The Chosen Chapter Thirty-Five The Voices of the Forgotten

“I’m ready to go.”

“Come here, minha filha. Let me hug you and bless you.”

Baba Carlos hugged Maria longer than usual. Then he took her face in his hands, looked deeply into her eyes and whispered in Yoruba.

“Ọhunkóhun tó bá ṣẹlẹ̀, ọmọbìnrin mi ọ̀wọ́n ni ìwọ yóò máa jẹ́ fún mi nígbà gbogbo.”

No matter what happens, you will always be my dear daughter.

“Ìwọ náà yóò sì máa jẹ́ bàbá mi nígbà gbogbo.”

And you will always be my father.

They kissed each other on the forehead.

“You are all already at home here. I don’t think I need to accompany you down to normal people’s grounds.”

“No, Baba Carlos, we can all go alone, and we have Maria to show us the way. We need to stop at Exu’s house. The witches are waiting there. Zita went ahead of us.”

“Good, Lúcia. Let me hug you. Take care of my child.”

“I will, Baba.”

“Amada, come here. Take this.”

Amada looked at the gift.

“This is your guia of Sacred Grounds. You are a filha de santo now. You belong to Sacred Grounds. You can stay outside for a maximum of seven days. By the end of the seventh day, you must be back.”

“Yes, Baba Carlos. I will be back within a week.”

They began descending the sacred hill towards Exu’s house. Amada was sad. If it weren’t for Maria’s birthday, she would never have left Sacred Grounds. Maria was silent, strangely silent. As they descended the sacred hill, she began to feel the first shift in energy.

When they arrived at Exu’s house, Mei, Lúcia’s witch, embraced Maria, and Nara embraced her too. Then both witches bowed.

“Why are you bowing to me? And aren’t you going to hug Amada?”

“Amada cannot see us anymore, Maria. She belongs to Sacred Grounds. She needs to ask to see us, and we will decide whether she can.”

“Amada, this is so weird, isn’t it? Do you want to see them?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Come on, Mei. Come on, Nara. Show yourselves to Amada too.”

“Do what Maria is asking,” Zita said in a commanding voice.

“Yes, my lady,” they both answered.

They showed themselves to Amada, but she did not embrace them. Their relationship had changed. They no longer belonged to one another.

“Although Amada has the protection of the Orixás now, we are leaving Sacred Grounds. Does your behaviour mean you won’t be protecting Amada on normal people’s grounds?”

“Maria, she doesn’t belong to our energy anymore,” Nara answered.

“How dare you say something like that? You have accompanied her since birth, and now you don’t care?”

“I… I… Maria, I didn’t mean that I don’t care. It’s… it’s just how it works.”

“Then Amada and I will go back to the temple. I won’t leave Sacred Grounds with Amada if she isn’t taken care of, protected and loved on normal people’s grounds.”

“Nara, on your knees. Now!” Zita commanded. “Ask for forgiveness. Now!”

“I… I… I’m sorry!”

Nara fell to her knees, screaming in pain.

“Please! Please! Zita, please! I apologise…”

“Not to me, Nara.”

“I… I’m sorry, Maria!”

“Not to me, Nara,” Maria said.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Amada. Please forgive me. I will protect you every time you set foot on normal people’s grounds.”

“Do you accept her request for forgiveness, Amada?” Zita demanded an answer while Nara remained on the ground in pain.

“Yes, yes, of course! Please, Zita, stop!”

Zita stopped.

Nara no longer had the strength to hold herself on her knees. She fell to the ground, breathing rapidly through the pain.

Amada ran to her witch and embraced her.

“It’s okay, Nara. It’s okay. Breathe, breathe. I’m here.”

“You see, Nara? She has compassion, something you didn’t have. Try to learn it from her during the next few days. You don’t want me to teach it to you,” Zita said.

“Sometimes a strong hand is the best and fastest way to learn. Nara, if you’re done feeling miserable for yourself, can we go?” Lúcia said, looking at the witch on the ground.

“Yes, my lady,” Nara said, standing up. “I’m ready. Let’s go. I apologise.”

“Apology accepted. Now go,” Maria said. “I’ll hug Exu, and I’ll catch up with you all. Zita, you’re staying with me, right?”

“Yes, Maria. I’ll stay with you. You ladies go ahead. We’ll see you at the car.”

Maria and Zita waited until the others were far away. Then they turned around and began speaking with Exu, a conversation that nobody could hear, only see.

“Oh, here you are! We were afraid you’d changed your mind,” Lúcia said, smiling at Maria and Zita. “What did you have to speak with Exu about for so long?”

“Exu wanted to give me his birthday gift,” Maria said with a beautiful smile.

“What did he give you?” Amada asked.

“I can’t say. It’s a secret. For now, it’s with him. He will take care of it until I come back to Sacred Grounds.”

“Well, whatever it is, I can see that it made you very happy,” Lúcia said, opening the car door for the girls. “Maria, come and sit with me in the front.”

“Wow! I’ve never sat in the front seat of a car. How exciting!”

All the ladies, including the witches, drove to the cemetery grounds.

When they arrived, they got out of the car, joking and laughing.

“Welcome back, Maria.”

Maria stopped walking.

“What’s going on, Maria?” Lúcia asked.

Maria couldn’t move. Tears appeared in her eyes, and Amada took her hands.

“Maria, are you okay? Please say something. Do you feel sick?”

But Maria couldn’t move or speak. Tears began falling down her cheeks.

“Zita, do something! Maria is… Zita, please do something!”

“Maria, my love. I have missed you so much. Look how beautiful you have become. Do you still love me?”

Maria tried to speak, but her voice would not come. Tears continued to fall as she struggled to form the words.

“Ye… yes. Yes, I do.”

She swallowed, trying to steady her voice.

“I missed hearing you. I missed feeling you too.”

“Now go, Maria. You will see me tomorrow. Until then, whenever you wish to hear me, you need only call my name, and I shall answer.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Maria?” Lúcia shook her gently.

“Yes. Sorry. I wasn’t expecting to hear the Master.” She turned towards Zita. “Did you hear him too, Zita?”

“Yes, I did. That is why I didn’t intervene.”

“Okay, okay. I should have imagined it,” Lúcia said, walking towards the house.

“Wow, Maria, you were crying! You really scared me. I thought you were in pain or something, but now I can understand. It must be very overwhelming to hear the Master’s voice.”

“Let’s go inside, Maria,” Zita said, entering the house.

Maria entered the room that had been hers two years earlier. Nothing had changed, except her perception of the energy she felt inside the house.

Zita was in the room of magick with the other witches. Amada was in her mother’s room, talking. She had many things to tell her mother after spending such a long time away. Lúcia wasn’t surprised by Amada’s decision, but she was curious about what life was like in Sacred Grounds.

Maria felt the need to walk through the cemetery grounds. She wanted to touch the graves, to discover whether she could feel those who had once been alive and now rested beneath the earth.

Maria walked towards the first gravestone and placed her hand upon it.

A woman who had died during childbirth.

She walked farther and touched another.

A woman murdered by a jealous husband.

Then another.

A woman burned after being accused of witchcraft.

Maria stopped.

“I thought women in Brazil weren’t burned for witchcraft.”

“Only one woman was burned after being accused of witchcraft in Brazil.”

An old woman’s voice spoke to Maria.

“Who are you?”

“The witch you didn’t want to visit in the desert.”

“How can I hear you?”

“You hear me because you asked a question only I can answer.”

“Who are you?”

“The witch who receives women who die accused of witchcraft.”

“What’s your name?”

“You will discover it soon.”

“Who will answer if I ask questions about the other women?”

“The witch responsible for receiving them in the afterlife.”

“Would it be rude of me to try?”

“No. You are allowed to ask every question you want. We are all your servants.”

“Then I want you all to show yourselves to me. Now!”