my friend,” Cico said. He reached through the green wall and a secret latch opened an ivy-laden door. We walked into the garden. Cico closed the door behind him and said, “Narciso is in jail. The sheriff found him drunk.”
I was fascinated by the garden. I forgot about seeing the golden carp. The air was cool and clear, not dusty and hot like the street. Somewhere I heard the sound of gurgling water.
“Somewhere here there is a spring,” Cico said, “I don’t know where. That is what makes the garden so green. That and the magic of Narciso—”
I was bewildered by the garden. Everywhere I looked there were fruit-laden trees and rows and rows of vegetables. I knew the earth was fruitful because I had seen my uncles make it bear in abundance; but I never realized it could be like this! The ground was soft to walk on. The fragrance of sun-dazzling flowers was deep, and soft, and beautiful.
“The garden of Narciso,” I whispered.
“Narciso is my friend,” Cico intoned. He pulled some carrots from the soft, dark earth and we sat down to eat.
“I cannot,” I said. It was silent and peaceful in the garden. I felt that someone was watching us.
“It is all right,” Cico said.
And although I did not feel good about it, I ate the golden carrot. I had never eaten anything sweeter or juicier in my life.
“Why does Narciso drink?” I asked.
“To forget,” Cico answered.
“Does he know about the golden carp?” I asked.
“The magic people all know about the coming day of the golden carp,” Cico answered. His bright eyes twinkled. “Do you know how Narciso plants?” he asked.
“No,” I answered. I had always thought farmers were sober men. I could not imagine a drunk man planting and reaping such fruits!
“By the light of the moon,” Cico whispered.
“Like my uncles, the Lunas—”
“In the spring Narciso gets drunk,” Cico continued. “He stays drunk until the bad blood of spring is washed away. Then the moon of planting comes over the elm trees and shines on the horde of last year’s seeds—It is then that he gathers the seeds and plants. He dances as he plants, and he sings. He scatters the seeds by moonlight, and they fall and grow—The garden is like Narciso, it is drunk.”
“My father knows Narciso,” I said. The story Cico had told me was fascinating. It seemed that the more I knew about people the more I knew about the strange magic hidden in their hearts.
“In this town, everybody knows everybody,” Cico said.
“Do you know everyone?” I asked.
“Uh-huh,” he nodded.
“You know Jasón’s Indian?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know Ultima?” I asked.
“I know about her cure,” he said. “It was good. Come on now, let’s be on our way. The golden carp will be swimming soon—”
We slipped out of the coolness of the garden into the hot, dusty street. On the east side of the school building was a barren playground with a basketball goal. The gang was playing basketball in the hot sun.
“Does the gang know about the golden carp?” I asked as we approached the group.
“Only Samuel,” Cico said, “only Samuel can be trusted.”
“Why do you trust me?” I asked. He paused and looked at me.
“Because you are a fisherman,” he said. “There are no rules on who we trust, Tony, there is just a feeling. The Indian told Samuel the story; Narciso told me; now we tell you. I have a feeling someone, maybe Ultima, would have told you. We all share—”
“Hey!” Ernie called, “you guys want to play!” They ran towards us.
“Nah,” Cico said. He turned away. He did not face them.
“Hi, Tony,” they greeted me.
“Hey, you guys headed for Blue Lake? Let’s go swimming,” Florence suggested.
“It’s too hot to play,” Horse griped. He was dripping with sweat.
“Hey, Tony, is it true what they say? Is there a bruja at your house?” Ernie asked.
“¡A bruja!” “¡Chingada!” “¡A la veca!”
“No,” I said simply.
“My father said she cursed someone and three days later that person changed into a frog—”
“Hey! Is that the old lady that goes to church with your family!” Bones shrieked.
“Let’s go,” Cico said.
“Knock it off, you guys, are we going to play or not!” Red pleaded. Ernie spun the basketball on his finger. He was standing close to me and grinning as the ball spun.
“Hey, Tony, can you make the ball disappear?” He laughed. The others laughed too.
“Hey, Tony, do some magic!” Horse threw a hold around my neck and locked me into his half-nelson.
“Yeah!” Ernie shouted in my face. I