‘Returning’ Archives
Returning: Chapter 30
A strange light, even stranger wordsBy PATRICK CABELLO HANSEL Patrick Cabello Hansel The young woman welcomed the weary travelers into her home. As soon as Angel, Luz and Angelito stepped over the threshold, they felt like it was their home. Soft, golden light seemed to emanate from every corner of the living room as they entered it, although if you asked them where the lamps actually were, they would not have been able to tell you. There was an aroma of spices filling the air, and soft, melodious music gently touched their ears. “Welcome,” the strange and peaceful woman said to them. “Please be at home here.” She motioned to a large couch and the three of them sat down. “I know you have many questions,” she said. “But let me bring you refreshment first.” She disappeared before they could even answer her. Later, Luz thought that the woman’s feet had never touched the ground. “Papa,” Angelito said. “Do you think she comes from [...]
Returning: CHAPTER 29, Light Comes Shining
By PATRICK CABELLO HANSEL Agnes hurried through the early morning streets of East Phillips with little Lupe in tow. But the weight of her decision slowed her hurry down. She had decided to save Angel’s and Luz’ daughter, despite Brian Fleming’s threat to have her own daughter Ingrid killed, or worse. Agnes knew that he had connections far beyond East Phillips, and that some of the women he had controlled had disappeared. No one knew if they had been sold, or killed and their bodies disposed so that they would never be found. Agnes loved Ingrid, her only living descendant, who had made many bad choices in her life. But she could not let this precious little Lupe become a victim of the great evil that Brian Fleming was. Meanwhile, Luz and Angel and Angelito were following the trail of hearts pinned to 100-year-old houses. They had gone six blocks north and a few west from Cedar and Lake, and though the journey was not in a straight line, they did not lose hope. The hearts on [...]
Returning Chapter 28: Follow The Hearts!
Patrick Cabello Hansel By PATRICK CABELLO HANSEL Little Angel led his parents north on Cedar telling them he “knew where there was a heart.” Luz and Angel followed, not because they were sure it would lead anywhere, but because they had run out of everything but hope. Home may be where the heart is, but hope is where the heart goes when nothing is left. They walked half a block or so, passed a storefront church and its parking lot. Before they reached the Greenway, little Angel stopped in front of a house and pointed to the door. Even in the dark, his parents could make out a paper heart. It had seen better days. The lace trim around its edges was torn and dirty, it hung at an odd angle. But there it was. “Ok, mi’jo,” Luz said to the boy. “I see the heart. Now what do we do?” Her son looked at her for a moment, then up into the night sky. “We look for another one!” he shouted. And before telling them which way to go, he led them north. At 28th, [...]
