Conversations with Zorro

Sample chapter CONVERSATIONS WITH ZORRO

The day Carlos’ mother told him he was the man in the family now, Zorro came to visit.

Carlos’ mouth fell open and he stared down at his skinny frame when he heard his mother’s words. Most people didn’t know he had a lot of muscle and could outrace just about anybody at school. But that didn’t mean he could replace his father.

Carlos pushed back a strand of his wild black hair and tried to focus his serious brown eyes on his mother and what she was saying. That’s when he hiked up his size-too-big jeans that hung down onto his sneakers.

He was only thirteen, how could his mother expect him to be a man? She expected a lot of Carlos and he wasn’t sure he could always deliver. Take Manuel, for example. For an eight-year-old, his kid brother was a pack of trouble, especially since their Dad took off and left them.

“You’re in charge of Manuel now,” his mother said with tears in her eyes.

In charge of Manuel? Was he up to that? He couldn’t disappoint his mother like Manuel did so Carlos pumped out his chest with pride. But inside, he was secretly scared.

After that day, Manuel stopped listening to a word his big brother said, and Carlos wasn’t so proud anymore. One night, Carlos went to bed, but he couldn’t sleep. “What am I going to do about Manuel?” he kept saying to himself while his brother snored above him in his bunk bed. Carlos punched his pillow and tried to find a way to relax. For sure, he wasn’t going to ask his mother for help. She had enough to worry about, what with her job and cooking and shopping.

Carlos got up and stared out the living room window of the apartment. He replayed in his mind seeing Manuel steal oranges from Mr. Blanco’s vegetable stand that afternoon, and watching his little brother run away. Carlos must stop Manuel before the police did.

Carlos closed the curtain and turned on the TV in the living room. It was late---nearly eleven. He wasn’t supposed to be up, not on a school night. He slid down on the worn sofa and turned the TV sound down low.

He flipped channels until he got to an old movie that was just starting. The Adventures of Zorro rolled across the screen.

Zorro wore a black costume with a shiny cape, a flat-brimmed hat and a mask that covered his eyes and forehead. He also wore black leather boots. In the story, Zorro defended a woman who had come to him for help. He snapped a bullwhip at the bad guys and used a sword to cut a large Z across the shirt of the really nasty one. Zorro was very fast and stepped out of the way of many men. They crashed into walls or fell onto the floor while Zorro only smiled at them and took the woman to safety.

Carlos laughed when he saw Zorro swinging from a chandelier and fencing with two men. His heart ached for the father he didn’t have and the hero he needed. His mother was okay as mothers go, but she didn’t know how to throw a ball or use a sword. If only he could be like Zorro. Maybe he could make the people in his neighborhood safe---at least the ones close to him.

A commercial came on during the movie and Carlos felt his eyes start to close. The next thing he knew his mother was shaking him. When she leaned over, her long hair tickled him on his neck and he could smell cinnamon. Most of her lipstick had worn off so she looked pale and worried. He rubbed his eyes and tried to make sense of where he was and what was happening.

“Carlos! Wake up.” She shook him again. He felt her long fingernails poking him. “Don’t go back to sleep here. Come to bed. You need your sleep. You’re not supposed to be up this late watching TV.”

He got up and stumbled across the floor, rubbing his eyes and following her into his room. He crawled into bed and she brushed back his hair and kissed his forehead.

“Sweet dreams, Carlito,” she whispered, pulling over him the knitted quilt she’d made.

The next morning Latin music playing in the apartment across the hall woke him. The sun came shining in the window and Carlos sat up and put his feet on the floor.

Manuel was already up and had left his upper bunk unmade as usual and his pajamas on the floor. Their room was small, barely big enough for bunk beds, a dresser and a little desk in the corner.

Carlos yawned. His brain felt foggy. “Man, I’m tired.”

He heard a deep man’s voice say, “As you should be.”

“What?” Carlos jumped off the bed and looked around the room. He stared at the spot by the window, holding his hand up to block the sun from his eyes so he could see. Was that a man standing there or was he dreaming?

“Well, who can blame you? That was a wonderful story, was it not?”

Carlos squinted at the man. He wore a black outfit just like the man in the movie. He even looked like Zorro---tall and muscular with a smile on his face.

“A magnificent story, full of great knowledge.” The man gazed out the window. “You have a wonderful view of the lot, Carlos. Very nice. How you call this?”

Carlos staggered backward. “It’s---it’s a parking lot. Who are you and how do you know my name?”

The man turned and faced Carlos. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zorro,” he said, holding his hat in his hand and letting it almost touch the floor when he bowed. An instant later, he stood tall, put the hat on his head and placed his hands on his hips.

Carlos rubbed his eyes. “I’m dreaming, right? You’re not really here.”

Zorro shook his head and looked deep into Carlos’ eyes. “No, I don’t think so. No dream. I check in the mirror and---see! I am here. You need my assistance, do you not?”

Carlos pinched himself. He still wasn’t sure he had Zorro in his bedroom. He had a cousin who got so upset after he got robbed, he started seeing things. “Are you sure you’re here?”

“Yes, quite sure. I am here to teach you what you need to know to be a man.” Zorro pulled on a pair of black gloves. “So, we begin.” He tapped the end of Carlos’ bed. “Feel free to take notes.” He stared up at the ceiling, arms crossed in front of him.

Carlos raced to his desk. He rummaged around in the drawer, pushing things around, looking for something to write with. He finally found what he was looking for and took out a pad and a pen. “Okay, I am ready,” he said, quickly sitting down in a chair.

Zorro paced up and down Carlos’ bedroom. “Very well, now get all of this down. It is important not to miss a thing.” Zorro took a deep breath. “First, you must always remain chivalrous and prideful.” Zorro stuck out his chest and made his hand into a fist. “Unyielding. Honest always, you see?”

Carlos stared at Zorro. Why was he using such big words? He opened his mouth to argue, but was silenced by one piercing glance from Zorro.

“You know these words? If you paid attention in school, you would know them.” Zorro frowned at him. “You must play fair to achieve these things, and you must be smart. Most of all, you must pay attention. You see how it is, yes?”

Carlos wrote fast, trying to get everything down, just not sure how to spell half the words. “Yes, I understand you,” he said, although he didn’t completely. Instead of feeling confident, he felt sure he’d been dreaming this whole conversation with Zorro.

“Ah, I can see you have gone to the liberry,” Zorro said, going over to Carlos’ desk to touch the books his mother had brought home for him to read. This is good.”

Carlos stared at Zorro. “Liberry?” Another word he didn’t know. Was this man just playing with him? Then it dawned on him. “Oh, library! You mean library.” Carlos smiled. For the first time since he woke up, he felt good about himself.

Zorro shrugged and smiled. “Okay. Library. Library.” Zorro stopped pacing. “Now there, you have taught me something. Very good. Do you have this all written down?”

Carlos set down his pen. “I got it all.” He wiped his hands on his pants.

Zorro smiled. “It would seem that we are off to a good start, yes?”

Carlos nodded, proud of himself.

Zorro put a finger to the side of his head. “One more thing. You must always remember, knowledge is a tool. It is mightier than the sword. Did you notice if you remove the S from sword you are left with word?”

“You’re right. What does it mean?”

“I don’t know, but it seems to be trying to mean something.”

Zorro turned to go. With a swish of his cloak, he disappeared.