Ya Vienen: Chapter Two | Part One
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Fictional Series
It’s mornings like this, where I’m especially thankful that I work from home. The thought of having to see another humxn being today was not a comforting one. I couldn’t feign interest in another person if my life depended on it. I have little to give right now. And to top it off, I didn’t sleep last night. If I wasn’t being overcome with grief, I was going over my tia’s Death Plans; obsessing over my dreams, their meaning, my abuelita.
What was going on?
How can I even mourn my Tia after all I’ve seen?
Could she be trying to tell me something?
Could it have something to do with how she died?
What if she was mur-
I stop the thought from finishing. “No, Ximena. No.”
“Just get ready. Get to your office. Sit your ass down. Get to work.”
And just like that I stepped into that same Stoic Facade my mother adorns on mornings just like this. Brushing everything away, I head into the bathroom.
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A few SQL filled hours into my day I decided to take a break. My stomach growled. I felt like I hadn’t eaten in days. Truth be told, my life has been such a blur lately, I couldn’t remember if I actually did eat or not.
I closed my computer down and headed towards the kitchen. There was chorizo and huevos to fry.
………………………………………………………………………………………
As I finished drying my last dish, I felt the familiar pattern of ticks against my wrist.
Tia Valéria’s name is displayed against my watch. My heart falls to my toes.
I rush to my office and grab my phone.
*Someone is probably calling from her house*
With shaking hands I answer.
“Bueno?”
Between rasping breaths, only two words are uttered in response.
“…ya…vienen.”
“Who is this?!”
Click.
Suddenly my watch dances again. I answer without looking.
“WHO IS THIS?!”
“Ay! Por qué me gritas?!”
“Mami?! Oh thank god!”
“Qué ha pasado, qué está pasando?!”
“Nothing mami, nothing. Just a prank call…I’m sorry”
“Ximena, soy tu mama. Sé que algo anda mal. Dímelo. No lying. My heart can’t take anymore.”
I can feel my whole body shake with my next exhale.
“I got a call from Tia Valéria’s number. When I answered the phone I-“
“You got a call from her house?”
“Yes, and the voice was weird, the breathing was-“
“What did she say?”
“She?”
Silence is her answer.
“They just said ‘ya vienen’ and hung up”
“I need to call my sister. I’ll call you soon, mijita.”
“Why do you need to-”
Click.
