A Mummy in Her Backpack / Una momia en su mochila (4 page)

“What's wrong?” she asked.

“I'm sorry,
mija
,” Rafa said. “But basically, I don't have any fun. I'm a mummy. We don't do anything but stay in a glass case all day. Only when my family comes for the Day of the Dead does anything nice happen to me.”

Flor could see Rafa begin to smile as he thought of the special day.

He continued, “You should see how colorful all the decorations are! They make a big sugar skull with my name on it, and huge loaves of sweet bread called
pan de muerto
. They even bring a corn drink called
atole
, and I love
atole
! I know I can't drink it, but it's fun to know someone still remembers me. I have to be in the museum by then. I thought that coming here with you to
los Estados Unidos
would be fun, and it was, until you told me what day it was. I'm sorry to cry like this. I don't think I wet your homework.”

Flor sighed. “Don't worry,” she told Rafa. “My family kind of celebrates the Day of the Dead here. My great-great-grandma is buried in Guanajuato. We put her picture up in the living room with flowers and sweets. We could do that for you.”

Rafa thought about it. “But I'll have to stay in your backpack,” he said, sniffling. “I won't get to see the candles or smell the sweet bread. I won't get to hear the songs. I won't see the flowers. I . . . I . . . ” He started crying again.

Flor looked at Lupita.

Lupita glared at Flor.

Flor exclaimed, “We have to do something! He's crying!” She looked into her backpack. “Don't worry, Rafa,” she promised, “we'll get you home.”

“
Gracias
,” Rafa sniffled. Flor zipped up her backpack.

As the girls resumed their walk, Lupita argued, “Why did you say that? We can't go to Mexico on our own. We don't even have any money.”

“I know that, Lupita,” Flor said. “We don't have to go, but we can find a way to get Rafa there.”

Lupita stopped and grabbed Flor's arm. “Hey!” she said. “Maybe some other kid will go to Guanajuato soon, and they'll be able to take Rafa for you.”

Flor rolled her eyes. “Who do we know that's going to Guanajuato this week?”

“I don't know,” Lupita said. “We can ask people.”

“And what are we going to tell them?” Flor asked, “‘Hey, can you take this mummy to the museum?' What will they say?”

“Sorry!” Lupita yelled. “I'm just trying to help.” Lupita walked away from Flor, staring straight ahead, and joined the boys.

Flor sprinted to catch up, but didn't know what else to say, so they continued walking in silence. When they finally arrived at Lupita's house, Lupita tried changing the subject.

“My mom said I could try the internet tonight,” Lupita bragged. She knew that Flor didn't have a computer.

“Bye,” was all Flor said, leaving Lupita at the gate of her house.

Flor walked a few steps, stopped and turned to Lupita. “You're getting on the internet tonight?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Lupita answered cautiously.

“Do you think that you can find the mummy museum on the internet?”

“I don't know,” Lupita answered. “I can try.”

“Do you think I can come over?” Flor asked smiling weakly.

“Sure!” Lupita said, smiling back. “That way my mom won't get suspicious if we're looking for the museum. But how are we going to get him there?”

Just then, a man walked between the girls. “Excuse me,” he said.

The girls looked. It was the postal worker, bringing the day's mail. Flor and Lupita looked at each other. “We'll mail him!” they said together.

“I'll call you after dinner,” Flor said. “Thanks, Lupita.” The girls hugged.

Flor walked home with a little more hope for her new friend, then she felt a tug on her backpack. “Stop, Rafa,” she said. “We're almost home. I'll get you out then.”

“Who's Rafa?” The voice was not Rafa's.

Flor turned quickly. It was Sandra.

“And what's in your backpack?”

“None of your business,” Flor said. Then she added, “Have you done your homework yet, or do you like detention?”

Sandra curled her fist, but held her temper. “Who was in the room with you at recess? And what were you doing in the bathroom?”

“What everybody who's potty-trained does in the bathroom, but you wouldn't know that, nosy!” Flor answered. She felt a tug on her backpack. She twisted around and saw Sandra's little brother.

“I got it opened!” he yelled to Sandra.

Flor felt Sandra's hand reach into her backpack. Then Sandra screamed. “Aaah! Something grabbed me back! What's in there?”

Turning her backpack backwards, Flor zipped it up. She took two steps back and looked at Sandra and her brother. “It's a mummy! He was brought back to life with magic. The mummy's under my powers and he'll attack anyone who attacks me! There! Now you know, and you better leave me alone or . . . ” She didn't finish the sentence. Sandra and her brother were running down the street. She looked at Adrian; he was staring at her.

Flor smiled at her little brother. Thinking quickly, she told him, “Pretty good trick, huh? I guess we scared them.”

Adrian nodded, but seemed startled.

Flor opened her backpack. “I was just kidding.” She pulled out a notebook. “All I have in my backpack is homework, just like you.”

Adrian began to smile.

Flor asked, “What homework do you have?”

“Nothing.”

Flor shook her head. “You have homework every day, just like me. What do you have? It's your turn to open your backpack.”

Adrian opened his backpack and took out some crumpled papers. Flor took his hand. They walked home as she read the papers. “Hey! Your field trip is next week!”

“Yeah,” Adrian said. “I can't wait.” He began to talk about the trip, and his friends, and Flor smiled to herself. He'd already forgotten about her backpack.

When they got home, Adrian burst in, but Flor walked in quietly. She wasn't sure how to tell her mom about Rafa, and she didn't want to worry her. In the living room, her youngest brother, Benjamin, was playing with action figures while her mother was watching TV. Adrian dropped his backpack and ran to play with Benjamin.

“Is that you,
mija
?” Flor's mother called to her.

“Yes, Mami,” Flor answered. She walked straight to her room and put her backpack down carefully. “Wait in my closet, Rafa. You can get out of the backpack, but stay in the closet. Hide if the door opens.”

“
Perfecto
,” Rafa answered from inside Flor's backpack. “
Gracias
.”

Flor usually gave her mom a kiss as soon as she got in, so her mom was worried when she did not go to the living room. Flor's mom got up and walked down the hall.

“
¿Estás bien, mija?
” Flor's mom called, then she heard the whispering, “Who are you talking to?”

“Just talking,” Flor answered. She closed her closet door and walked out of her room. “I'm just happy to be home.” She wrapped her arms around her mom's waist.

“
Ay, mija
,” her mom said, kissing her daughter. “How was your day?” “Fine,” Flor said. “Can I go to Lupita's house later? She's going to use her computer.”

“
Sí
,
mija
. After you eat and help me clean up,” her mom said. “And soon, you'll have a computer, too.”

“Thank you,” Flor said. They walked to the kitchen where some
albóndigas
were bubbling in a large pot. She liked the meatball stew. Flor began to set the table. She asked her mom, “Remember the mummy museum?”

Her mom turned and smiled, “Of course. You were so scared that you held my arm tight the whole time. You only let go of me when Benjamin wanted you to pick him up, then you almost left your backpack! What a time!”

Flor smiled, and then asked, “Can you tell me about the
momia
s?”

“¿Las momias?
” her mom said. “And why are you so curious about mummies? You didn't even like the museum.”

“Please,” Flor said.

“
Pues, bien
,” her mom said. “Let's go back to the living room.”

Flor rested her head on her mom's lap. On TV, a soccer game had started but Flor and her mom weren't looking at it. Her mom was stroking Flor's hair, and she began to speak. “I was born in Guanajuato. To me, it's the most beautiful place on earth. You remember how pretty it looked from the top of the hills when we took a ride on the tram?”

Flor nodded. She remembered feeling like a bird, flying high above the town. Standing on the top of the hills, looking down on the colored buildings, she thought they looked like doll houses, yellow, orange and pink with red tile roofs.

Her mom told her about the cemetery of Santa Paula, which isn't like the cemeteries here. Most of the graves are above ground, stacked high. “When I was a kid,” her mom said, “
Las momias
weren't in glass cases. They were just out in the open. You could get really close, but we usually covered our faces with a handkerchief.” She sighed. “Your great-grandparents and their parents are buried there. It is a beautiful place.”

Flor took her mom's hand and kissed it.

Later, when Flor returned to her room, she closed the door and called to Rafa. “It's okay, Rafa. It's just me.” She slowly opened the closet door. She had to hold back the creepy feeling she got seeing the little mummy in her closet.

“
Hola
,” Rafa said.

Flor smiled. “Where am I going to keep you?”

“Basically, I'm fine right here,” Rafa said.

Flor shook her head. “I'm not. Get in my backpack and I'll see where I can put you for the night.” Rafa climbed back and then stretched out his bony hand. “Here's your notebook and your homework.”

“Thanks,” Flor answered. She'd need to do that later.

She took her backpack and walked quietly to the backyard. She didn't want to leave Rafa outside, so she went into the garage. She moved among the tools, a lawnmower and three bikes. Finally, she found a box that had her broken skates, old dolls and action figures that her brothers had destroyed. She lifted her backpack and said, “You can stay in this box. You can get out and explore the garage, but be quiet, and get back in the backpack in the morning. I'll come get you before I go to school.”

Rafa nodded, “Hmm. This place looks real interesting. These dolls have lots of muscles.”

Flor giggled, “Those are action figures, like dolls for boys.”

Rafa touched an action figure's arm, then his own skinny arm. He shook his head.

“Don't worry,” Flor smiled. “You're perfect, for a
momia
.”

“
Gracias
,” Rafa said. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“I have to go,” Flor said. “Good night.”

“
Buenas noches
,” Rafa answered.

That evening at Lupita's house, Flor and Lupita sat down in front of the computer. Lupita clicked on the internet.

Lupita and Flor knew how to do internet searches. They had done them in school lots of times for research reports. Flor told Lupita to type in “museo de las momias de Guanajuato.”

It worked! They found the site for the museum!

“Look up the address,” Flor told Lupita.

They found it and wrote it down. Then they went to the Postal Service website. They printed the mailing information for sending packages to Guanajuato.

“This is perfect,” Lupita said.

“And easy,” Flor added.

It turned out to be a little harder than that, though.

The next morning, Flor got up early and dressed for school.

“Good morning, Rafa,” she whispered, as she opened the garage door. But there was no answer. She went to the corner where Rafa's box was, and it was gone!
Maybe it wasn't here
, she thought.
Maybe it's behind the bikes
. Her heart raced as she moved the bikes, but didn't find the box. She searched the entire garage until her mom called her for breakfast. Flor walked in and flopped down at the table.