Bless Me, Ultima

Antonio continues going to church, but he’s dissatisfied and feels distant from God. After school lets out for the spring, he spends more time with Ultima. He often hears her owl hooting at night and knows it’s a warning that Tenorio is coming.

An old friend of Gabriel’s named Tellez comes to visit, complaining of devils haunting his home. During Tellez’s grandfather’s time, the llano was the home of a Comanche people. One day three Comanche men raided his farm, and in response, Tellez’s grandfather hanged them and left them unburied, leaving their souls to wander around the ranch. Tenorio’s daughters have roused the restless spirits, and a local priest hasn’t managed to exorcise them. Ultima agrees to help, stating her conviction that “all evil can be stopped” (227) as long as one accepts the potential consequences of altering fate.

Ultima, Gabriel, and Antonio drive to Tellez’s home, and on the way, they speak reverently about the power of the “wide, free earth” (228). Arriving at Tellez’s house, they meet his wife and children. As they enter the house, a dark cloud passes over the house, and there is a loud pounding on the roof. Large rocks fall from the sky.