Nights have not been treating me well. They've actually been pretty harsh. A week ago (that's how long it's taken for the fear to wear off) I had a horrible nightmare. It was the absolute worst.
As an adult, I've always been able to watch scary movies before bedtime and then sleep quite peacefully. Ghost stories don't make much of an impact. Well, last Sunday, I spent the evening in Nuevo Laredo. I hadn't been across in years and back then, it was only for entertainment purposes (aah, memories from Frenzi's and Señor Frog). So you can understand that it's been a looooong time since I've traveled over there. I had a pretty good time. It was good company, interesting conversation, and some darn awesome taquitos. I've never really liked spicy food but the accompanying salsa was incredible.
Well, I paid for it that night. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning, scared beyond my mind, and I wasn't able to go back to sleep. I walked around my place, checked all the closets and rooms, and prayed. Boy, did I pray. Suffice it to say, I didn't sleep...at all. I was too freakin scared to even close my eyes. The following Monday was a huge drag. But what weirded me out the most was that I couldn't, for the life of me, shake off that feeling of anxiety and dread. I started to think that perhaps my apartment was haunted. Maybe something else had traveled back with me from Nuevo Laredo. What in the world would I do now?! I seriously contemplated moving back in with dear ol' dad. That's how freaked out I was.
When I was a kid, I had somewhat of a problem with fear. I guess it was serious since my mom started taking me to a curandera para que me curaba de susto. I remember laying on some bed in the old woman's home. I would stare at her face while she swept my body with some branch while saying some words and then send me home. My mom's homework was to bathe me with te de manzanilla. My mother would pay the lady with cheeseburgers from Wendy's, as per the curandera's request. I don't think the whole cleansing thing worked...since I continued to sleep with Mom. I remember what my mother would tell me then, 'mija, no tengas miedo. Eres una niña inocente. No te va pasar nada.' Weeeelllll, I ain't so innocent anymore, so I don't think that rule applies like before.
My mom advised me to turn on a candle, put it in the middle of my room, and ask whatever was in the room to go into the light. That whatever it was looking for was not there. I looked at my mom. Pictured the scene in my head, and flat out refused to do it. My mom's response was 'no pasa nada!' Yea, sure, there was no way I would ever do that, especially if I was gonna be there by myself. I decided to look for another way to resolve this issue.
I went back to the age old method of using holy water and prayers. I figured it was the best option. To this day (knock on wood), I haven't had any problems.
What did I learn? If I ever spend another evening in Nuevo Laredo, I ain't gonna be eating salsa. The nightmares just aren't worth the temporary goodness of that salsita verde.
No comments:
Post a Comment