A Dream Called Home

When Reyna’s taxi pulls up to Abuelita Chinta’s house, an ambulance is parked outside. Reyna’s mother bursts into tears when her brother tells her that Abuelita Chinta is dead. Reyna is filled with remorse as she watches her mother embrace her siblings. The thought that Nathan will never know his great-grandmother amplifies her sadness. The family owes the equivalent of a thousand US dollars for Abuelita Chinta’s hospital care. Mago contributes what little she can, but Reyna settles the bulk of the bill before taking Abuelita Chinta home to bathe and dress her for the funeral. Reyna wonders if she and her sister inherited their tenacity from Abuelita Chinta as they place a rosary between her hands. The family hires a rezandera, a professional prayer, to lead them in prayer. They walk in procession to the cemetery and lay Abuelita Chinta to rest beside the husband who abused her. After the body is lowered into the ground, Reyna’s young cousin, Diana, asks if she lives in Disneyland. Reyna does not answer. Instead, she promises her grandmother she will take care of the family. She fulfills her promise years later, sending her cousin Lupe to college, Diana to beauty school, and their brother Rolando to university.