Emily Jaramillo and the Lost Diamond of the Sun

MEXICO!

The huge silver jet roared over the Rocky Mountains and Emily looked down from her seat near the window. She thought, I wonder if there are caves in those mountains and if they run to the sea--or maybe to Serena's Kingdom. She lay back daydreaming. She remembered how she had followed the purple light in the forest that had taken her into the wonderful caverns under the world. She thought of the little gnomes who changed back into prairie dogs whenever they were above the ground. Of how people above the ground thought the prairie dogs were a nuisance and killed them by the thousands. Serena, the Queen of that amazing Kingdom Under the World, had turned them into Ground Gnomes and made them useful and safe in her Kingdom. She wondered about Matt and Tara, her companions on that adventure to save the gnome babies--those precious little gnomes, kidnapped by the raptor-men in the Kingdom of Darkness. She felt sad thinking about it, thinking that she could not share her story even with those she loved so much, knowing they would never allow her to go back into that amazing world. She thought of the forgetting dust...the magic powder that made people forget that she was gone, and made them feel she might merely be in the next room.

Finally, the wide ocean was below them and the descent began. As they dropped lower and lower a huge whining roar made her gasp and grab at the armrests until at last the big airplane slowed to a stop. At the airport she heard Spanish phrases flying all over, drenching her in what was her parent's native language. Emily felt at peace. She thought, It's as if I am two people--one Mexican and one American. How special--I am Emily María Rosario Jaramillo and two different countries are inside me.

Her papá looked down at her. "And what are you smiling at Chiquita?"

"Just at being me, Papá and us bein' us." She gave him a warm hug and stepped back to wait while the dark-skinned men looked through their suitcases and sent them on their way. In the taxi she looked around in amazement. They were in a true Mexican city – bustling with people and honking cars. They stopped at an intersection and two young boys rushed out begging to wash the windshield. The driver waved them off. They were ragged and very thin. Emily stared in amazement until at last they drove into a sheltered driveway. A high stone fence surrounded her grandmother's large house. Inside, Emily stopped and sat for a moment on a stone bench in the great inner room that was the patio, a room sheltered in plants and blooming flowers. She looked up at her Mamá and said, "I was so little when we came before, I can barely remember anything, but I remember this--it's so wonderful." Mamá sat and hugged her. "We must come more often and make more recuerdos para tí."

Suddenly a deep voice shouted down the hallway."Donde? Donde esta mi nieta--mi bebe?" In excitement she cried out, "Abuelito?" She ran ahead of her grandmother into a hallway and straight into the arms of her grandfather, who held her for a long time. That night she slept a deep and peaceful sleep, without her Beanie Babies or Houdini, her black kitty, and no thoughts at all of the Kingdom Under the World. But she did not know what was about to happen. The time passed quickly, and before long it was her last day in Mexico and she ran and played on the beach with her dark-skinned cousins. As always they teased her for her blue eyes that had come from her papa's side of the family, all the while laughing, shouting, and rolling in the low waves on the edge of the ocean. She went out so far they all yelled at her to come in. Finally Julio, her older cousin, ran out into the waves and yelled, "¡Un tiburón! A Shark!! He will eat you!" She swam in hard, body surfing the last wave to land on her tummy in front of the laughing cousins.

"You sure can swim fast Emilia!"

"Did the big shark bite your butt?" Now they screamed with laughter as all of them rolled and wrestled in the surf.

Julio pulled her aside. He was two years older and becoming tall and handsome. "Want to go exploring? I know a very secret place."

"Seguro," she said, "how do we ditch the little ones?"

"Easy, start running and I will chase you. Go that way--" He pointed down the beach. Emily sprinted out, with Julio close behind. They ran until they were breathless, but the little kids only glanced up and went on playing. He led her to where the beach curved away and huge rocky formations jutted out over the ocean.

"This is it," he said. "We have to climb now." Climbing for several minutes, they started down again and soon found themselves in a secluded sandy cove. Julio pointed back into the rocks. "Look, Emilia--a cave right out of the ocean."

"Oh, my gosh--" She stared at the dark opening. "Where does it go?" She watched in fascination as the waves rolled into the cave and back out.

"I don't know," said Julio. "Just back under the hills, I guess."

"I'm going in there."

"You what?"

"I'm going to swim in there and check it out--see where it goes."

"Hey loca! No way! Stay out!! That's dangerous! We can sit right here in the sand or climb the cliff." She was already wading toward the cave.

"You crazy? Come back! Emilia!"