Thirty Days to Halloween, Day 8: Bodies in the Trinity: A Story of La Llorona
by Rickey Pittman
The legend of La Llorona, the weeping woman is an ancient terrifying legend. In a way, the legend is a cautionary tale, warning men of how their behavior and mistreatment of women can have serious consequences. It is a tale of how rejection and grief can rip at the heart and warp the mind, a tale of the pain women feel at the loss of children. There are other lessons as well. A movie was made of the tale. I put the trailer at the end of the story I wrote for a horror contest.
BODIES IN THE TRINITY by Rickey Pittman
Evil is a true thing in Mexico. It goes about on its own legs. Maybe someday it will come to you. Maybe it already has—Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
I AM LA LLARONA, AND I WEEP FOR MY CHILDREN. For centuries of nights I have wandered along the waters throughout Mexico. And yes, I walk along the banks of your Trinity River. I have strolled along your Turtle Creek, your Bachman Lake and the other waters. You are surprised to find me in your country? Do not be. No, in my lifetime, your land too was once a part of Mexico.
I am a Mexican ghost, born of a desert tragedy. On that dreadful night, when I realized my lover had abandoned us, I blew out the last candle I had lit for him and drowned my two little children, damning myself forever. But as I was a whore in the eyes of all, what else could I have done? I had given this man my virginity, my honor, my future. No one would help us—-not my parents, not the Holy Church, not the residents of our pueblo. I am forever lost now—in the night, in the madness, pain, hopelessness, grief, and loneliness. Ay, mis hijos, ¿Donde Estan mis hijos?
“Yes. But who are you? Are you an angel?”