After a long day of waiting, the kids gathered around their grandfather's chair to wait for him to finish his story.

Abuelito Tomás asked, " Where did we leave off?"

Putting her small finger on her chin and her eyes widening, Ava said, " Hmmm oh yeah! You and your brother heard a woman crying in the woods and you guys went to help."

Tomás putting his hand on Ava's head said, " Oh yes, you're right, mi niña." Ava lifted her head high and a big grin covered her whole face from hearing her grandfather's praise. Elías rolled his eyes at his his sister.Tomás cleared his throat and began his story:

We followed the cries of woman and we ended up on the side of a river. There was a dark figure in the river with her hands in the water as if she was searching for something. She wore a white dress with lace embroidery, her clothes and hair were completely wet. Her long dark hair covered her face so I couldn't see her face very well. She was crying and yelling, " Hijos! Mis hijos! Donde están?!"

She heard us approaching and she lifted her head. Her face was beautiful but she looked tired and frantic. " Mis Hijos!" she yelled as she spread her arms wide open and started walking toward us. Then in the blink of an eye I felt a strong grasp around my neck and pulling so hard and fast in seconds we were pushed under water in the middle of the river. Only in the brief moments where I was able to stick my head from out of the water I heard her yells, " Perdónenme Hijos! Perdónenme!" Her face was no longer beautiful. It was now so hideous, it could only be a demon. Her eyes were completely black, her black lips matched the intensity of her hair, and her pale skin looked lifeless. I couldn't escape her hold and my body couldn't resist longer in just giving up. My body slowly dropped while I felt my strength leaving me. While I felt myself falling into darkness I saw a beautiful glow through the waters coming from above. There was this warmth that covered me and it felt like it was pulling me up. Everything went black at that moment and I really believed I was dying. I woke up on the edge of the river shivering and saw that Andrés was right next to me, still passed out. I grabbed his shoulders tightly and pleaded for him to wake up. Slowly Andrés started opening his eyes until they spread wide open and panic afflicted him. He started crying and then hyperventilating. It took all of me not to cry with him. I grasped his hand tightly and said, " Andrés tenemos que ir nos! Ya no llores, tenemos que salir de aqui. Tenemos que ser fuerte hermanito!"

Andrés was able to calm down and he wiped his tears. He then stood up and looked to me waiting for me to direct him where to go.

Abuelito Tomás stopped his story and said, " Okay,mis niños, ya es tarde. Yo estoy muy viejo para estar desvelandome y ustedes están muy chicos."

The sides of Ava's mouth drooped to show how sad she was that the story was cut short. Elías took his sister's hand and said, " Come on ,Ava, mami said we have to listen to abuelo remember. I'll play with you for a little more before bed."

Ava's face switched to a big smile, happy that her brother wanted to play with her. Ava and Elías both said good night to their grandfather. Elías went to play with his little sister just as he promised. He was just as disappointed as his sister but he wouldn't show it. He really loved spending time with her and abuelito, while he told his stories. He couldn't wait for tomorrow to come, so they could listen more to their abuelito.

Author's Note:

La Llorona is a young woman who is hurt by her husband's incessant infidelity. Despite his betrayal towards her, he loved his children very much. She saw the love that her husband had for their children and decided that they were the only way to truly hurt him, like he hurt her. Feeling no love from her husband and in an act of blind rage, she drowned her two children in a river. Realizing what she did, she drowns herself but is not accepted into heaven for the terrible murders she committed. She is cursed to stay and search for her two children and beg for their forgiveness. She roams the land searching for children she can call her own and takes them to replace the ones she killed.

My first choice for the first encounter was La Llorona because she is a very common myth in El Salvador and many other Latin American countries. I felt like she would be a good introductory character to be set the tone for all the different upcoming interactions. She also seemed perfect to lure the children deeper into the forest and capture them into the series of interactions with the next story book interactions.

Spanish Translations:

1. Mi niña: My little girl

2. Mis Hijos!: My children!

Spanish Phrases

Spanish

1.)Hijos! Mis hijos! Donde están?!

2.) Andres!Tenemos que ir nos! Ya no llores, tenemos que salir de aqui. Tenemos que hacer fuerte hermanito!

3.) Okay mis niños, ya es tarde. Yo estoy muy viejo para estar desvelandome y ustedes están muy chicos."

4.) Perdónenme Hijos! Perdónenme!

English

1.) Children! My children! where are they?!

2.) Andrés! We have to leave here! You need to stop crying, we have to get out of here. We have to be strong little brother!

3.) Okay ,my children, it is very late. I am too old to be staying up this late and you are too young.

4.) Forgive me Children! Forgive me!

Bibliography:

El Salvador Legends

Wikipedia