Chapter 13
“My mother is still around?” he asked, his voice full of all the hope in the world.
“It’s only our bodies that die.”
“Why hadn’t you told me?” he questioned abruptly.
“I promised you that you’d see her again, remember?”
“Will I really see her, or will I wake up again?” he blurted.
“You’ll see her.”
“Why hadn’t I dreamed about her before?” he asked, his voice slightly demanding.
“It wasn’t time.”
“What kind of answer is that?” he blurted angrily but then he bit his tongue. “I’m sorry, Doña Chela, that I spoke to you that way. I didn’t mean to disrespect you.”
“That’s okay, Xavier. I know how hard it’s been for you to be without your mother. It’s been hard on her too.”
“It has?” he asked gently.
“Yes, but she’ll tell you that herself.”
“When?” he asked anxiously. “When can I speak to her again.”
“Xavier, the time will come soon, okay?”
“Okay,” he said, disappointed.
“Will we be in the same dream again?” Selena asked. “Or will he dream about his mother by himself this time?”
“No, Selena, Xavier needs you to be able to dream about his mother.”
“What?” Selena asked.
“How is that?” Xavier asked, baffled.
“Selena is a conductor for your energy. She’s able to channel it into impossible places.”
“I am?” Selena questioned.
“I keep telling you how special you are, my granddaughter.”
Xavier smiled deeply. “That’s very true.”
“Conducting energy—how is that possible?” Selena asked incredulously.
“Stop limiting your abilities, Selenita, and stop all the doubts. You both dreamed about the same thing. Why are you still doubting what happened?”
“I don’t know, Grandmother Chela. I just need some time to get used to all of this.”
“Wisely said, Selenita. With time you’ll learn more about yourselves, your abilities, and what you can and can’t do.”
“Doña Chela, last night Selena and I fell asleep in the backyard. Will that have to happen again for us to share a dream?” he asked anxiously.
“No,” she said firmly.
Xavier let out a deep breath. “I can be in my house and Selena in her home?”
“Yes.”
“But—“ Selena started.
“Stop that, Doubting Thomas,” stated Grandmother Chela. “Xavier, my granddaughter can help you reach your mom from wherever she’s at.”
“How?” Selena asked. “I don’t even know how I did it yesterday. And I didn’t do so good since the picture in the dream was terrible.”
“That’s because it was the first time you two connected for a dream,” stated Grandmother Chela.
“But I still don’t know how I did it.”
“For this, you don’t need to do anything but to stay connected to Xavier,” affirmed Grandmother Chela.
“You mean that if Selena and I weren’t together, I wouldn’t be able to see my mother?”
“That’s right.”
“But—“
“Stop, Selenita.”
Selena clammed up.
“You’ll understand more as time goes on,” asserted Grandmother Chela.
“I will?” Selena asked.
“Yes, but wait patiently. Wait for wisdom, Selenita. And you, Xavier, wait for your mother. The answers will come to you.”
“What answers?” Selena and Xavier asked in unison.
“You’ll see.”
All through lunch, Selena kept glancing at Moonflower's trey. Moonflower chatted about the new vehicle her parents were about to purchase, and Selena noted how her friend had barely taken a few bites out of her hamburger. Xavier eyed Selena. He was thinking the same thing.
"Moonflower—" Selena started to say.
"I told them they should get something in a royal blue—wouldn't that be nice? A royal blue with—"
"Moonflower!"
Selena had spoken so loud that the entire cafeteria quieted down, and she fidgeted with embarrassment. After a few seconds, the place started buzzing again.
"Why did you call out my name like that?" asked Moonflower with an irritated voice.
"I was trying to get your attention."
"I'm right next to you," Moonflower muttered. "You don't have to yell out my name."
"Okay, Moonflower but I do want to know why you’re not eating."
"I've eaten a little."
"Maybe a tiny bit," declared Selena. "Tiny."
"You're wrong. I've eaten enough."
"Selena's right. You haven't had that much," stated Xavier.
"So what's the big deal about me not eating?"
"I'm worried about you," said Selena.
"Why would you be worried about me?"
"I haven't seen you eat very much in weeks," observed Selena. Moonflower's fries were intact.
"I don't like cafeteria food," explained Moonflower.
"You always liked it before," declared Selena.
"I don't like it now," said an annoyed Moonflower.
"Are you eating enough at home?" asked a doubtful Xavier.
"Of course I am."
"You're losing a lot of weight, Moonflower," said Selena, her eyebrows furrowed.
Moonflower grinned. "I am, right?” she announced proudly. “I've never been this size. Saul was looking me over the other day in Spanish class. I hear Julia dumped him to go back to Ronnie."
"I don't care about Saul," growled Selena. "I care about you and I'm worried that you're taking this dieting too far."
"Don't worry about me, Sel, I'm fine—better than fine."
As Xavier walked Selena home, she tightly took his strong but gentle hand. He, in turn, squeezed hers back. The electrical current in his hand energized her own as his special touch completely drew her in.
"You're really worried about Moonflower, aren't you?" asked Xavier.
"You've noticed that she's got something serious going on, haven't you?"
Xavier nodded. "It's hard to miss. She barely touches her food.”
“I know,” Selena said, deep in thought. Then she snapped her eyes back to Xavier. “How are you doing?”
“Great.”
“I don’t think so,” Selena stated, lightly flicking a strand of hair from his dark eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” he asked, his voice gentle.
“That dream about your mom hasn’t come.”
“You heard your grandmother. It’ll come when the time is right.” He let out an exasperated breath. “The important thing is that it will come.”
“You’ll see your mother again, Xavier,” Selena said gently.
Xavier dropped her off at the gate, kissed her warmly, and told her he'd call her later. He had a test the next day and needed to get home to start studying. Selena was glad she'd have some time alone with her mother.
"Mom, something is very wrong with Moonflower," stated Selena as soon as she stepped into her house. "And I don't know what to do."
Mrs. Spinoza's face scrunched up in concern. "I've been noticing that she's been losing a lot of weight."
"Everybody keeps telling her how great she looks. She doesn't see anything wrong."
Mrs. Spinoza shook her head. "I don't think she looks good at all. She looks like she's starving all the time."
"She is starving all the time."
"I'm going to call her mother," declared Mrs. Spinoza.
"Do you think that's the right thing to do?"
"Selena, we have to do something."
"She'll get angry."
"Are you more worried about that than your friend's life?" Mrs. Spinoza asked quietly.
"You're right, Mom. Call her. Call her now."
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Mrs. Spinoza called Mrs. Dominguez and with all the delicacy she could muster, told her she was concerned about Moonflower. Mrs. Dominguez had been afraid to broach the subject with her daughter since weight was such a concern to Moonflower. Now with Mrs. Spinoza bringing it out in the open, Mrs. Dominguez felt the necessity to talk to her daughter. An hour later, Moonflower called Selena.
"What did you tell your mother?" asked an infuriated Moonflower. Selena could practically see the smoke coming out of the phone.
"I told her that I'm worried about you."
"She called my mother!"
"We're both very worried," Selena declared.
"I already told you that I'm fine!"
"You don't seem fine, Moonflower."
"Are you jealous because I look so good?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Moonflower."
"You're jealous, aren't you? The guys are starting to flirt with me and you're jealous."
"Moonflower," Selena said angrily, "I've got Xavier. I don't need any other guys and even if I didn't have him, I don't need to be jealous of anybody. Is that clear?"
“No, it’s not clear,” snapped Moonflower.
“What?”
“You’ve got Xavier and you don’t want me to have anybody—that’s why you don’t want me to lose weight.”
“Moonflower, stop saying stuff like that—stuff that will mess up our friendship,” Selena chided.
“It seems to me that ever since Xavier came into the picture, you haven’t been a real friend.”
“Moonflower, you know that’s not true,” Selena stated strongly. “I know that sometimes I’ve got stuff on my mind but—“
“You’ve changed, Selena, ever since you started seeing Xavier. You’re not my best friend anymore.”
“Moonflower—“
“Just stay with your precious Xavier and I’ll stay where I’m at but I’m warning you, keep out of my business.”
“Moonflower—“ Selena said, as she heard the phone click and a dial tone. For the second time that year, she and her best friend were fighting. And yet, she couldn’t completely blame Moonflower because in facing reality, Selena realized a great truth. Moonflower wasn’t her only best friend anymore.
Xavier who was now also her best friend and her boyfriend.