La Fiesta (Part 1)

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Xiomara and her twin brother named Ximen. As children, they lived with their father, who was a wealthy plantation owner, in a large mansion on the estate. They lived a happy life, paying their workers very well. Every day, after Ximen had finished his school lessons, he would teach Xiomara what he learned, and his father didn’t mind, despite how it was unusual for a girl to learn anything except to be a girl. Xiomara had her lessons, too, on how to be a good housewife for her future husband. She learned how to cook, clean, and be responsible at a very young age. 

On one beautiful spring day, their father brought home a woman and her daughter, who was slightly older than the twins. Their father told them that the woman was his new fiancee and that they were going to get married in two months. At first, the twins were okay with it, but they eventually changed their minds. Tierra, their soon-to-be stepmother, liked to blame every misfortune on the twins, even if it came from her daughter, Ora. When their father was around, Tierra was at least semi-nice to the twins but the minute that he was out of sight and hearing range, she would become a witch, spanking and yelling at the twins for no particular reason. 

One day, when the twins finally got their father alone, they begged him not to marry Tierra. Their father tried to explain to them how much he loved her, how it was improper for them to grow up without a mother. Then the children told him about all the spankings and disrespect Tierra gave them, and he reasoned with the twins, telling them that it all must be a misunderstanding. 

Eventually, the day of the wedding came. To much surprise, Xiomara was the bride’s maid and Ximen was the best man. And of course, Ora was the maid of honor, being Tierra’s favorite child. For the ceremony, Tierra bought Xiomara an overly gaudy dress with ruffles, which did not match her caramel complexion or her dark brown hair. She also bought Ximen a suit to match their father’s, but the jacket was far too tight. For her daughter, she bought a beautiful lace dress the color of cornsilk, along with a pair of matching shoes. For herself, she got a white gown with a ginormous skirt.

After the actual ceremony, the family and guests were to have dinner together. The feast included roasted garlic chicken, potato au gratin, roast beef, a honey ham, guava and cheese pastelillos, and more. After the savory stuff, came the sweets. There were a ginormous, five-tier, chocolate and vanilla marbled cake with buttercream frosting and images drawn in royal icing. On the top tier was a miniature family made out of fondant-- their family. Everyone who attended the feast got a thick slice of cake and two scoops of chocolate-vanilla marble ice cream. 

Ximen and Xiomara tried their best to be as far as possible from Tierra and Ora, which was surprisingly easy. The twins usually stayed with their father or the other children their age, while Tierra and Ora were with their own family most of the time. After the ceremony, Tierra and the twin’s father only interacted twice that day: once for the cake cutting and another for the traditional bride and groom slow dance. 

The best thing about the whole thing was how happy the twin’s father was, despite the lack of communication with his new wife. His parents came from across the country, and so did his brothers, sisters, and friends, who of which he has not seen for years. And even though the twins couldn’t care less about their new stepmother and sister, all they want is for their father to be happy, and that is what makes everything seem worth it.

A year passes, and despite his young age, their father grows ill. He’s nonstop complaining about his headaches and is always vomiting. There are times when he feels so horrible that he doesn’t even get out of bed in the morning, only to use the bathroom now and then. He also becomes very forgetful, misplacing things, and sometimes can’t even remember who certain people are.

One day, as Xiomara is washing the dishes after dinner, she notices Tierra putting some sort of white powder into her father’s drink. Tierra leaves the room to give Xiomara’s father the drink, and Xiome checks out the bottle from which Tierra got the white powder from. She gasps, then rushes up the stairs to Ximen’s bedroom. She tells her brother about how Tierra is poisoning their father and his caramel skin goes pale. The twins rush back downstairs to warn their father, but they find him on the living room couch with Tierra.

The next day, Ximen goes to wake up his father, but no matter what he did, his father would not wake up. He went to get his sister, but Xiomara couldn’t wake him up either. Alas, they had to get Tierra. As she stood in front of the bed, staring down at her husband, Xiomara notices a slight smirk on Tierra’s face out of the corner of her eye. Her blood runs cold, pondering how evil their stepmother could be.

The twins go outside to the lake where they used to swim with their father and sit on the bench inside the gazebo. They cry into each other’s arms, mourning their newest loss. Xiomara tells Ximen about the smirk, then starts sobbing all over again. They sit there all day, and well into the evening, having their breakfast and lunch at the picnic table that was also inside the gazebo. Eventually, the sun starts to set on this dreadful day, and their head servant comes to get them for dinner. After the meal, they go straight to bed. The twilight falls into the night and Xiomara climbs in with her brother, her last source of comfort, and they continue to mourn for their father and his unnecessary death.

Years pass, and the treatment from Tierra to the twins only increases in its wickedness. She fires every servant in the house without warning, leaving only the field workers. So instead of having to pay people to work for her, she forces Ximen and Xiomara to be the new house servants. Ximen gets a lighter load of work since he has school, but also because Tierra could care less about him. She was more concerned about Xiomara. Xiomara grew up to be a beautiful young woman, far more good-looking than her stepsister, Ora, which is why they hated her so. In her hatred, Tierra only allows Xiomara to have one day off of her duties, while Ximen got three. She forced Xiomara to do almost every house chore imaginable: the cooking, the cleaning, everything. Tierra knew that it wasn’t fair to Xiomara, which is why it made Tierra so pleased. 

One day, on her day off, Xiomara goes into town with her best friend, Mildred, to walk around the marketplace. As they’re checking out a jewelry vendor’s stand, a royal announcer comes to the nearby stand and announces about the Dia de Los Muertos ball the king will be having tomorrow evening. 

“Those whose name I call may come up to the stage and get their tickets,” shouts the man. He goes through a list of names, and eventually calls Mildred, who grabs her tickets then goes back to Xiomara. Five more people are called, and soon enough, Xiomara hears her name.

“Xiomara and Ximen Rivera!” the man calls out.

She walks up the steps and onto the stage, grabs the envelope, and goes back to her friend. A few more people are called, then the announcer puts away the list.

“Only those with tickets will be allowed to enter the King’s palace,” he explains. “The tickets also have the dress code rules and other very important information. The King himself wishes everyone a good rest of your day and a Happy Dia de Los Muertos tomorrow.” She leaves the stage and jumps onto his horse, riding away. 

“Do you know what this means, Mija?” Mildred asks Xiomara excitedly when everything goes back to normal.

“Si, pero…” Xiomara hesitates.

“What do you mean? This is the best thing that’s ever happened to us!”

“No lo sé. It’s not like I’ll be able to go. She’ll probably make me do mas trabajo.” Xiomara sighs.

“Ay, Xiome…” Mildred says, thinking. Her eyes go wide. “I have an idea!”

“And what is that?” 

“When your stepmother and sister go to the ball, you let me inside your house, and I’ll get you ready. Then we’ll go to the ball together, and we’ll leave early so that no one knows!” Mildred responds, clapping her hands together.

“Ah, Mildred,” Xiomara sighs again. “Estas loca de verdad.” Mildred gives her a scared look. “Which is why I love you and think this will work.

Mildred squeals with delight. As they continue to walk through the town, stopping every once in a while t see a vendor’s sale items, still discussing the details of their plan. Xiomara’s brother wouldn’t be a problem, since he wouldn’t snitch on his sister to that witch of a woman their stepmother was. And since Mildred lived within walking distance to Xiomara’s house she could just walk over and they can get ready.

Later that day, after Xiomara got into an argument with her stepmother about the tickets, she runs into the woods near her house to blow off some steam. She sits down on a low branch about a foot above the ground, crying into her hands. She then hears a rustling in the bushes, and she immediately lifts her head. 

“Who’s there?” she yells into the darkness. After a few more rustles, a fox and bear cub come out of the bush. An owl lands on the branch next to her, and Xiomara starts screaming in fright.

“No! Don’t scream! We’re not going to hurt you!” says the fox in a feminine voice. The fox goes over to Xiomara and puts her paw on Xiomara’s leg. 

Xiomara starts to scream again, but the owl places its wing over her mouth. “See, this is why we don’t talk to humans,” the owl explains, in a deep female voice.

“Well, it’s not like most of them understand us,” the bear replied in a male tone. 

“How are you guys talking?” Xiomara asks them, concerned.

“Well, the same way as you, I guess,” replied the iguana, crawling down the side of the tree. “We just move our mouth, and words come out.” 

“That’s weird,” Xiomara states. 

“Well, let’s introduce ourselves, first. I’m Mrs. Hooters,” the owl says, doing a slight curtsy. 

“I’m Foxy,” declares the fox.

“I’m Teddy,” the bear responds, giving a shy wave.

“And I’m Iggy,” states the iguana, flicking her tail.

“I’m Xiomara, but my friends call me Xiome.” 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Xiomara,” Foxy says. “May I ask why you are crying?”

They launch into a deep conversation about Xiomara’s stepmother and sister, and about her family history. Eventually, it gets way too dark and Xiomara has to go home. They say their goodbyes and Xiomara leaves.

The next day, as expected, Tierra gave extra work for Xiomara to complete. The only person not allowed to go to the ball was Xiome. Even Ximen got to go, it being his free day, which Xiomara encouraged him to do so. After everypne left, Xiomara finished her chores as fast as she could, and opened the door for Mildred when she came. She brought with  her two hangers covered with plastic bags and another bag of face paint, makeup, hair accesories, etc.

She takes off the bag of one hanger, revealing a golden gown with cornsilk-colored ruffles then hands it to Xiomara. She hesitates at first but eventually puts in the dress. Mildred paints Xiomara’s face to look like a sugar skull, using gold, silver, and bronze-colored metallic paints for the accents. She then splits Xiomara’s hair into two parts, then puts the top half into a high ponytail. Mildred takes a golden crown her father made and puts it on her friend’s head, along with an amber amulet on Xiomara’s neck. She steps in front of the full length, gazing at her reflection.

Eventually, Mildred gets dressed in a similar gown, in a red, gold, and silver color scheme, almost the same as Xiomara.  They climb into the coach along with Mildred’s father, mother, and two younger sisters. When they all settle in, the coach driver flicks the reigns and the horses take them to the King’s palace. The guards at the entrance take their tickets and open the doors, then another set of guards escort them to the ballroom.

The ballroom was magnificent, big enough to fit over a hundred people. There were three massive chandeliers, the biggest one being on the center of the ceiling. On the wall opposite where you enter the room, a ginormous, buffet table was filled with a variety of foods. There was turkey, chicken, ham, beef, goose, deer; potatoes, stuffed peppers and mushrooms, beans, yellow and white rice, soup, cheeses, crackers, pastellios. Everything a Hispanic fiesta should have. For dessert, there was flan, conchas, tres y quarto leches cakes, pink rings, cheesecakes, fruit tarts, pies, and so many others. Just looking at the food would make your mouth water.

Now, the people. They were dancing, drinking, and eating, all having a good time. Xiomara catches a glimpse of Tierra and Ora, talking with the royal family. Ximen talks politely to a couple of girls, and Xiomara smiles. She looks over to Mildred, who is standing next to her. Mildred gives her a knowing look and a couple of guys come over to chat with them. Xiomara does her best to pull away, and she eventually succeeds. She accidentally bumps into a young man. Her crown falls to the floor. 

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking,” she says, bending down to get the crown, not looking to see who she bumped into. 

“It’s fine, neither was I,” he says, picking up the crown for her.

They stand up straight, looking each other in the eye now. The prince puts the crown on Xiomara’s head and her face turns hot. Realizing who it is, Xiomara grabs her skirts and does a curtsy. 

“I’m Prince Guillermo,” he says bowing. “You are?”

“Xiomara Rivera,” she says shyly.

“Would you like to dance?” He extends his hand to her. 

She takes his hand and they begin to dance. They waltz into the middle of the room, where everyone can see them. Immediately, all the young, unmarried girls (except Mildred) are jealous of Xiomara, including Ora. Nobody except the prince and Mildred’s family knew who the prince was dancing with. They dance and dance, and Xiomara loses track of time. Eventually, they go out to the gazebo near a river and have a private dinner there. 

Soon enough, Mildred tells her it’s time to leave.

“Will I ever see you again?” The prince asks Xiomara, worried.

“Yo pienso que no,” she replies. “But I’m praying that’s not true.” She writes her address on a napkin and hands it to Guillermo. “Now you know where to find me.”

She goes into the coach along with Mildred and her family. She gets off at her house. She immediately goes to her room to change and takes off her makeup. She puts on her housekeeper/maid uniform and slippers, then hides the gown and tiara. She puts her hair into her signature high ponytail and rushes downstairs to get the mop. She mops the upstairs and is almost finished with the downstairs when her family comes back. She can hear Tierra and Ora talking about “la muchacha” who was dancing with the prince. Xiomara stifles a laugh.

A few days later, on her day off, Xiomara goes to the woods to talk with her friends. 

“He’ll find you,” Foxy says, trying to encourage Xiomara. 

“I don’t know,” she replies. “Maybe he didn’t see it the way that I did.”

“Honey, of course, he did,” Mrs. Hooters says.

“Why would he say those things if he didn’t?” Teddy adds. Everyone agrees.

“You got to be more confident about yourself,” Iggy tells her.

“I don’t know..”

“Quit it with the ‘I don’t knows’ already!” Teddy retorts. Everyone laughs. He goes up to Xiomara and sits on her lap.

“Dios mio, Teddy! You’re so heavy!” Xiomara yells, adjusting him on her thigh. Iggy wraps herself gently around Xiome’s neck. The rest of the animals come and comfort her, too.

Not that long later, Xiomara hears someone calling her name and has to leave. She makes her way back to the house and sees a very elaborate coach out front. She gets inside and asks her brother, Ximen, what’s all the commotion.

“Yo no se,” he replies. “The prince is here. He said he wanted to see you.” 

Xiomara’s heart skips a beat.