Half Blood

Chapter One

That day was particularly sunny. Cicadas hummed at high noon, and the heat simmered the sweat that had pilled upon my skin. This blistering day was not my first choice that week for my practice, but Abuelito said it was important for me to train in all climates. He said that someone as gifted as me needs to be prepared for danger—for predators. As an eight year-old girl, this didn't make much sense to me; seldom will a day go by that I am not thankful he told me so soon.
He had given me a boomerang a few days before that hot summer day. It was wrapped in a soft, woven cloth and tied with twine. When the boomerang was placed in hand, a strength overcame me that was difficult to control. Abuelito said it had the power of our great ancestors and the many gods that protected us. I looked to him and then back to the boomerang. At each end were caps that popped off to reveal dagger-like blades. The boomerang itself was a deep black with a regal gold sun at its core. He told me that the sunlight would always be the best time for me to get stronger. He was right.
Abuelito looked to me with his coffee-colored eyes and held my soft, little hands in his rough manly ones. He sighed, "Oh, my little girl," then shook his head, "this is a lot of responsibility for someone as young as you." When he let go of my hands, I felt the burden that was lifted from his shoulders be placed upon mine. He half whispered, "Just listen to it. It asks of you to ask of it. Give it what it wants,"
I really wanted to please Abuelito. He was the best grandfather any girl could have. He would push me on the swing, play with me when Mama was away, and he made the best desserts. I couldn't fathom why my silly grandfather was being so serious. However, if it was that important to him, I was determined to succeed. I tried to listen to the boomerang as he said. It came to me in faint whispers of a language I never spoke, yet I understood. It wanted to fly, so I thought of flying. I never touched the boomerang, but it soared to the rhythm of the cicadas chirping. When I stopped imagining and began to see the magic in action, the boomerang came back to me. But the caps had come off. It cut my right eye, blinding me forevermore. To this day, I can only see from my left eye.
"Oh, my darling!" Cried Abuelito. "I told you to listen!"
"I did!" I cried, "I only looked for a second!" 
Abuelito said the boomerang punished me for not listening, even if it was for only a second. As long as it's moving, he said, you cannot stop listening.
He rushed me inside our family cottage and immediately phoned the doctor. The nearest town was about twenty minutes north, so Abuelito tried his very best to patch me up in the meantime. I remember the thick, hot blood and sweat mixing to create a sickening salty metallic stench. Once Abuelito had put cotton up to my eye, I turned and got sick. The last thing I remember before waking up in the hospital was Abuelito apologising to me. Before I fainted, he kissed my head and held me close to his chest.
When I awoke, my eye ached and my stomach was growling at me like a monster. I reached up to touch my eye and winced once my fingertips touched the patch. Blinking wasn't an option. There was a note and a small bell on the bedside table. "When awake, ring," it said. I grasped the bell in my hand, then took it by it's handle and rung it loudly. A nurse came into my hospital room moments later, smiling brightly. "Ah, Miss Dani Vasquez. It seems you've had a bad day." She wasn't wrong.
"Yeah, you could say that."
"Well, let's try to make it a little better. My name is Vicky and it's my job to make sure you're feeling as good as possible. How are you feeling right now?"
Vicky sat next to me on my bed and smiled a soft, sweet smile. Her red, bouncy curls flowed down her back, and her freckles spotted her nose and cheeks like sprinkles on cake.
"I'm not feeling very good," I pointed to my eye and my belly.
"Oh? I know what happened to your eye, but what's wrong with your tummy, darlin'?"
My stomach grumbled with a vengeance.
"Awe, well we can fix that right up. Let me bring you a menu of what we got here at the hospital, and after you eat I'll give you some more medicine for the pain. How's that sound?"
I smiled and nodded my head, and she hurriedly stood and walked out of the room. She came back with a menu and a stuffed bear.
"This one here's from your Pa. He's mighty worried about you."
"Is he here?" I desperately wanted to see my Abuelito.
Vicky nodded, handed me the menu and stuffed bear, then walked out of the room again. She came back with Abuelito. I grinned and opened my arms as big as I could, and Abuelito gave me one of his signature hugs. He looked to me and asked, "How are you feeling, my dear?"
"I'm hungry and my eye hurts."
Abuelito chuckled and kissed my forehead.
"Well, you're in good hands. Let's see what looks good, and then maybe I can think of a new story to tell you."
I absolutely loved Abuelito's stories. It was a rare day when he told me one that I hadn't already heard. I nodded and smiled with excitement, and Abuelito sat down with me to look at the menu. We decided on grilled cheese and mango chunks. Once the food came to the room; Abuelito told me one of his stories from his younger days. He made one of the worst days of my life seem like the best.
Vicky came back and told me she was going to give me some pain medicine that would make me pretty sleepy. I obeyed her and took the medicine with a small paper cup of water. She walked out the room, curls following behind her. Abuelito continued his story, and I drifted into a deep sleep.

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