Michi considered the apparition above them. Regarding it for a time she realized there were two shadows present in the girl’s image where there should be one. Commanding them to separate she saw that one of the two was male! She waited to see what might come of her dictate but the two moved back together without incident. She had heard of such things although they were rare.
TWINS by Marie, Part 15 - Ana and Michi
by Marie C.
All my friends, the workmen, everybody except my family thinks my little twins are girls. I call them Rosa and Rita though their real names are Antonio and Diego. Even mama and abuelita like to make them look pretty. They spend hours sewing matching frocks and every morning they tie ribbons and flowers into the boys’ curls. Last week our tanners made them lovely little deerskin slippers.
On the boys’ birthday in El Aá±o de Nuestro Seá±or de Mil Ochocientos Veintiséis (In The Year Of Our Lord 1826) mama brought out a surprise, a lovely identical set of red silk dresses with low square necks and three quarter sleeves. Both were made from the gifts papa brought back from the Fortán Ruso, that time he went out to redeem my honor.
Lovely hand-carved polished wood combs inlaid with mother-of-pearl stood erect in the boys’ upswept hairdos which were covered in turn by beautiful white lace mantillas. Both boys had long since had their ears pierced and sported charming silver filigree pendant earrings with matching neck chains and cameos. Red berry juice stained their lips and whale oil mixed with lamp black darkened their lashes.
The other surprise was for me, a gorgeous frock made from the same material. The worst part of it was I had to wear those awful stays to get it on. I could hardly breathe. Fortunately I had been wearing them for a few weeks so it was not as bad as it could have been! Mama stood us together in front of the mirror to see how we would look, a lovely image of mother and twin daughters in bright red. The boys were preciosas, and so was I, mama said.
I dreamed about the time when I could lead them down the aisle for first communion at Misiá³n San Rafael. I imagined them hermosas, so beautiful, kneeling at the altar in their white lace frocks, hands together in prayer and veils fetchingly turned back from their faces. Kirk/Darlene would have beamed if there had been any physical way to do so. He reveled in Ana’s secret thoughts without a single qualm.
A small fiesta de cumpleaá±os, a birthday party for my charming five year olds, had been planned later that day with neighboring ranchero families in attendance. Papa and abuelito couldn’t be there because they had to deal with the English shipmasters, besides, children’s parties were women’s work.
That day I got in a silly mood and confided to my friend Catalina that my “girls” were really boys and secretly wished they could be real girls. Catalina laughed at my idea but thought it was sweet. When she gets married she’s going to have two little dolls exactly like them and fuss over them with all the ribbons and lace she can find just like I do. I took her inside and showed her their collection of pretty frocks and shawls. She even helped me rearrange their hair with flowers and combs. The boys loved every minute of their attention. After all it was their birthday!
Before Catalina went home that day she told me a strange tale about an Indian who changes boys into girls. Of course she didn’t actually believe anything like that could really happen. Nobody of proper breeding ever would. I agreed it must be a poor joke and both of us poo-pooed the whole idea. What else can you expect from indios. Even so, Catalina promised to visit in the event she heard anything else, if only to get away from her rancho and have another visit. But secretly I was excited and for days I thought about nothing else.
A week or so later two women and a man rode up to the main gate. Catalina introduced her companion only as Carmen, one of her Christian convert Indian servants. The man, who remained silent, was Catalina’s husband.
Apparently Carmen knew the Indian woman of the story. The woman didn’t live far from Rancho Nicasio and was known among the indians as “the one who helps confused persons.” Carmen spoke a very crude Spanish which was not easy to follow but Ana and Catalina got the gist of a story about a boy and his mother who visited the woman’s hut. In less than a year the child was no longer a boy.
Carmen had no explanation for the changes except that Mi-uocs, as they are called, think nothing of such transformations and accepted the new girl as an ordinary member of their community. She is now the mother of normal children, boys and girls. All it requires is for the child and mother, if she is available, to be present at a small ceremony in a place where there is a powerful earth spirit.
“If the patrona wishes I can arrange for such a visit. The people who live near the woman have a very high regard for your work with their sick and injured. But there would also have to be gifts given like hides and axes.” Ana thanked Carmen saying she would wait and think it over. Carmen was provided with a present of produce for her trouble. As the women rode away Ana was more thrilled than ever with the idea.
Kirk couldn’t help thinking back to poor William being changed against his will. He even flashed back to Linda’s spankings with a flash of anger. But in the next instant his mind emptied as Ana remembered that the twins were due for a feeding and her breasts were bursting. Ana/Kirk picked up the boys, opened her blouse and nursed them a little longer today.
Like Emma Ana experienced Kirk’s short periods of doubt as her own, especially since she was unsure of dealing directly with a village of indios, something a Californio girl should never do alone. So she decided to sound out mama and abuelita about Catalina’s story pretending it was just a passing curiosity.
Mama said not to listen to stories about ignorant indios and she should stop spending so much time with them on the rancho. Abuelita said only the holy word of the church and the family were important. If Ana kept worrying about indios she might bring God’s curse down on the rancho.
Rebellious, Ana kept her own counsel and the images in her imagination continued to blossom. She saw the boys growing into lovely young women in wedding dresses standing next to the sons of other rancheros, or perhaps next to handsome foreigners like one of the yanquás. She didn’t think it was wrong if God wanted girls instead of boys, after all it was His decision and He was everywhere. If she decided to do anything she would do it without the family’s knowing.
The hours after midnight were cold and misty as Ana/Kirk carried first Rita and then Rosa out through a side entrance. Carmen and her husband waited in the trees with three horses. Both boys were sound asleep from a tea that Catalina obtained.
Light from a full moon struggled through the mist fitfully lighting the landscape as they rode down a narrow cattle trail. A half-hour’s ride brought them to a scatter of cone-shaped huts standing on a flattened hilltop surrounded by tall oaks. Occasionally the fog shifted and Ana could see down into the valley where the creek was in full spring runoff.
One of the structures was larger than the others. Thin smoke rose from an opening at its top and was immediately lost in the murk. A small fire burned outside lighting the ground around them. Ana and the sleeping boys remained on horseback while Carmen and her husband dismounted and went off looking for whoever was supposed to meet them. Other than the small blaze there seemed to be no visible human activity. She felt cold, scared and started to worry about the children waking up.
Just as Ana thought about going back to the rancho a fearsome looking dark-skinned person lifted a flap of the hut and stepped out. Ana saw that it was a woman wearing an animal skin apron common to the Mi-uoc. The woman moved closer peering intently at Ana and the children, then turned to Carmen who had just returned. Ana was surprised to see intelligence and warmth in the woman’s face. Most of the Indians on the rancho wore rather dull, pitiful expressions. This woman’s eyes twinkled as though she had just heard something amusing.
She was not physically attractive by Californio standards and stood well under five feet tall. Her cloak was made from animal skins sewn together, rabbit from its look. Matted gray hair was tied back with fiber strands. Her skin was dusty. Ana knew they rolled in dirt after bathing.
The woman said something to Carmen in a guttural language and Carmen translated: “We are being welcomed. She thanks you for your work with the ranch workers. Please go inside. The woman’s name is unpronounceable for you, so just call her Michi.” Ana nodded and said “Gracias, Michi.” Carmen held the flap and Michi led the way.
Ana stepped down into a shallow area about twenty feet in circumference excavated out of the ground and thinly furnished with large woven mats. An animal something like a cat disappeared through a hole on the opposite side as she turned her head. Around the room were piles of plants. Some hung drying in bunches from the slanted rafters. Smaller pits were dug around the largest mat, each holding a modest amount of pulverized dry vegetable matter. Two pits were smoldering giving the interior a smoky atmosphere.
Carmen told Ana the hill was home to a powerful spirit which sometimes granted wishes. Michi was just a channel for those seeking help and could not guarantee how the spirit would act. Ana began to wonder if the whole thing wasn’t just a sham to get an extra supply of hides and axes. Earth spirits! She scowled at the thought, but she had come this far.
“Place Rita and Rosa on the large mat and smooth their clothing and hair,” Carmen instructed. “Sit on the left side with your back to the opening.”
Ana seated herself as comfortably as she could on the hard, irregular surface. Even with a mat underneath it was like sitting on bare rock. Michi stepped outside of the structure and quickly brought back a small, watertight basket filled with warm tea. She motioned for Ana to drink it while she slowly walked clockwise around the space lighting different plant piles.
Ana watched as the cat creature crept back in and lay down near the back opening, head on its paws watching the humans as though curious. She became somewhat alarmed as she recognized the spots, short tail and pained expression - a gato montés, a wildcat. She had never seen one alive! Papa had skins on the wall that his men had taken from trapped animals but that was all she knew. She felt alarmed as it seemed to observe her every move. A second and smaller version came through the opening, lay down next to the first and proceeded to chew on parts of a dead squirrel.
Ana was told to breath deeply of the murky vapors which now completely filled the hut. Her third breath brought on a violent coughing fit which was followed by an overwhelming drowsiness. She tried lifting her arms and legs and found they were like huge stones. As her thinking turned to mush and her eyes wandered Michi touched her lightly on the head and shoulders, and then knelt over the children and touched each one in turn all over their bodies. A soft light flared when she touched their midsections. Ana felt vaguely alarmed but Michi and the boys seemed so far away and the woman moved so slowly it was like a dream.
At one point she thought she was floating high up near the opening. Looking down she could see Michi, the boys, Carmen and herself. The animals stared up at her unblinkingly without moving. Kirk was watching the same scene but he was unable to think being just as muddled as Ana.
Michi considered the apparition above them. Regarding it for a time she realized there were two shadows present in the girl’s image where there should be one. Commanding them to separate she saw that one of the two was male! She waited to see what might come of her dictate but the two moved back together without incident. She had heard of such things although they were rare.
How this could happen with a Californio girl Michi made no attempt to explain. She had no control over the specters. They were just there and usually harmless just like these two. She felt a surge of energy rising from the ground.
Suddenly Carmen and Michi were pulling Ana/Kirk to her feet and out the flap. When they placed Rita in her arms Ana became fully awake. Carmen held Rosa. “We have to leave now to get back before dawn.”
On the way back Carmen passed on Michi’s instructions telling Ana to continue training the children in girls’ ways. The spirit had granted her request and she should expect small changes by the first full moon. The biggest transformations will take place in six moons and possibly as many as twelve.
When Ana crawled into bed she thought the whole thing had been a bit of a comedown.
