so luxuriant and green with that thick canopy of leaves above—except she knows without having to be told that this place is like Jack, like the boys.
It's not a real wood, but the archetype of a wood.
She starts to walk. Her footsteps are almost silent on the grass, but the woods are full of birdsong. The air is moist, compared to the dry desert. It doesn't smell like dust. It smells like freshly turned earth and bark and leaves.
Luz should feel out of place. Her surroundings are unlike anything she's ever experienced before. Yet she feels like she's come home. And she's inexplicably happy.
She wanders aimlessly until she hears the sound of water. She follows the sound up a low incline until she comes to a spring-fed pool. Water tumbles from a cleft high in the rocks at its far end. Water lilies bloom on the surface of the pool and the rocks around it are covered in thick green moss. The giant oaks tower above, making it feel like a natural cathedral.
She's not surprised to find Maria sitting on one of those rocks, one hand trailing in the water. A shaft of light penetrates the trees, illuminating Maria's flawless brown skin and black hair. The white dress she's wearing glows in contrast to her surroundings. There are no holes in it, no blood. She looks like an angel.
Maria's gaze meets hers and she smiles, not in the least surprised to see Luz, either.
"You opened the tin," she says.
Luz nods. "Jack told me to."
Maria sighs. "Oh, Jack. All I ever got was a few kisses from him. But I feel like I've known him forever. We should have been together forever."
"He feels the same way."
Maria's eyes brighten, then she sighs again.
"Too bad I'm dead," she says.
"You're not—" Luz begins, except she doesn't really know what to say.
Maria is dead. She just watched her coffin being lowered into the dusty ground in San Miguel Cemetery.
"It's okay," Maria says. "You'd be surprised how quickly you get used to the idea. And this—" She waves her hand to take in their surroundings. "It's not such a bad place to be."
Neither of them says anything for a long moment.
"Jack seems to think he knew you from before," Luz says finally. "Like in some past life or something."
"That's so weird. But maybe it's true. I felt this immediate connection the first time I saw you guys robbing that house in Desert View. Maybe we did know each other, but I just can't remember. Or only my subconscious can."
"You could ask him," Luz says.
"Except I'm dead, so that's not really an option."
"I'm here to take you back," Luz tells her.
Maria's eyebrows go up. "Seriously? How does that work?"
"I'm not really sure."
"It's a nice thought," Maria tells her, "but I don't see it happening. Did you know they have talking foxes here?"
Luz shakes her head.
"They're so strange. They say I'm the maid of the green wood. That when the Summer King returns, he and I will…we'll make love, and that'll welcome in the spring. Our being together will make the year start or something." She shakes her head. "They call me Maid Marian instead of Maria, but I'm not their maid."
That makes Luz smile. And it fills her with the unexpected confidence that maybe this can be fixed.
"At home you were a maid," she says. "Just not the kind they expected. Come back, and you can be whatever you want to be."
"Come on. Remember me dying? I can't go back."
"There's always brujería ."
Maria shakes her head. "I don't think even magic can heal death. Luz, it's over. I felt each of those bullets as they tore through me." She plucks at the white cotton of her dress. "Even if they didn't leave any trace when I woke up here."
"Jack says if we're going to make things better we need to focus on that—the violence, not just the poverty."
"And how's he planning to fix that? Is he going to clean up the cartels?"
"We haven't figured it out yet," Luz says. "We need you to do that."
"Me? What do I know?"
"More than you think. But it's not just what you know. It's who you are.
It's not a real wood, but the archetype of a wood.
She starts to walk. Her footsteps are almost silent on the grass, but the woods are full of birdsong. The air is moist, compared to the dry desert. It doesn't smell like dust. It smells like freshly turned earth and bark and leaves.
Luz should feel out of place. Her surroundings are unlike anything she's ever experienced before. Yet she feels like she's come home. And she's inexplicably happy.
She wanders aimlessly until she hears the sound of water. She follows the sound up a low incline until she comes to a spring-fed pool. Water tumbles from a cleft high in the rocks at its far end. Water lilies bloom on the surface of the pool and the rocks around it are covered in thick green moss. The giant oaks tower above, making it feel like a natural cathedral.
She's not surprised to find Maria sitting on one of those rocks, one hand trailing in the water. A shaft of light penetrates the trees, illuminating Maria's flawless brown skin and black hair. The white dress she's wearing glows in contrast to her surroundings. There are no holes in it, no blood. She looks like an angel.
Maria's gaze meets hers and she smiles, not in the least surprised to see Luz, either.
"You opened the tin," she says.
Luz nods. "Jack told me to."
Maria sighs. "Oh, Jack. All I ever got was a few kisses from him. But I feel like I've known him forever. We should have been together forever."
"He feels the same way."
Maria's eyes brighten, then she sighs again.
"Too bad I'm dead," she says.
"You're not—" Luz begins, except she doesn't really know what to say.
Maria is dead. She just watched her coffin being lowered into the dusty ground in San Miguel Cemetery.
"It's okay," Maria says. "You'd be surprised how quickly you get used to the idea. And this—" She waves her hand to take in their surroundings. "It's not such a bad place to be."
Neither of them says anything for a long moment.
"Jack seems to think he knew you from before," Luz says finally. "Like in some past life or something."
"That's so weird. But maybe it's true. I felt this immediate connection the first time I saw you guys robbing that house in Desert View. Maybe we did know each other, but I just can't remember. Or only my subconscious can."
"You could ask him," Luz says.
"Except I'm dead, so that's not really an option."
"I'm here to take you back," Luz tells her.
Maria's eyebrows go up. "Seriously? How does that work?"
"I'm not really sure."
"It's a nice thought," Maria tells her, "but I don't see it happening. Did you know they have talking foxes here?"
Luz shakes her head.
"They're so strange. They say I'm the maid of the green wood. That when the Summer King returns, he and I will…we'll make love, and that'll welcome in the spring. Our being together will make the year start or something." She shakes her head. "They call me Maid Marian instead of Maria, but I'm not their maid."
That makes Luz smile. And it fills her with the unexpected confidence that maybe this can be fixed.
"At home you were a maid," she says. "Just not the kind they expected. Come back, and you can be whatever you want to be."
"Come on. Remember me dying? I can't go back."
"There's always brujería ."
Maria shakes her head. "I don't think even magic can heal death. Luz, it's over. I felt each of those bullets as they tore through me." She plucks at the white cotton of her dress. "Even if they didn't leave any trace when I woke up here."
"Jack says if we're going to make things better we need to focus on that—the violence, not just the poverty."
"And how's he planning to fix that? Is he going to clean up the cartels?"
"We haven't figured it out yet," Luz says. "We need you to do that."
"Me? What do I know?"
"More than you think. But it's not just what you know. It's who you are.
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