67 when she departed from this realm but the many memories of her still remain. One of my most fondest memories of when my grandmother talked about her tales. The ones I'm about to share all teach a moral life lesson, or an afterlife lesson😉
The names of the characters are different, but the story's are still mostly the same. Hope everyone enjoys.
The Boy Who Ate the Food of the Dead
~Once there was a boy named Robert. He lived a life that every young man dreamed of. However, all the money in the world couldn't fix ignorance, and for Robert, he had that in strides. His mother was a neurosurgeon, she was the number one doctor of the city, while his older sister was co-manager at Sephora enterprises. They all lived in a modern two story house built in a luxury neighborhood. Life was good for Robert and his family, until school started.
That year there was a new girl who had just moved from Guadalajara, Mexico. She wasn't thin, nor was she as pretty as the other girls, but that's not what Robert liked about her. When the teacher told the girl to introduce herself, she nodded with a smile. The girls name was Jasmine. She told the class that her mother, grandma, aunt, uncle and herself moved here from Mexico to have a better life. Her family may not be rich, but their love for each other was worth more than all the gold in the world. Robert payed no attention to Jasmines backstory.
That week Robert did his best to get Jasmine to like him, but she pretended he didn't exist. Robert wondered why she was being so difficult to get. "Any girl would have thrown themselves over a bridge to be with Rob the Heartthrob! What gives?" After a week in a half of being ignored Robert came to Jasmine and fiercely spoke his mind.
The girl looked at him and replied with a strong but calm tone, "Robert...in my country we have many names for people like you. Rich, snobby, ignorant, plus other words i refuse to say. I have worked all my life and I'm currently working downtown in the Mexican market helping my family sell homemade decor so that we can pay our bills. You've never had to worry about money a day in your life, have you? As Jasmine explained the reasons why she didn't want to be with him, Robert rudely interrupted her. He asked if she would attend his Halloween party. Jasmine gave a dirty look at the boy, shook her head and replied, "No!"
However Robert would not give up bugging her. For the rest of the September month and into October, Robert bullied and bullied Jasmine until the day of Roberts party. Jasmine showed up at the door with a plate of enchiladas. Everyone was dressed up except for her. The guests were surprised that she was not wearing a costume. Jasmine explained why she didn't come in a mask and gown. All the guests became more intrigued by Jasmines cultural stories. All except Robert.
He didn't bother to listen to her peoples tales. To him it was all just superstitious nonsense. Jasmine left the party an hour early. She told Robert that she had to help her family in the upcoming holiday. Jasmine got on her bike and headed home, but Robert followed her. As he got closer to the location, he couldn't believe where she lived. Gawking at her house from afar, to Robert, it was the dirtiest looking house, and the poorest neighborhood he ever laid eyes on.
On November second, Robert came back to go visit Jasmine. He came up to the porch and rang the doorbell three times. No later than two seconds, he banged on door profusely. An older man dressed up like a mariachi with skeleton face paint answered the door. Before the man could respond, Robert pushed his way in through the door. To his eyes the whole house was decorated in orange flowers and colorful paper flags. It also smelled of delicious Mexican food. Jasmine came out in a beautiful dress with large blue stone beads around her neck. Her hair was braided with orange flowers, and her face was painted beautifully like a skeleton.
"Robert what are you doing here? My family are about to head to the cemetery to pay our respects." Robert replied, "why didn't you wear this costume at my party?" Jasmine said with an irritated look, "Did you not listen to what i said at your party the other night? Today is Day of the Dead. You know...my family's holiday?" Before Jasmine could say anything else, her grandmother yelled her name. "Wait right here, i'll be right back." Robert waited for less than 2 minutes and started to wander the small house.
He came upon a room that had a huge wooden table that was stacked with other tables. Every level had the most delectable treats and eats. There were black and white photographs in frames of both old and young people with the same orange flowers arranged amongst them. Lit candles were everywhere with paper maché skeleton figurines dressed like dancers.
Robert stomach growled like a bear, he forgot to eat lunch that day. He thought, "what could it hurt? They won't care, it's just food. They can always make more." Robert started to consume the food that was placed upon the altar levels. All he had left was bones, wrappers and small crumbs. Jasmine came in and was horrified.
"What have you done!" She yelled. "I was hungry so i helped myself." Replied Robert while picking his teeth out with a Marigold stem. Her mother came in and started crying and cursing in Spanish at Jasmine. Her grandmother rushed in to see what was all the fuss. She looked over to see what had happened and fainted. Jasmines aunt and uncle caught the grandmother just in time. Her uncle with rage stormed into the room and picked up Robert by his shirt. Speaking heavy Spanish, he threw Robert out the door and pointed his index finger to the road.
Robert yelled, "what did i do?"Jasmine came out of the house. She said with crossed arms and a look upon her face that were like daggers." Robert, do you not listen? Have you not heard my stories?" Robert interrupted her saying, "It was just food! Can't you cook more?" Jasmine tried to hold back her tears, "That food was for the dead. My departed ancestors dating all the way back over a hundred years and you stole from them. You never steal from the deceased, never! Now, you will suffer, and those who love you will suffer too...Robert you're cursed."
Jasmine went back inside the house and slammed the door behind her. Robert went after her, but was stopped by a harsh wind that called his name. As the sun set, cold winds came in all directions. Each breeze whispered a threatening message into his ears. Robert thought he was hallucinating but he wasn't. Robert quickly got in his car and drove away.
He managed to get back home safe and sound, or so he thought. The next morning after his shower he went to go look at himself in the mirror and saw several faces staring back at him. With horror, Robert fell over on the bathroom floor, the shower rug broke his fall, so immediately he covered the mirror with a towel. When he came out, Robert discovered that every mirror had an image of Jasmines dead relatives staring straight at him, giving an disgusted glare into his soul. Throughout the house he covered every mirror and hoped that would do it.
Things only got worse after that. Whenever he would go down the stairs something would grab his foot making him trip. Sometimes there would be an inedible item that was put in his food almost causing him to choke. The spirits haunted his dreams where he couldn't sleep or rest. Things got horribly worse by the Christmas month. His sister was laid off of her job because someone had put the company's merchandise into her purse. She then got a job working at Starbucks and the same thing happened there. After many jobs after those, no one wanted to hire his sister.
His mother started having car issues, where she had to take it to an auto shop where the mechanics diagnosed that somebody's was messing with her breaks. This happened so much that it put Roberts mom in horrible debt, and around May his mother got into a car accident which left her surgeon hands crippled. His mom had to retire early and Robert quit school to get a full time job to support his family.
He learned fast that his ignorance was the reason that got him into this mess, and only giving back what he took could get him out. That following year on the Day of the Dead, Robert went to Jasmines house to help in any way he could so the ghosts would leave him alone. He helped the grandmother cook, and the aunt clean. He sang his best with Jasmines uncle and participated in decorations with her mother. He even went to a mexican bakery and delivered sweet bread to Jasmines house. One dozen was for the living and the other dozen was for Jasmines departed ancestors.
After a whole year of being haunted the spirits left Robert and his family alone. However, during the yuletide holidays Robert, his sister and mother moved away. Jasmine and her family never saw the boy again. The moral of this story is that you never steal from the dead, because in the end, you're begging to be one of them.
Lost Little Girl
~This story was told by mí abuela every Dia de Los Muertos. Hope everyone enjoys. 😊
There once was a little girl by the name of Esperanza. She and her older twin brothers, Enrique and Ernesto lived in a small house with their grandparents on the edge of a beautiful town close to the river. Every year on Dia de Los Muertos Esperanza and her family would cross the bridge to get the towns cemetery to pay their respects to her parents.
Esperanza didn't know them for too long. They both died when she was 4 years old. The only memories the little girl had of her parents was of her father baking sweets, and that he always smelled of chocolate. Her mother loved to sew unique dresses while humming her favorite song which was Eternal Love.
One early spring the little girl wanted to take a walk to the river. She got all dressed up wearing a white embroidered dress with braids in her hair. She also wore a beautiful brooch that her mother and father gave to her before they passed. Her grandmother told the two brothers to watch over her, in which they did. They both stayed right behind Esperanza and watched her like a hawk.
The moment they got to the river there was a sudden change in the weather. The wind started to blow and then a clash of thunder boomed through the clouds. Esperanza loved the rain and mud, but her brothers knew rain could mean storms and storms could be a disaster. Ernesto and Enrique grabbed their little sister and hurried home, but as they ran up the road the rain started to come down heavier then before.
They were almost home until Esperanza realized that her brooch was gone. She screamed, "My brooch is missing, i got to go back and get it!" Her brothers said, "No, you can't go back it's too dangerous, sis!" Esperanza got loose of her brothers grip and ran back to get the brooch. Her brothers ran behind her yelling to come back. The girl ran fast down the road.
She saw a huge clap of lightening hit a tree. The little girl was grateful it wasn't her. She slowed down and starting walking further into the rain. She was cold and wet. After the rain lightened up there was a strange fog. Esperanza couldn't see where she was going, the fog was very thick. She couldn't see her brothers or hear their voices anymore. She kept walking further and futher but there was no sign of anyone.
Esperanza yelled, "Hello! Is anyone there! Enrique? Ernesto? Anybody! The little girl walked and walked, but she couldn't find anyone, not even the river. The fog was so thick it covered the ground. She started cry and thought she would be stuck in the immense, thick fog forever. Finally, Esperanza saw some lights, there were hundreds of them. She wiped the tears from her eyes as the fog started to clear up. She then realised that she was in the villages cemetery. All the family's from the village were gathered at each grave, including her family. To the looks of all the decor and foods it was Dia de Los Muertos.
She saw how sad her family was. One of her brothers mentioned, "i miss her." Enrique was holding her favorite stuffed animal and put it on a tombstone. Ernesto then replied, "i can't believe it's been a whole year." He put the brooch she had dropped earlier in the rain close to the same spot. Esperanza was baffled. She tried talking to both grandparents and her siblings, but they didn't seem to even acknowledge that she was there.
Esperanza took a closer look at the tombstone that was between her parents graves. That's when she saw her name. The little girl remembered it was when the lightening hit the tree, and the giant branch fell on her. It was so quick she didn't even know what had happened. The little girl fell to her knees and started crying again, she was scared and lonely. As she wept something caught her attention. It was a familiar scent. It was the smell of chocolate.
As Esperanza walked closer to the aroma she could hear a voice in the background, it was a song that made her spirit jump for joy. She quickly followed the music, and there she saw her parents who were right on the bridge waving to her. The little girl came running and leaped into her fathers arms. All three hugged each other as they walked across the bridge together.
Esperanza was no longer lost. She had been found by her family, and once more they were together again.
The Tale of the Boogabaz of the Bone Tree
~My grandmother and aunt Rosemary told this tale to all of us kids every December 20 and all the way through to the 22nd.
It's very scary, but it's worth telling your children or grand-children about. 😉
Every child knows that during Christmas, when you're good you get gifts from jolly plump man who comes down your chimney. But when you're bad, you get a lump of coal and the child tries harder to be good the next year. However, in the ancient Mayan culture there is no jolly red man, no reindeer, no sleigh or a North Pole. Instead, there are only elves. They don't were green outfits with red and white striped stockings, neither do they sing, dance or eat sweets.
What my grandmother would tell us is that these elves had sharp pointy ears like daggers, they wore cloth material made from the jaguars coat. They also wore teeth jewelry and feathers of other wild animals. Yes, they were indeed magic, but anger them, and they would turn into little blood thirsty red glowing eyed monsters. If you were a good little boy or girl, you were rewarded with gifts. But if you were bad, instead of coal, you would receive some sort of animal poop. And if you were really bad, these elves would tie you up with strong magical rope and haul you to a tree made of bones and flesh.
Some believed that this tree was made from the leftovers of bad children. Others thought it was made from animal parts. For any soul to escape the clutches of these elves you had to make a promise to be good all year. The elves will magically transport you back to your house. In making this promise, you must keep it.
If you break this promise, the next winter solstice the elves will take you back to the tree, and there will be no escape. In the tree they will eat you while you were still alive. Legend also states that if you see your brother or sister being taken by these elves, these creatures will magically make your whole family forget they ever existed but leave the witness with the memories of their sibling. So the moral of this story is do your best to be good, or else, the Boogabaz from the bone tree will come and get you. Happy Holidays folks. 🎄✌
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