Bless Me Ultima Chapter 2

The whole family is glad that Ultima has come to stay with them. Mária is happy to have a woman to talk to, and Antonio’s two older sisters are happy to have someone to help with their chores so that they can spend more time playing together with dolls. Gabriel talks to Ultima about his desire to move to California, a wish he now feels will never come true because his older sons are fighting in World War II, and he cannot move his young family alone.  Antonio is happy because he and Ultima quickly become friends. Ultima takes Antonio on walks to gather herbs and teaches him about their healing properties. Antonio says that he begins to hear the voice of the river. He senses that his family’s peaceful isolation is about to end. Jasón’s father, Chávez, comes to the Márez home shouting that Lupito, a local war veteran, shot Chávez’s brother, the sheriff, dead. When Gabriel joins Chávez and the other men searching for Lupito, Antonio secretly follows them to the river. He sees Lupito, armed with a pistol, hidden in the water. Antonio makes a small noise, and Lupito looks down at him. But just then, the searchlights fall on Lupito, and he is confronted by his pursuers. Lupito runs off again into the reeds, out of sight of the men on the bridge. Gabriel and Narciso, the town drunk, try to explain to the mob that Lupito is shell-shocked because of the war, but after crying out something about Japanese soldiers, Lupito shoots his pistol into the air, drawing the fire of his pursuers. Lupito begs Antonio for his blessing as he dies.

Antonio runs home, crying, the last prayer that Catholics say before dying. When he realizes that Ultima’s owl has been with him the whole time, he loses his fear. He fears that the river will be stained with blood forever. He thinks about the town, which he knows his father despises, and the llano, and he wonders why Lupito had to die. He remembers when his father built their house. Rather than choosing to build on a patch of fertile ground, Gabriel built a house on a barren place at the start of the llano. Antonio enters the house and Ultima meets him. She cleans him and puts him to bed. Ultima explains that it is not for them to judge whether Lupito or the men who killed him will go to hell. Antonio dreams of his three older brothers discussing their father’s dream to build a castle in the hills. When Antonio states that they must gather around their father, they reply that he is supposed to fulfill María’s dream and become a priest. When they try to cross the River of the Carp to build Gabriel’s castle, a mournful voice calls Antonio’s name. His brothers shrink in fear, saying that it is La Llorona, Lupito asking for his blessing. Antonio declares that it is the presence of the river. He calms it so that his brothers can cross.