A small village on outskirts of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 1519 -
"The strangers that have come are not who we think they are." Xolotl tired to explain to his younger sister, "Quetzlcoatl has not return, our people have been tricked. You should not be with that man."
"I love him and that is all you need to know." Anacaona replied, daring her brother to continue.
"They come with weapons, they demand everything of us, and they treat us like animals. Our god would not do that. Can you not see? He wants nothing but your body, he is nothing but trouble." Xolotl continued, he would not sit idly by and watch his sister fall for the deceitful strangers.
"Diego is not like that." Anacaona defied.
"Yes he is, and you should not be seeing him. He will ruin you. I forbid you to see him ever again." Xolotl stated.
"You are not father and you cannot stop me." Anacaona simply said.
Xolotl stared at his sister for a moment. The strangers were wreaking havoc on their homes and his sister was still willing to love one of them. It was impossible for him to comprehend but he would make sure that his sister would not see that man again. He changed tactics from forceful to tender, "I am not. But I love you just as much as he did and I want you to be safe." With that he turned and left.
-
Anacaona made sure her brother had left the house before running into the kitchen. She tapped the kitchen table three times rapidly, "Diego!"
Diego crawled out from under the table and hastily straightened himself. He let out a breath and took in the beauty of Anacaona.
Although neither could speak the other's language, they had a way of communicating that bypassed the barrier. This was not infatuation but love in its purest form.
They felt it the first time they saw each other. A spark had ignited something deep within and they knew that they could never live without the other.
Diego quickly gathered her in his arms for a quick embrace. He held her back for a moment and looked into Anacaona's deep brown eyes. A smile slowly lit his face and he leaned in to kiss her.
The kiss lasted for an eternity. Breathless, Anacaona took Diego's hand and led him to the back of the house.
They sat down next to the tree and they were content to stay that way.
-
Xolotl arrived home later that night with a couple of friends. He didn't have to tell his friends to make them selves comfortable as they were long past that stage and he went to find his sister to tell her that they had company.
He could not find her any where in the house. She must have gone to visit one of her friends. There was a loud crash that came from the living room and he returned to find his friends, Maxtla and Tizoc, wrestling.
"Watch it! You might break something!" Xolotl yelled, "And I do not want to be the one who has to explain the mess to Anacaona."
Maxtla wriggled out of Tizoc's grasp, "He started it! He said that I could not beat him in a fair fight!"
Tizoc ran his hand through his hair, "And it's true, you couldn't win a battle against a fly."
"Okay! Take this outside, in the back, so that the neighbors won't know what idiots I have for friends." Xolotl compromised.
After a moment of hurt that fluttered on Maxtla and Tizoc's faces, the three raced each other to the back.
-
Anacaona woke up to a crash. She slowly disentangled herself from Diego's arms and sat up looking expectantly at the house.
Her brother was home.
Anacaona gently shook Diego awake. She looked into his green gray eyes and conveyed her fear for him.
He understood and began to stand up when the back door opened.
Xolotl and his friends ran out of the house and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Anacaona and Diego.
"What is he doing here?" Xolotl demanded.
Anacaona stood in front of Diego, "He was about to leave."
"I told you that you were not allowed to see him any more. He is dangerous."
"You fear what you do not know," Anacaona nudged Diego telling him to run.
Diego understood, but he did not move. He was not going to leave Anacaona alone to face her brother.
Xolotl, Maxtla, and Tizoc advanced on the couple.
Anacaona grabbed Diego's hand and together they ran into the forest. Xolotl, Maxtla, and Tizoc right on their tail.
A few minutes into the forest and Anacaona and Diego had lost Xolotl, Maxtla, and Tizoc. Xolotl rarely entered the forest, preferring his strolls in town to the undergrowth and nature, and his friends did not live around here.
After what seemed like hours, Anacaona reached what she was looking for.
It was a small dugout that she used to hide in when she was little. No one knew about it and it was perfect.
Together they squeezed themselves into the dugout. It was a tight fit but they did not mind the accommodations.
They had only just met and a week was not long enough to be with him. She only had her brother before and she had been content. But now Diego had changed that and she became happy, complete and she was not going to lose Diego without a fight.
There was rustling on their right and they saw the glow of a torch. Diego held tightly onto Anacaona. When it began to fade away Diego laughed lightly and Anacaona kissed his cheek. They soon fell asleep.
The morning sun woke them and Anacaona knew that she had to go home. It was not fair to her brother that she worry him like this, however much she loved Diego she loved Xolotl equally, differently but equally.
Diego knew that she felt this way and when she hesitantly started to lead them back to her house he nudged her forward.
-
Xolotl and his friends wondered through the forest, searching for his sister and her lover. They had split up and would meet up later at his house.
Xototl became engrossed in his thoughts that he had not noticed the small clearing and the cave until he bumped into it. Admonishingly, he bent down and walked in. The cave glowed oddly; although Xolotl's head was telling him to get out he could not.
The deeper he went the brighter the cave became. The heavenly light was beautiful. He could not pin down exactly what color the light gave off. The celestial light was an array of colors that seemed to be vying for dominance, yet none were powerful enough to surpass the others.
He turned a sharp corner. The light came to a crescendo which fiercely blinded Xolotl. He saw nothing but the white light which surrounded him. Suddenly he felt the light filling him. Seeping into his body and slowly taking over. The light worked through his mouth and nose plunging down to his legs and filling them with the light before rising into his stomach and chest. The light seemed to become exceedingly aggressive as it poured into his heart and lungs, filling his arms and shoulders. Xolotl could tell that the light wanted him, needed him.
The light surged into his head, blocking out his brain, sending him away into the startlingly bright darkness.
Xolotl woke up and found that he was staring at the ceiling of his kitchen.
His head was pounding and he wondered what he had last night to cause this. Xolotl slowly pushed himself up, wincing as the pain in his head doubled. He took in a deep breath and found that the air was putrid with a metallic taste.
He reached to rub his head when he noticed that his hand was red.
He stared at his hand, entranced for hours, before seeing that the floor was covered in blood.
He looked wildly around, his gaze settled on his sister's lover. It was only because of the difference in their clothing that he recognized the man. What was left of his face was horribly mangled. His arms and legs were cut to shreds; the drying blood paled the dead man's skin. His chest seemed to have suffered multiple stab wounds and suddenly Xolotl realized that he had done this. He could not remember but he could feel it.
He looked away, afraid of the crime he committed but it proved to be a terrible decision.
Tizoc's body had a wound to his head and heart which had oozed out the blood that surrounded him.
Maxtla's decapitated head stared blindly at Xolotl and he unwillingly traced the trail of thick blood to the body.
Xolotl wildly searched for an exit that would permit him to leave without him having to see the corpses; however he only found another one.
He had dreaded this since he had seen the body of Diego.
His baby sister. Her body was damaged beyond possibility yet her face defied the atrocities that had occurred and retained her angelic features.