# data[].attributes.body
I still remember vividly the day Ultima came to live with us, coming out of father's truck and greeting us. Yet little did I know, my simple childhood would no longer be the same.

# data[].attributes.body
I had many questions of what was going on around me at the time, and Ultima came to guide me. I was told that I could answer my own question, and that my parents could help me, but not decide what was my fate, that only I could decide.

# data[].attributes.body
Florence was a good person. He was not a believer of God but, he believed he had no sin on him. He had a saddening past, with both of his parents dead, and his sisters as whores at Rosie's. He had doubts about God, just like I had. I remembered when we were late, and Father Byrnes had excused me from being late but, punished Florence by making him spread his arms out like Christ did on the cross. It had greatly saddened me on the day that Cico had decided to tell Florence about the Golden Carp was the day he had drowned at the Blue Lakes, with two hawks circling overhead. His fate was undetermined, since he did not believe, yet a part of my beliefs died on that day also.

# data[].attributes.body
After witnessing Narciso's death, Ultima and my mother took me to my room to rest and I had one of the worst dreams I could ever have. I had seen my brothers lured by the women of Rosie's into the doors of hell, and begged God for Him to help my brothers and punish Tenorio for killing Narciso, only to hear Him deny my plead. I witnessed the death of Ultima's owl beheaded by the Trementina sisters, overseeing my own death. Soon, the evil came to an end, and my relatives from my mother's side came to gather our ashes and spread them to the holy fields. The Golden Carp appeared, and let everyone survive but, in new form. That was one dream I wish I could forget.

# data[].attributes.body
My childhood was shattered with one bullet from Tenorio's gun that day. I overheard my uncles talking about Tenorio going to kill Ultima and were going to take me back home. I had started to go back to the farm when Tenorio nearly ran over me with his horse. I ran into the shrubbery and he looked over me, not seeing me and cursed at me. After he had left, I knew that I could not use the road back, and so I ran 10 miles until I reached the house, exhausted. I saw Tenorio behind the tree and yelled. He had heard me and was about to fire, when Ultima had commanded the owl to attack Tenorio, causing him to fire at the owl, thus destroying my times with one bullet. I had no worries about myself but for the owl. Tenorio was about to fire, and I embraced it. Instead of me feeling the pain, Tenorio had been shot by Uncle Lucas. I could not find Ultima, and I rushed to her room. She was laying on her bed, living her final moments and I had asked her to bless me. There would be soon a ceremony for her death but, that was tradition. I knew when she told me to go bury the owl by a juniper tree, she was really buried here, tonight.

# data[].attributes.body
I had heard news about my Uncle Lucas being sick, cursed by the Trementina sisters, daughters of Tenorio and considered as brujas. We traveled to El Puerto where we had spent 3 days in the room of Uncle Lucas, healing him from his curse of death. After our job had been done, I found out that Ultima had not been called earlier because, the priest believed a curandera's help was not needed and that divine help was enough. Then why did God not help Uncle Lucas but, yet Ultima could do it?

# data[].attributes.body
Cico had taken me to a private area of the river, where the Golden Carp had resided. I will never forget the moment I had seen him, the Golden Carp in his glory ruling the river. Cico told me the story of how the Carp would soon come to rule again, and I had my guilt about witnessing this miracle while I believed in God. But at the same time, I wondered when would God show himself to me.

# data[].attributes.body
It was a snowy day, after our play I had said goodbye to Ms. Violet and Red and had started to walk home when I saw Narciso and Tenorio crashed out of the saloon brawling each other, verbally insulting each other. I overheard Tenorio threaten to kill Ultima, and Narciso took this seriously, going over to Rosie's, which I later found out was to tell Andrew, who had promised me he would never enter until I had lost my innocence. Had I lost it already witnessing Lupito's death or the Golden Carp? I would never know until I could answer it on my own. Andrew had changed in my eyes, and did not take Narciso's words seriously. Narciso took it himself to go tell my parents, and that was when Tenorio ambushed him, shooting him and fatally wounding him. I had rushed over to Narciso, and he requested a confession from me, a young child.

# data[].attributes.body
Leon, Eugene and Andrew had come home from the war safe, and what a good day it was. But they had changed due to the war, and they weren't the same brothers I knew before they left. I wish I could have blessed them once more before they left us.

# data[].attributes.body
Lupito was a man that had the war sickness in him when he returned from the war, and it caused him to perish because of it. My father and the townsmen had been searching for him around the river when he had shot a pistol shot into the air, bringing their attention to him. They shot him without hesitation, and I witnessed my first death, seeing Lupito's bloodied face stain the river.