The wind whipped around Magdalena's skirts as she rushed into the sala. "Diego!" She called, a note of panic in her voice. "Diego! Where are you?"
Alejandro emerged from the sala behind her. "What is wrong, hija?"
"My horse fell lame," Magdalena said in a rush. "So I took a shortcut on the way home. I was walking him through the woods, over by the mission, and..."
"And what?" Alejandro asked.
"I saw a ghost," Magdalena said, sounding annoyed. "Except that ghosts do not exist and I should like my husband to come back with me and thoroughly discredit this creature."
"If ghosts do not exist, why not go back there yourself?" Alejandro asked in amusement.
"Well," Magdalena said and paused. "If it is a mortal being, then he could harm me even more."
"What makes you think that this, er, ghost would still be there?" Alejandro asked.
"I don't know if it would, but it seems worth investigating," Magdalena said. "What if a ghost attacks the mission tonight and steals the crown from the Virgin?"
Alejandro considered her words. "All right. I suppose it is something that could be looked into. But when you went on your ride, Diego and Bernardo went into Los Angeles."
"Oh," Magdalena said, wilting a bit.
"I'll come with you," Alejandro said, already moving to take a cloak. "It's getting rather dark but there is still time before night falls."
"It is el día de los Muertos," Magdalena said softly, hesitating to follow him out onto the patio. "Do you believe in ghosts, papa?"
Alejandro considered her question. "Not as the haunts that most people think them to be," he said. "I do not believe that souls come back el día de los Muertos just to taunt us living. But..." He shrugged. "There are many layers to this world that God chose not to show. Maybe ghosts are one of them."
Magdalena nodded and followed him.
"You just wear your riding habit, hija," Alejandro said. "Perhaps you should put on another layer."
"It's just wind," Magdalena said and Alejandro looked up at the sky.
"It looks like rain," he said simply but Magdalena shook her head again, merely tightening the rope holding her hat on.
"Let's go," she said.
Diego looked out at the sodden sky. "We could have used rain like this earlier in the year," he commented to Sergeant Garcia at his elbow. "Oh, well. I suppose we can't help it and the weather always manages to pull a nasty trick like this. Just when we need rain, we don't get it."
"And when we don't, it comes," Garcia said glumly, looking down at his mug of wine. "Don Diego, I am miserable."
"So you've said," Diego said cordially. "I gather it's because Inez went to visit cousin."
"I do not think she had to go," Garcia said. "Who needs nursing to recover from la sarampión?"
"Senora Eva is an older woman," Diego said. "Quite frail. I would say that she needs a lot of help. Maybe she will even move in with Inez when she has recovered. Ever since her husband died, she has been more and more apt to contact her cousin to ask for help."
"I do not want that!" Garcia said. "If Senora Eva moved in with Dona Inez, then I would never get any more of her lovely dinner invitations! Senora Eva does not like the military."
"I know," Diego said. "Oh well. It's a nice enough evening considering that it's el día de los Muertos," Diego said. "And we are inside the tavern with a roaring fire behind us and wine in front of us. Pretty nice, eh, Sergeant?"
"No," Garcia said.
"I give up," Diego mouthed to Bernardo, who was standing at the bar. His friend shrugged, what can you do?
"Well, the rain looks to be letting up," Diego said. "I need to get my work done and go home."
"What did you come into Los Angeles for, Don Diego?" Garcia asked. "I am sorry; I should have asked."
"There's a merchant leaving for Mexico City tomorrow," Diego said. "Senor Calabaza. I am sending along a considerable amount of gold with him."
"What are you buying, Don Diego?" Garcia said.
"It is payment for a portrait maker's passage," Diego said. "My father decided it was high time we had more portraits painted of Magdalena and I. Before it's too late, you see."
"Well, why not wait until she...er, that is...surely you will have children someday?" Garcia said. "He doesn't want to wait until then? Is your wife...Dona Magdalena, expecting?"
"No, no, she isn't," Diego laughed, blushing a little. "Not that I know of, anyway. Father wishes to get it done soon. I am obliging him."
"Well, go ahead," Garcia said. "I will be here, if you find yourself stranded in the event the rain is too heavy for you to go home again."
"Shouldn't you be back at the cuartel?" Diego asked.
"I don't wish to be," Garcia said. "I put Corporal Reyes in charge for the evening and I am not going back there until dawn."
"Why not, Sergeant?" Diego asked, his insatiable curiosity piqued and he sat down again. Bernardo, behind him, sighed.
"It is el día de los Muertos," Garcia said. "As I said before."
"Why should that stop you from doing your duty as acting commandante of our glorious pueblo?" Diego asked.
"There was a gypsy in here yesterday," Garcia said quietly. "And she was offering to tell my fortune so I let her."
"What did she say? What ghoulish tale did she concoct?" Diego asked, most amused at this point.
"She said that tomorrow, the dead will walk," Garcia said, leaning in to tell Diego at a whisper. "And I do not doubt her, Don Diego."
"Why?"
"Because I have met a ghost before," Garcia said. "The ghost of the mad monk!"
Diego blinked at his friend for a moment before remembering that particular prank and a roar of laugh came to his lips. "Oh, Sergeant! The mad monk is solely at the mission, I promise you. If you go back to the cuartel, he is not going to accost you."
"That is not what I am afraid of," Garcia said, insulted. "Not that I am afraid at all! I merely meant to say, ghosts exist, they are walking tonight and she said that one of them would murder whoever was sleeping in the commandante's bed that night! So I told Corporal Reyes to not budge from my desk and I walked over here."
"That is indeed a spooky prediction," Diego said. "But Sergeant, I promise you, it will not come true. Even if ghosts did exist, they do not have power over the living."
"That's what you think," Garcia said gloomily. "But it is not what I think and I will not budge from this table."
"Suit yourself," Diego said. "Buenos noches."
"Si, buenos noches," Garcia agreed, waving him off and returning his attention to the wine in front of him.
Diego walked to the door and Bernardo darted in front of him. "Si, si, I know I stayed here too long," Diego said. "But the rain let up, see?"
He gestured through the open door to the darkened sky.
Bernardo spoke.
"You think it will not last?" Diego asked. "Perhaps not. But it is enough to ride to Senor Calabaza's shop and then we can decide whether to ride home or spend the night here."
Bernardo continued.
"You wish to go home," Diego said. "Even if it is raining?"
Bernardo nodded and Diego shrugged. "All right. We will go home after Calabaza. Lead the way, Bernardo."
Magdalena and Alejandro set a steady pace on their ride, up until they reached the woods next to the mission. The wind picked up, and Magdalena shivered, shifting on her horse. A low whistling sound came through the trees, making her shudder.
"Could that have been the wind?" She exclaimed. "It was positively mournful."
"Si, it was just the wind," Alejandro assured her. "Come along, show me where you saw this ghost."
He chirruped and his horse started again, leaving Magdalena to follow or be left behind. She chose to follow, bringing her horse alongside his.
"I was right up there," she whispered suddenly, bringing her horse to a halt. "In the clearing. And I rode forward, just a bit, and a ghost appeared, just walking up and down and around the mission in an endless circle. I don't know how long I stayed, just watching him."
"Why do you think it was a ghost, again?" Alejandro asked, urging his horse on.
"He walked through walls," Magdalena said stubbornly. "I know it was probably a trick, but it was a nasty one."
"What wall did he walk through?" Alejandro asked, now that they could see the mission. And then, "Madre di dios! What is that?"
Down below was a glowing, translucent...creature, which moved slowly over the ground in a gliding motion. And, as they watched, he approached the mission and...
"He walked through the wall!" Alejandro exclaimed, sounding positively startled. "He actually walked through the wall!"
As they watched, the spirit did not appear again. They waited there for a few minutes before Alejandro asked, "Did he take this long to reappear when you saw him?"
"No," Magdalena said.
"Then let us go investigate, see what is keeping our ghostly amigo!" Alejandro exclaimed. "Come on."
He took off at a quick pace, Magdalena fighting to match it. They left their horses at the post, tying the reins securely, and ventured onward on foot.
"It is a good day to visit a church, after all," Alejandro muttered. "On this day to remember the dead."
Magdalena nodded, and they walked forward. Alejandro pulled open the wooden door and they walked inside.
There were lit candles on the altar. Alejandro frowned at the sight.
"Was Padre Felipe going to celebrate mass tonight?" He asked Magdalena and she shook her head, dipping her fingers in the holy water fount to bless herself.
"This is where the ghost entered," Alejandro said, moving to the right of them. The wall was solid; still there. Alejandro felt it, patting it down, before turning to Magdalena with raised eyebrows. "Well, it definitely seems he can walk through walls."
Outside, there was a sudden clap of thunder.
"The horses!" Alejandro exclaimed, slipping from the church. "Stay here," he called back to Magdalena and she remained inside, looking around her.
She could see no one in the church, which was a bit odd since there were always Padre Felipe's Indians hanging about the church; vigilantly making sure that the candles were still lit and simply to say hello to God.
It was too late for vespers, she realized, stepping forward to go to a pew. And that was when she saw it out of the corner of her eye, a ghostly apparition behind her.
Too late, she turned around and rushed to see it better. It had already disappeared through the wall before she got there.
"There has to be a panel!" She said in frustration.
"Magdalena?"
She whirled around to see Padre Felipe standing there.
"What are you doing, my child?" He asked, walking forward. "What troubles you and why are you attacking the wall?"
Magdalena blushed. "I...there was what appeared to be a ghost, Padre."
"A ghost?" He raised his eyebrows. "That is interesting."
"It is el día de los Muertos," Magdalena explained, the explanation sounding lame to her ears. "Could there be souls wandering the earth?"
"It's not more, or less, likely tonight than any other night," Padre Felipe said. "That is what I think. Remember, God lives out of time. Heaven does not have hours or days. So why would souls, if they came at all, come out tonight rather than any other night?"
"I don't know," Magdalena said stupidly.
"Merely to satisfy our imaginations?" He continued. "Do not worry, Magdalena. We are in God's house, after all. This ghost cannot harm us."
"I am not afraid or worrying," she said. "But he walked through this wall! Don Alejandro saw it too!"
"Where is your suegro?" Padre Felipe asked, distracted.
"We heard the thunder and he went to bring our horses in closer," she explained as the door pushed open.
"Of all the things to happen," he was muttering. "They spooked and got away. Magdalena, I cannot believe that I did not tie them securely!"
"Maybe the ghost untied them," Magdalena said, a trace of mirth in her voice. Padre Felipe's words had comforted her after all.
"Don't be foolish. Padre, I hope we did not wake you!" Alejandro said, seeing him for the first time.
"I do not go to bed this early," Padre Felipe laughed. "You did not wake me."
"Well, good," Alejandro said. "Why are the candles on the altar lit?"
"I left them on for the Indians' sake," Padre Felipe said.
"Ah," Alejandro said. "Have you ever had trouble on el día de los Muertos?"
"Si, a few years ago," Padre Felipe said, amusement in his voice. "Capitan Monastario was here. A ghastly spectre called the mad monk appeared and drove him and his soldiers out!"
"Did this mad monk perchance also go by the name of Zorro?" Alejandro asked, his voice dry.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he did," Felipe said simply. "Well, your ghost is not here. I suggest you two go home before the rain really starts. I can lend you some horses."
"I suppose that would be best," Alejandro said. "It was probably our imaginations. We thought we'd see it and so our mind conjured him up for us."
"Indeed," Padre Felipe said and showed them out.
The ride home was miserable, Diego reflected, as they fought the howling wind and torrential rain the whole way there.
"Let us take a shortcut," he called to Bernardo. "Towards the mission. We will gain some tree shelter along the way also!"
Bernardo nodded and they turned their horses, pounding through the rain. The trees did provide scant coverage as they crested the hill to the mission.
"I am going towards it," he called. "It's too far to go home. We should have stayed in Los Angeles!"
They galloped towards it, reaching the sanctuary with relief. Diego secured the horses in the back and he and Bernardo hurried into the church.
Once inside, their clothes dripped on the stone floors, making an eerie sound every few moments. Diego wiped his hair back. "I suppose Padre Felipe has gone to bed," he said quietly. "Let's not awaken him. We'll just wait the rain out and go on home."
They stood in the back of the church, when Bernardo clutched Diego's arm and jerked it.
Diego turned just in time to see an odd vision disappear through the wall. He blinked before racing outside, back into the rain. And there the spectre was, standing there watching him.
He ran forward, grabbed its arm...
When he awoke, he was lying on the floor of the church. Bernardo was standing above him, looking worried.
"I hit my head," Diego said slowly. "What else happened, Bernardo?"
Bernardo shrugged.
"Just a few minutes, eh?" Diego said. "There was a ghost, wasn't there?"
Bernardo nodded, looking worried.
"It was just our imagination," Diego consoled him. "My head hurts."
Outside, the sound of the rain quieted. Diego got up and walked to the door.
"I think it's stopped, at least for a moment," he said. "Let's go home. This place is..." He stared at the place where the spectre had walked, a frown on his face.
"Let's go home," he said simply and they went to their horses.
The next morning, Alejandro and Magdalena compared stories with Diego and Bernardo. Both pairs were utterly stumped as to who it could have been...or what.
They rode through the early morning mist to the mission, going for All Saints' Day mass. After, Diego took his wife's hand and tugged her over to where it had stood.
"And this is where you saw it disappear too," Diego said.
"Si," she said. "And we pushed on the wall and nothing happened!"
"Like this?" He asked, moving his hand up a brick and stumbled forward when it moved beneath his hand.
A small space appeared in the wall, just enough for someone short to slip through.
"It was so dark we couldn't see it," Magdalena said. "But who was it? Why did it glow? This doesn't answer any of our questions!"
"At least now we know it could not walk through walls," Diego said, putting an arm around her. "Come along."
In the pueblo Garcia was full of tales of his harrowing night.
"There he was, standing before me," he said as Diego walked into the tavern. "The ghost of the mad monk!"
"He had too much to drink last night so I let him sleep upstairs," Teo muttered to Diego. "He came down at midnight crying about how there was a ghost in his room. But now, he is boasting about it."
"So it goes," Diego said and approached his friend. "So, no one tried to take Corporal Reyes' life?"
"No, but they tried to take mine," Garcia said. "He was much taller and even spookier than last time. Don Diego, you must listen..."
Diego worried over the tale as Garcia told it. Si, ghosts did not exist and the one Garcia talked about probably belonged solely to his imagination. And yet...
What had been at the mission? Who? Why did it glow?
He was afraid that these were questions that would never be answered.
A/N: Please forgive any historical inaccuracies. Oh, and also forgive the fact that I don't think the mission is on the way home from Los Angeles for Diego.
For this Halloween, I went for the kind of horror story that simply doesn't answer your questions and leaves you wondering forever. Leave me a line about what you thought of it. I might try to go back and answer some of these questions but this seemed like a good stopping point for now. And, as it goes, I am marking it as Complete since I don't know whether I will go back.