One Steps Forward, Two Step Back (3)

Months later after the terrible incident, Mauricia continued her daily routine of teaching Sunday lecture and attending music class. Within time she started to worry she would have to make a decision about what she was going to do. She feared once Gertrudes figured out she was pregnant she would surely kick her out of the house. The thought of getting rid of her baby never crossed Mauricia's mind. She felt compelled to take care of it, and she knew in her heart it was not the child's fault it was coming into the world.

Mauricia had to resign from her lectures and classes. Instead of telling Gertrudes about the changes, Mauricia continued to leave the house to take extra jobs and earn money to save for the baby. Mauricia washed, ironed, mended, and cleaned out houses. She did whatever she could to collect as much money for the moment Gertrudes would kick her out. When Mauricia made it home one night Gertrudes was waiting in the parlor and asked Mauricia to see her. Gertrudes told Mauricia "my friend, Carmen, told me you have been seen doing extra work for people in town. Is this true?" Mauricia said "yes", and decided to tell Gertrudes the truth. She was four months pregnant. Gertrudes responded, "Well you know what this means, don't you? I should have known you would end up like your mother." As tears ran down Mauricia's face, she couldn't hold back her anger. Mauricia ran to the servant's quarters to get her items which had been ready for this moment. She grabbed her rosary, bible, and few family photos she had found and taken from Gertrudes's belongings. Mauricia ran out and told her "I may be pregnant but at least I know how to love, and I'm not an evil hearted person like you! I pray you don't die alone and someone at least cares enough to take care of you like I did!"

Mauricia ran out of Gertrudes's house clutching her bible and rosary while carrying her bag. Inside the bible were the photos she had found. One of the photos had a description on the back indicating it was her aunt Cipriana and her late mother, along with Cipriana's address in Tampico, Mexico. Mauricia said, "I have to leave! I cannot stay here anymore and be reminded of my pain, I can't!" She decided to try her luck elsewhere and find her aunt Cipriana and see what life held in store for her. Mauricia purchased a ticket for the next train to Tampico and left.

Upon arriving in Tampico, Mauricia found her aunt Cipriana's home and knocked on the door. "Hello! Hello! Hello!" someone yelled from afar. Mauricia waited and again knocked. "Hello! Hello! Hello!" again someone yelled. Suddenly, the door cracked open and she saw a wrinkly old man peer through the crack with a large grin. "Sorry, I can't buy anything, the wife will get mad!" then proceeded to close the door. Mauricia held it open and said "please! I'm looking for Cipriana, does she live here?" The old man laughed and said "Yes, Cipriana lives here, hold on." The door gets slammed shut, and Mauricia is left wondering if he is working with a full set of marbles or just decided not to assist her. As Mauricia goes to knock again, the door opens up, and there stands a short, slender, older woman, with her gray hair all wrapped up in a neat bun. "Can I help you?" she asks. "Yes, my name is Mauricia Delgado and I believe your my aunt Cipriana." Mauricia began to tell her about her journey to find her and her pregnancy. Cipriana proceeded to tell Mauricia "Well, I don't see any problem with you living with us. I need help with my husband, Benjamin, he's a little crazy in his old age, and watching him and taking care of a house is difficult enough."

Mauricia was much happier with Cipriana who later introduced her to other relatives on her father's side that she had never met. Everyone in the family was either a butcher or worked in the mines. When Cipriana left to work in the family meat market, Mauricia had to tend to the house and make sure Benjamin was taken care of. Mauricia did not receive wages for doing her job, she was promised a place to sleep and eat and that was it.

Benjamin was a happy fellow who kept to himself and liked to doodle on paper and whittle wood. While Mauricia would clean the house Benjamin would talk to Mauricia about different topics from politics, witches, and other stories he repeated from time to time. Mauricia had to make sure the door was locked as he liked to walk outside and wander but nine months into her pregnancy Mauricia could not keep up with him.

Fall came around and so did Teresa Delgado. She was Mauricia's pride and joy and with her came a renewed sense of hope to live. During the time Mauricia gave birth, Benjamin became very ill and passed away, leaving Cipriana alone. Mauricia continued to care for the house but within time Cipriana asked her to work in the meat market with her and bring Teresa along. Working at the meat market was very hard, she learned to gut pigs, chickens, and ducks. Cipriana could not keep up with this work and Mauricia could tell she was beginning to feel more tired each day.

One day while walking home, after working at the meat market, Cipriana mentioned to Mauricia about moving to Pinos, Mexico, where she was born. Mauricia thought long and hard as she would have to return to the place she ran away from. Cipriana assured her she would not be alone and her cousins were moving with them to open a family market there. Mauricia agreed as long as they stayed on the other side of town away from her terrible memories. Everyone packed their belongings and sold the house. Cipriana felt more at ease going back to her birthplace as she felt she didn't have much more time on this earth.

Pinos looked the same after being away two years. There were new buildings here and there but at least there were more people than before. The first thing Mauricia needed to do was go to the church and pray. Mauricia took Teresa as she wanted the priest to give her a blessing too. Before entering the church, Mauricia let Teresa play by the fountain. Teresa watched the water trickling off the sides and splashing bits of water on her little face. Teresa giggled as she enjoyed the water and it provided relief from the hot sun. Mauricia could not help but feel like she was being watched. She turned around and a gentleman by the front of the church turns around and looks the other way. She scoops up Teresa and hurries her way into the church for service. Once service is over, she gets the priest to give Teresa a blessing and they proceed to go home. The same gentleman from the front door attended service and she caught his glimpse again but this time he smiled. She recognized him, but from where? Mauricia begins to think and remembers he was a suitor that had asked her out for a walk a long time ago. His name is Francisco Alvarez, now she remembered! Mauricia thought, "Oh well, that was a long time ago and he's not as blind to see I now have a child."

Mauricia and Teresa were patiently waiting while everyone exited the church when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Mauricia turns around to see Francisco smiling and said, "I haven't seen you in ages, how have you been?" "I'm fine, thank you." Mauricia responded curtly. "This is my daughter Teresa." Francisco didn't budge, "Your daughter is very cute, your husband must be very proud." "I'm very proud, her father is not around, and your being nosy." Mauricia answered. As soon as she saw an open area, Mauricia squeezed her way through and disappeared through the crowd leaving Francisco just shaking his head.

Mauricia Comes of Age (2)

Throughout the years, Mauricia worked around her aunt Gertrudes's house. As a child, she slept in the kitchen by the fireplace, with the dog. That was her place to sleep and eat. She never attended school, and she played around the house when Gertrudes took her naps. As Mauricia grew into a young woman, Gertrudes ran out of excuses when visitors asked why she was in the corner. Rather than say she was her great-niece, Gertrudes told everyone Mauricia was a child with no family that she was providing food and shelter out of the goodness of her heart. Gertrudes figured out a solution, put an apron on Mauricia, and said she was the hired help. She slept in the servants quarters, as hired help would. The other aunt that had taken Carlos moved away to another state immediately after Bernadette's death as mining in that area had become scarce and many families moved to find their luck elsewhere.

Suitors would come to the house for Mauricia, as she was now a young lady, but Gertrudes paid no attention and neither did Mauricia. If Mauricia was harassed in the street by perverts or suitors, she simply took shortcuts to avoid them. She had seen her mother suffer because of men and love, and she felt she did not need that distraction in her life at the moment. Mauricia could hear Gertrudes's voice reminding her that she would end up like her mother, as if she carried a label due to her mother's life decisions. Mauricia didn't believe this; she confided in God, and knew she was not a bad person and good things were to come.

Since Gertrudes was an old woman by now, she demanded less of Mauricia, and even let Mauricia teach Sunday lectures to children and participate in the theater. Sunday lectures and the theater meant everything to Mauricia, as those were a mental escape for her. There were many nights that she dreamt of her parents, and she wondered where her brother was and what he looked like. She prayed for the day when she could find him and be with him again. She felt in her heart that she would find her brother, and promised her parents she would do whatever she could to find him, no matter how long it took.

Mauricia felt closer to her parents when she was involved in the church or in prayer. She felt her closeness to God translated in closeness to her parents, even if only for a moment. Mauricia's spirituality and her dreams were all that she had in the world. She dreamt of traveling and singing with the theater. She thought that if she focused on that goal, she could escape the town that reminded her of so much pain.

One day after a late music lesson, Mauricia noticed it was very dark and she needed to run back home. She excused herself and began to race outside the building, hoping to get back before Gertrudes could catch her and possibly prohibit her from leaving the house for weeks. Mauricia frantically thought, "I need to get there without her noticing! Which way will be best?" She decided to take a short cut by running through the alley. While in mid-run, Mauricia could hear footsteps behind her and she turned around to see who it could be. The only thing she noticed was a shadow. Her gut feeling was not good, and she decided she needed to act quickly to get away from this person. Seeing the alley up ahead, she ran passed the cemetary and started to turn the corner. In an instant, she felt someone grab her and throw her body down with such force it caused her to pass out. She woke up bruised and bleeding from the back of her head; she had been beaten and raped. As she came to, she saw the man's face. He was one of the suitors she had previously declined many times. "You can't expect to run around at night and not get hurt!" he said. "If I was you, I wouldn't say a word of this to anyone. I know where you and your aunt live." Mauricia hobbled to her feet, picked up what she could, and made her way back home.

She walked into her aunt's house in a daze, as her aunt yelled at her. "Where have you been?" Gertrudes screamed at the top of her lungs. Have you been tramping around like her mother?" Mauricia didn't say a word. As Gertrudes got closer and the candlelight shone more brightly on Mauricia's face, Gertrudes stood still in silence, finally noticing what had happened to Mauricia. She quietly said, "Go get the washtub and clean yourself up. Put on some clean clothes and go to bed. I'll call the priest in the morning so he can give you a confession."