Song of the Mockingbird: My Journey with Josefina

Josefina opens her eyes. She says we must get back to the house quickly. Miguel lifts Sombrita as if she’s a toy, and we start off down the slope. I can see the square shape of the house at the top of the hill a few rises away.

I can’t believe I’ve just seen an actual mountain lion. I ask Josefina if Sombrita will live. Josefina says she hopes so. She can’t bear to lose her. The little goat’s eyes are closed and she lies limply in Miguel’s arms. Her heartbeat is weak. We must hurry.

Tía Dolores rushes toward us as we enter the house. She sends a servant to fetch Tía Magdalena from the village. She draws us close to her as Miguel carries Sombrita into the courtyard. We follow Miguel as he places her on a hide, and then we kneel over her to keep watch. Her eyes are closed, and the rebozo is soaked with blood.

After what seems like an eternity, the Tía Magdalena bustles in, followed by Ana and Tía Dolores. We breathe a sigh of relief at the gray-haired presence. She nods at me but there’s no time for introductions.

Tía Magdalena unties the rebozo and feels around the wound. The gash is partly closed now, with the edges hardened and blood around it gummy. Tía Dolores sets a bowl of steaming water at Tía Magdalena’s elbow, and the older woman pours in something that smells like vinegar. She bathes the wound over and over until the blood and dirt are washed away, then she uncorks a small jar and spreads a thick, strong smelling salve over the wound. She says it will prevent it from festering. It will heal without stitching. She turns to Josefina and tells her to bind the wound tightly.

Josefina carefully winds the bandage around the goat’s shoulder, chest, and upper leg. Sombrita’s eyes and her eyelids flicker, and then open a little. Josefina strokes the goat’s head and tells her to lie still to let her shoulder heal. She draws up a second hide over the goat to use as a blanket. Sombrita seems to understand because her body relaxes.

Tía Magdalena says that Josefina was right to bind the wound immediately. Her instincts were correct. I can tell that Josefina respects Tía Magdalena greatly.

Ana gives Josefina a little hug, Tía Dolores beams. Tía Dolores says we’re so glad that Sombrita will make a full recovery.

Josefina and I tenderly carry the goat to a wide shelf above the fire in the kitchen, where she’ll be warm. It’s the shepherd’s bed. It’s the warmest place in the house at night. She says that’s where she slept with Sombrita when she first took care of her. Now, she’ll watch over Sombrita again.

We sink to the floor and rest our elbows on the hearth. Josefina says she’s so tired, and I suddenly realize that I am, too. Now the excitement is over, and a great weariness has spread over me. The kitchen is silent and peaceful with its clay jars and pottery bowls. The firewood piles beside the oven give off a woodsy scent of pine and smoke.

Josefina closes her eyes and rests her head on her arms. I close my eyes, and a sudden longing for home sweeps over me, but strangely, it’s not for Chicago. Instead, it’s for our adobe house, which is so much like Josefina’s. My family is there, and I want to be with them. I think of the respect and trust Josefina has for Tía Magdalena, and how Dad asked me to trust him that life in New Mexico would get better. Maybe I should trust him just like Josefina trusts her elders.

As the minutes pass by, we are silent. Sombrita’s breathing is slow and steady. She’ll be all right now. I don’t know how I know that, but I just do. It’s a sense that I’m bringing back from Josefina’s world—a feeling that love and trust are waiting for me. All I have to do is go and find them.