MAMA LUPITA
I started this story right after 'A bullet runs through it'. At the time, I had a deep dislike for Sofia, and it shows. I didn't finish the story at the time because I had lost hope of ever seeing G&S together; then I saw Spellbound, and it seemed that there were just too many similarities.
Now that GS are together, I've felt a renewal of enthusiasm. (I loved the season finale, btw. I just wish GSR-haters would stop complaining)
Anyway, this story's a bit silly, so please be indulgent.
There's a glossary at the end.
Spoiler: ABRTI, GM
The streets of the barrio were deserted.
"This is useless," Sara muttered, "They won't tell us anything."
Nick Stokes and Sara Sidle had spent hours knocking on doors, hoping in vain to find witnesses to the shootings. Either the neighbors were downtown protesting, or they just didn't want to cooperate.
"Cheer up." Nick said, "This is the last block."
Most of the houses had little patches of dirt up front, the remnants of gardens no one had cared for. There was one exception, and for some reason Nick and Sara walked towards this house. Maybe they figured that someone who kept a struggling garden would at least try to answer a few questions.
Their assumption paid off; when they knocked, a female voice called out from inside, "Entre!"
"She says we can come in," Nick said.
To his surprise, the door was open. He cautiously peered in. "Buenos días?"
"Entra, m'hijo." The woman's voice responded.
Nick stepped inside, Sara following close behind. They found themselves inside a modest parlor. A couch and a little table laden with magazines were the only pieces of furniture.
It looked like a waiting room of some sort.
A gloomy waiting room, at that. Nick used his MagLite to examine the religious stamps pinned on the wall.
"There's a door," Sara said, only it wasn't a door, but a heavy curtain. She tentatively parted it. "Hello?"
"Entre!" the woman repeated.
Nick joined Sara. They entered a room that was heavily scented with incense.
Sara started to cough.
"You ok?" Nick asked.
"The smell got to me." She muttered, "I'm fine," she added, and to prove that she was, she determinedly shone her MagLite around.
This room was larger than the parlor, but it gave the impression of being smaller. It was certainly gloomier, the only light coming from a few votive candles strategically placed here and there.
The walls were lined with shelves that held an impressive collection of crystal jugs of different shapes and sizes, all of them filled with various objects and colorful powders.
Nick looked closely at one of the jugs.
"Corazón de murciélago," he read aloud.
"What's that?" Sara asked.
"Bat's heart."
"Yummy," Sara muttered.
Apart from the shelves, the only other pieces of furniture were in the middle of the room -a few mismatched chairs, and a round table covered with a lacy cloth.
There was a huge bundle of rags on top of a chair, and Nick directed his beam of light there. The rags suddenly moved, as if reacting to the light. Spooked, Nick and Sara instinctively took a step back.
"Buenos días." The voice called out again. It was coming from the rags.
The two CSIs took a step forward. There was a woman there, seemingly buried under old shawls and lace mantillas. Graying curls spilled from a flowered handkerchief that was tightly wrapped around her head. She smiled, making the lines on her face more pronounced. It was an old face, but her smile was like a child's.
She looked at them placidly, as if they were mere guests she'd been expecting. .
"Bienvenidos." She said languidly. She slowly shifted in her seat and then she delicately placed both hands on the table, her palms up.
Nick and Sara looked incredulously at each other, and then they looked back at the woman's hands –or more exactly, at what lay between them. It was an object they had seen in movies –bad movies, that is. A crystal ball.
Sara cleared her throat.
"Excuse me, hum, ma'am." She started, "We're, hum." She felt suddenly tongue-tied.
The woman smiled benignedly.
"Todos son bienvenidos a la casa de Mamá Lupita." She said.
Nick took a step forward.
"Gracias, mamá Lupita." He said respectfully, "Uh, mi compañera no habla español..."
The woman smiled.
"Welcome," she said in heavily accented English, "Everybody's welcome to Mamá Lupita's house." She said pleasantly. She looked from Nick to Sara, and then back to Nick. "Tu hablas bien el español." She said. She tilted her head towards Sara, "Deberías enseñarle a tu novia."
"No es mi novia." Nick said quickly. "Mi compañera de trabajo." He added. He took a step forward, "I'm Nick Stokes, and this is Sara Sidle; we're with the crime lab, and we're asking the neighbors a few questions-"
"You're here because of the shooting." she said knowingly, and the she shook her head. "It's been a bad day for business." She sighed, "Yesterday, I told everyone that today would be a good day, and look at that mess outside..." she shook her head. "You came for a tarot reading?"
"Uh, no." Sara said, "We're here to -"
"Good," Mamá Lupita scowled, "Because I stink at tarot reading." Then she smiled her child-like smile again, "But I can fix you a good love potion, eh?" she offered, and then she glanced down at her crystal ball, "Or I can look into your future..."
"Uh, no, thanks." Sara said, "You've just said you kind of failed in that area."
"Ah, but that was because of the cards. I'm still practicing. I'm good with the crystal ball, though." she put her hands on the ball and caressed it.
Sara rolled her eyes.
"Mama Lupita, if you didn't actually see anything-"
"Sit," Mamá Lupita said.
There was something in her tone that prompted Nick and Sara to obey. Nick took the chair opposite Mamá Lupita's. Sara's chair was a bit wobbly, but she managed to sit comfortably on it.
"So," Nick said, "Did you see anyone running or acting suspiciously -"
"All the time," Mamá Lupita scowled again. "All I need to see, I see here," she said, turning her gaze back into her crystal ball. She took a deep breath, "I see a longing heart..." she whispered. "Longing for an impossible love... an indifferent love..." she glanced at Sara. "An older love..." she finished.
Sara blushed but didn't say anything.
Mama Lupita looked at the ball again.
"I see something else," she said, "Pain... loneliness..." She briefly closed her yes, "I see tears... Many, many tears."
Fighting her feelings of embarrassement, Sara shifted in her seat.
"I didn't -" she mumbled, "I wasn't -"
"Not you," Mamá Lupita interrupted, "Him," she added, glancing at Nick.
Nick blushed.
"I... er..."
Sara intervened.
"He recently went through a traumatic experience," She explained.
"Oh, yes." Mama Lupita said, looking at the ball again, "I see an enclosed space... I can feel his fear..." she frowned, "I can also hear some singing. Awful singing, in a van. Texan love songs…"
"It helps pass the time…" Nick mumbled.
"I can also hear his screams. Many screams. Boy, did he scream -"
"All right, that's enough," Nick interrupted uncomfortably, "Did you or did you not see anything that might be useful to our investigation?"
"Yeah," Sara sneered, "Can your crystal ball tell us who the shooters were?"
"The crystal only allows me look into the souls of those who enter this humble abode..." She said, "And into the souls of those who reside in my visitors' hearts," she added, looking from Sara to Nick.
She turned her attention back to the crystal ball, "I see a man. A man with a graying beard and a mustache... A man who is by himself, even in a crowd." She looked up at Nick and then at Sara, and then she closed her eyes. "He's been in your minds lately-" she whispered, "One wants to be like him-"
Nick glanced at Sara.
"That's got to be you-" he smirked.
"And the other wants to be loved by him." Mamá Lupita finished.
Sara frowned.
"Nick?" she asked suspiciously.
"Hey, no way," Nick said, rising his hands in self-defense, "That's not true!"
"You want to be like him," Mamá Lupita said, glancing at Nick. Then she looked at Sara, "And you...You want his love."
Sara paused for only a second.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she mumbled uncomfortably.
Nick smiled to himself. He knew exactly what Mama Lupita was talking about, and he knew that Sara knew, too. She just didn't want to talk about it, and Nick understood.
He rose.
"Sorry for taking your time, ma'am." He said, "I think we should be going -"
"Talvez tu amiga quiere quedarse un poco más." Mamá Lupita replied, not looking at him but at Sara.
Sara rose from her chair, but she didn't make a move to leave.
"Sara?" Nick said, but Sara's gaze was fixed on Mamá Lupita's.
"Vete tú," the old lady, "Déjanos solas un momento."
Nick hesitated. He didn't think this a good idea, but on the other hand, maybe Sara simply needed someone to talk to.
"Sara?" he said, "Do you want me to wait outside?"
Sara hesitated.
"It'll only take a minute," she said, taking a seat again.
TBC
Glossary.
Barrio (neighborhood.)
Entra, m'hijo. (Come in, my son, (figurative).
Buenos días (Good morning)
Bienvenidos (welcome)
Todos son bienvenidos a la casa de Mamá Lupita. (Everyone's welcome at Mamá Lupita's house.)
Gracias, mamá Lupita. Mi compañera no habla español. (Thanks. My partner doesn't speak Spanish.)
Tu hablas bien el español. Deberías enseñarle a tu novia. (You speak Spanish well; you should teach your girlfriend.)
No es mi novia. Mi compañera de trabajo (She isn't my girlfriend, she's my coworker.)
Talvez tu amiga quiere quedarse un poco más. (Maybe your friend wants to stay.)
Vete tú," the old lady said, "Déjanos solas un momento. (Go. Leave us alone a little while.)