Page 12 of Espíritu

“Hell yeah!” Julian agreed, grinning ear to ear. His mind seemed to already be racing with curiosity about the mysterious ghostly musician.

Enrique straightened, standing inches above Yadriel. “But listen to me. You go, you release him, you come straight back. No detours. Spirits can surprise you, even the gentle ones.”

There it was. The edge of caution. It wasn’t a test run Enrique was giving them—it was training wheels.

Julian, of course, didn’t hear any of that. His grin split wide. “LET’S GO!” he cheered. “We finally get to do some real brujería. A ghost guitarist? That’s sick!” He shook Yadriel’s shoulders, bouncing with excitement.

“Let’s make some brujería happen,” Maritza said, her voice filled with a gleeful determination as she grabbed her bag.

Yadriel swallowed down his frustration and forced a smile. His dad’s trust was right there, dangling just out of reach. Close enough to taste, but not enough to believe in fully.

He’d just have to show his dad they could handle it.

“Be careful,” Enrique said. “Take care of each other. And bring the tether back when you’re done.”

“We will, Papí,” Yadriel promised.

Enrique nodded. As he left the room, Maritza clapped her hands together with mock ceremony.

“All right, Dream Team,” she said. “We’ve got a ghost to release and zero snacks packed. Tragic oversight.”

Julian grinned, slinging an arm around Yadriel’s shoulders. “I’ll serenade Bartolomé into the afterlife myself!”

Yadriel groaned, but he couldn’t help but smile. “Please don’t,” he said. “The dead deserve peace, not punishment.”

Julian laughed, loud and bright. The knot in Yadriel’s chest loosened. With Julian’s warmth at his side and Maritza’s fire at his back, it all felt easier to bear.

THREEJULIAN

Julian didn’t make it two steps into the living room before Lita’s voice cracked through the air like a whip.

“Yadriel? Maritza? Where are you two? There are still boxes waiting!”

He flinched on instinct, even though she wasn’t yelling at him. Lita just had that tone, the kind that made someone want to stand up straight and volunteer to mop the floors just to stay on her good side.

But when Lita looked at Julian, her whole face brightened.

“¡Ay, Dios mío! Julian, I didn’t know you were here!”

“Uh, hey, Lita,” he said, trying to sound casual and like he totally wasn’t keeping a secret.

Lita didn’t buy it.

She immediately took a step closer and eyed him carefully.

Julian gulped. Could she see the mark?

“Mijo, are you okay?” Lita was good at seeing through his bullshit, which, unfortunately, made her the scariest adult in this house.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Lita!” Julian blurted like a kid caught sneaking out. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Just—you know, hanging out.”

Behind him, Maritza mumbled, “Smooth.”

Julian gritted his teeth. Not helping.

Thankfully, his boyfriend was there to save him, as usual.

“Lita, Julian doesn’t know much about the brujx holidays,” Yadriel said, nudging Julian as if it were all a joke. “He thought the Midnight Vigil was just Christmas.”