Milo's Journey

Chapter 28: In the Shade of Balance

The afternoon was cool. There was a breeze coming off the mountains today, so the Puerto Rican sun didn’t feel as strong as it usually did this time of year. Milo was sitting in the shade of the Palo Santo tree with Adriana as they both watched Jose and Diego playing fetch with Piyelito. Diego was doing his best to distract Piyelito so that he didn’t see when Jose threw the ball. Adriana had brought it as a gift, and it very quickly became Piyelito’s favorite toy.

Milo watched Jose and Diego for a few minutes, enjoying the sight of Jose reconnecting with Diego. The three of them had been friends for a long time, but Diego had always been an anchor for Jose.

At that moment, Jose laughed at something Diego and Piyelito were doing. Adriana couldn’t help but smile. Milo looked over at her. She spoke softly.

“He feels more steady now, like pieces of him are falling into place, if that makes sense.”

Milo stayed quiet, but her words weren’t lost on him. He could see the change in Jose since the storm he had weathered. Adriana was right. Jose felt more whole. He didn’t understand it, but he was thankful for it.

At that moment, Piyelito bounced over and lay down between Milo and Adriana. Jose and Diego were following behind. Diego reached out and dropped an arm around Jose, while Jose’s arm snaked around Diego’s waist as they walked.

As they reached where Milo and Adriana were sitting, they parted, Jose moving to Milo’s side and planting a soft kiss on his cheek, and Diego mirroring the movement with Adriana.

As they sat, Piyelito got up and crawled across Milo’s legs so he could nestle between Milo and Jose. He lay his head on Jose’s lap and whined until Jose began to pet him.

“Well, I guess I know who is top of his list,” Milo said, laughing.

As Jose continued to pet Piyelito, he looked over at Diego.

“Last night Milo asked about the museum. I don’t really remember too much, but I thought you would be able to tell him what had happened.”

“Oh, you mean my brilliant idea to act like a student with a history project? Yes, it was a bit of inspired genius on my part,” Diego said proudly.

Adriana slapped him lightly on the arm.

“Okay, don’t be getting all Cabeza Grande on us.”

Piyelito raised his head and barked softly. Adriana chuckled.

“See, even Piyelito agrees with me.”

“Genius is never respected by one’s own peers,” Diego said, putting on a exasperated professorial tone.

Everyone chuckled at Diego’s impression.

“But it was genius. We got to the museum, and me and Jose figuring out how to broach the subject of the Taíno gods without looking like two crazy teenagers was a bit of a challenge.”

Diego paused for a moment to let the slight impossibility of the task sink in.

Taking a breath, Diego launched into his tale.

“You remember when we left you and Adriana, we were heading to the library. After spending an hour looking through books on the Taíno, we still hadn’t found anything close to what your families recounted to us. It was then that Doña Ana, the librarian, told us that the Museo El Cemí had a curator who was an expert in the Taíno gods.”

“Ahh, so that’s how you ended up at the Museo,” Adriana said, looking at Diego.

Diego smiled and nodded.

“Yes, Jose shoved the books we had taken out into the librarian’s hands and practically dragged me out of the building,” Diego said. He took a moment to smile at Jose, who looked back at him sheepishly.

“I think that is a bit of an exaggeration. I was mildly excited,” Jose said, still petting Piyelito.

Milo smiled as he took Jose’s hand.

“No worries, querido, we know Diego likes to embellish his stories.”

“Well, as I was saying, when we got outside Jose called his mom and she gave us a ride to the Museo. I had never been there, and I don’t mind telling you, it is the weirdest building I ever saw. When we got inside, the curator came to greet us. That was when I got the idea to explain we were doing a class project on the Taíno gods, and Coqui was excited to help. I think we learned more about the Taíno in that hour than I ever knew.”

“Coqui told us about Atabey and Yaya,” Jose said, picking up the thread of the story as he began to remember pieces from Diego’s retelling.

“Yaya?” Milo said gently.

“Yes, we know that Atabey was the mother goddess of the Taíno, but Yaya was the father,” Diego said, warming to his subject.

“So where does Macquetuarie come in?” Adriana said, looking over at Diego.

“Atabey and Yaya were mother and father to Yucahu and Macquetuarie. Together these children represented the balance of creation. But,” Diego said, leaning in as he fell into his role as storyteller,

“they weren’t the only gods. The Taíno believed that the gods, or Zemis, inhabited everything in nature — the trees, the stones, the waters, everything.”

“Balance was very important to them. It was how they saw the world, how it made sense to them,” Jose said softly, almost to himself.

“If balance was so important, how would that change if one of the Zemis were removed?” Adriana said slowly, quietly.

At that moment, Piyelito raised his head and looked at Jose, almost as if checking in.

Jose simply looked at the dog and continued to pet him reassuringly.

Diego continued,

“Coqui said that the taino believed there were very few things that could remove a Zemi, but it was possible that a Zemi might leave its place in creation if it had lost interest because of the neglect of the taino people.”

“Although that doesn’t fit what we have been told, it does answer one question, now we know a Zemi can leave its place in creation,” Adriana whispered softly, absorbing the impact of her observation.

Jose laid his head on Milo’s shoulder. Milo kissed the top of his head. A sweet breeze blew through the trees as they sat in silence.