The Psychic and the Witch Part 2: Stories from the Book of Bella

By Ricardo Martinez

This story is a continuance about a boy who disappeared in 1926. He time-traveled into the past to the year 1826’... who later found that he had psychic abilities. Ten years later he was able to come back and reunite with his family at the age of 17, in 1937. He promised to return four young lost souls who got lost in the Ruins, who are now in his time. In Juan Aguilar’s new story, his psychic powers kept growing as he ventured into the Supernatural World with the Witch, Maria De La Luz, who helped his sister, to wake up from her coma. He has been learning from a 300 and 50-year-old alchemist who is immortal and was once sought to be a witch. Juan is confused, for him to go to the future he must live forever and become Immortal. He does not want to live forever, he wants to stay in his mortal world and have the power to time travel, but he must travel three times to the past before he can time-travel with his Body, Spirit, and Soul. While Maria prepares Juan to go on a supernatural journey, he must be ready to enter the Book of Bella. Maria will take Juan to the catacomb’s in search of the lost souls, and into the past to the cemetery in the Islands of the Philippines. He found out that for every five years he aged one year, he stays young.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664193932

Book preview

THE PSYCHIC AND

THE WITCH PART 2

Stories from the Book of Bella

The Psychic and the Witch in the Supernatural World

Ricardo Martinez

Copyright © 2021 by Ricardo Martinez.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 04/19/2022

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

826459

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Adjusting to life in 1937

Chapter 2 Olivia

Chapter 3 Daniel is found / Rita

Chapter 4 Olivia wakes up

Chapter 5 Maria gets a body

Chapter 6 Lucky in Bonifacio’s ranch

Chapter 7 Benito/Shadows

Chapter 8 Maria takes Juan to the Catacombs

Chapter 9 La Llorona

Chapter 10 Comanche capture Clarita, Luis, and Ambrosio

Chapter 11 Loretta / Alfonso, Olga, at Catacomb

Chapter 12 Juan goes to the Catacomb in a flicker of an eye

Chapter 13 The Red Box / The Wicked Bodies

Chapter 14 Juan takes the Oath to Time Travel

Chapter 15 Juan and Maria go to the Philippines

Chapter 16 Graduation Day

CHAPTER 1

My father was having a conversation with my mother while he was driving. He was telling her how he had enjoyed the camping trip in Questa. My father, Enrique; my mother, Emilia; and I were on our way back to Albuquerque. My name is Juan Aguilar. I turned seventeen two weeks ago. I just returned Flor to join her family back to her time. I was sitting in the back of the car staring out the window, thinking about Clarita. I could feel her presence as I held the rosary she gave me. I kept it in a small leather bag tied to my belt. I took it out because I needed to feel Clarita’s presence. I was surprised. Clarita gave me a rosary that comforted me whenever I needed to be patient. I remember her telling me to think clearly, to avoid confusion, and to see things for what they were.

She helped me through good and bad times. Back in the 1800s, she gave me advice to see clearly through any problem and to use my better judgment all the way to the end. I felt confident when she talked to me. She relieved my worries, especially when it seemed that all hope was lost. The rosary helped me feel as if she were here with me. I was hoping that Flor had successfully gone back to join her family. I was extremely anxious. I wanted to know how everyone was doing, especially Clarita. I felt that she had something to do with the powers of the rosary because all the advice she gave me and everything she said were true. I wondered if she felt my presence when I held the rosary and thought about her.

When Rafael and I crossed over to the 1900s, I had the rosary around my neck. I felt a tingle. I took the necklace off, and I put it in my leather pouch. Now I know that she knew something about the rosary, but I did not. Not until I felt her presence and her heartbeat. I felt Clarita was always with me. That is why I carry my rosary everywhere I go. I must be patient and see what might happen as I would continue to search for Daniel, Amadeo, and Benito. Now that I am holding on to the rosary, I felt relaxed. Still, I could not wait to go back to feel her presence on the other side of the wall. There, I almost felt that she was there with me. I found out the reason why I could feel her presence as if she were sitting next to me when I was waiting for Rafael Casados. We were sitting on the same flat part of the broken wall. The one thing that separated us was one hundred years. That was why I felt her; the rosary had the power. Nevertheless, I must meet Flor at the ruins two weeks from today.

Upon our return to Albuquerque, my family and friends did not believe that I had been living with Don Francisco and the Salgados family for ten years, back during the 1800s. I told my family about these adventures many times, but it had been hard to deal with their questions and derogatory remarks. I could not wait to hear from Luis Salgado to help me find a way to wake my sister Olivia from her coma. I had a lot of irons in the fire. I need to follow up and go back to the place where I saw Daniel Silva and resume my search for him, Amadeo Garcia, and Benito del Valle.

Since these occurrences with the spirits and demons started back in the 1800s, I started to put together some premonitions that happened while growing up with the Silva family in Santa Fe. When I was thirteen years of age, I saw a man fall three times off a building at the old town plaza, by the San Felipe Church. He was working on a construction site when he lost his footing. On the last scene, everyone saw him fall. After that weird experience, I knew that something was happening to me.

The dreams! I could never forget those nightmares when I was six years old. I saw a big eagle fly next to my dad’s car, calling for me to help. That was a premonition of Dolores’s spirit in Española. I helped her free her spirit from Khmea Baku’s spell. He was the evil shaman who was trying to lure her spirit to the devil back then in the 1800s. After I saved Dolores, she appeared as an eagle many times. She helped me save Young Eagle’s spirit when she took him, and they flew away together into the sky . . . away from La Sombra Oscura near San Juan.

Strange nightmares haunted me over and over when I was six through the age of eight and under the care of Don Francisco. I had dreams and nightmares that turned out to be premonitions and experiences during my coming of age. My brother Cristóbal was sixteen, and I was six years old. We were in a burning house. My mother was trying to save us, but in the nightmare, we all burned to death. Years later, when I was fifteen years of age, Bella’s spirit appeared to us. The good witch informed me that I had special powers and that Luis was clairvoyant. She said that Luis and I were able to release her spirit from limbo, where she had been confined for over one hundred years. She wanted to know about her sons after she died in the fire. I later found out that the premonition nightmares were about Bella and her two sons, six-year-old Jose, and sixteen-year-old Angel, who were burned in the fire.

Since the psychic sense within me had been growing and was part of my life, I thought about Luciano del Valle wanting to help me. He wanted me to return to my time, 1936. He saw his son Benito disappear right before his eyes. He felt that he was snatched and was in my time. He wanted me to help get his son Benito back to his time, the 1800s.

Maria de la Luz, on the other hand, was Bella’s great-grandmother. She helped me save spirits and souls. She wanted me to go to my time to help her find a willing body to incarnate her spirit. She needed a body to kill Luciano del Valle, who had ended her bloodline when he burned Bella (the good witch) and her two sons in her house. As much as I wanted to, I could never deny that these things happened.

I could hear Mom and Dad talking and wondering how Flor would be coming back to the ruins in two weeks. Mom turned to me and asked, How is Flor coming back if she just left to be with her parents? Will she be lost and go to the wrong place?

Dad made a remark as he looked at me through the rearview mirror, then he turned and looked at Mom then kept his eyes on the road, Why are you asking questions of a little girl we cannot see?

I looked at Mom and said, Her parents, Jorge and Blanca, are from Peñasco, but they were waiting for her by the ruins in Questa.

Why is she coming back? Dad asked. I wouldn’t . . . if I were her. No one can see her. We cannot hear her!

I tried to explain, I discovered how to go back to the 1830s and come back to our time.

My mother was worried. No! You cannot go! I do not want you to go back to that place!

Dad had a smirk on his face and said, See! That is what I mean. He is not going anywhere back in time.

Well, no! I said, I can never go back, but a six-year-old child can go in and out as long as they come back to their time. They can only do it while they are six.

My father laughed, and as polite as he could be, he said, Look, you can talk about it, but you know how I feel about those things.

I stopped talking about Flor and the ruins. I felt that this conversation was going nowhere.

As my father drove, I could hear my mother say quietly, You don’t have to be so rude about it. You could give in a little, at least make him feel better by agreeing . . . once in a while, even if you do not believe him!

We were passing Bernalillo. It did not bother me that much; I was kind of getting used to it. I just stopped talking about it and let them think what they wanted. It did not matter what I said, they were going to think what they wanted anyway. I went back to thinking about Maria de la Luz. It bothered me. Why would she want me to free up the souls? She said that I was the only one who could release souls and break the devil’s circle that was holding them. The remaining souls that needed to be released from the curse of La Sombra Oscura remained a mystery to me. Maria said that I was the only one who could stop the evil that was keeping them in the devil’s ring. She gave me the same advice Luciano did: You must return to Questa and find your way home! They said it differently, but they meant the same thing.

It was late in the evening when we drove up to our driveway. We were exhausted after the long ride from Questa. We went into the house. My mother asked us to come to the kitchen for some milk and cookies, but my dad and I wanted coffee. After sitting at the table waiting for my mother to make coffee, Dad talked about how tired he was. I sat on my chair listening and thinking about how I felt a strong reaction from my dad. I could sense that he did not believe anything I told him. I think the reason he tolerated my story was because he did not want me to leave.

After a moment of silence, my mother brought some cups. The coffee is ready, she said as she poured coffee into our cups. I hope you can sleep after drinking coffee, because after I drink my milk, I am going to bed. I am tired.

I wanted to tell them that Don Francisco was sending a message back to me within a couple of weeks and that I had to go back to the old ruins. My father took a sip of his coffee and said, The coffee is good, helps me to relax. As soon as I drink my coffee, I am going to bed. I need to get some sleep. I have to work tomorrow, and I am bushed.

I knew Dad was tired after driving 180 miles from Questa to Albuquerque. I was going to tell them that I had to go back to Questa, but I thought I would tell them tomorrow. The coffee is good, I said. It has been a long day. I am also tired. I will be going to bed as soon as I am done drinking my coffee.

After we were done drinking our coffee, my father got up from his chair and said, "Buenas noches. I am going to bed."

I got up to go to my room. My mother stayed in the kitchen to wash the cups. Both of you go ahead. I will be going to bed as soon as I am done putting the cups in the cupboard.

I went to my room and lay on my bed, thinking about the people in Questa. Seems like the best time to organize my thoughts was right before I get sleepy and fall asleep. I was thinking. A couple of weeks ago, I was watching Luciano doing his chant. I was hiding behind a large pine tree.

He called out my name and told me to come out because he wanted to tell me that a mysterious spirit was haunting him ever since his son Benito disappeared. He explained to me that in a vision, he saw a blue eagle and he followed a whispering voice through the trees. The whispering voice always called him to look for his son.

My mind was full of questions; I hardly had any answers. Luciano said that to be a witch-hunter, one must know about the existence of sorcery and how witches communicate. He said that he had seen many different witches and had fought and killed dangerous ancient sorcery leaders of the devil. Luciano said that he was accused of being a brujo and that this could happen to any one of us. I felt that way when my father and my brother insisted that I might be involved in witchcraft; he came close to calling me a brujo. All this witchcraft was confusing. I knew he was a witch-hunter and knew a lot about sorcery, but I wondered if he became a witch and was fighting evil witches. How could this be? I was curious about all this and was wondering about how long it would be before they communicate with me. I was interested; I wanted to know what they wanted from me. Well, I made it here, and I was back with my family. For now, that is all that matters. I was tired of thinking of all these mysterious spirits that might be revealing themselves to me. With the last thought of my dearest Clarita, I fell asleep.

The next day, we were up early. My father was already on his way out to work. My mother had some breakfast ready for us. Camila was preparing to go to school at UNM. She was studying to be a nurse. She had been helping me with my math and English to get ready to register for high school.

Meanwhile, I was eating breakfast, and Mom said, Juan, after breakfast, I want to go see Olivia at the hospital and pay her a visit.

Sure, I replied. Mom, can we go to the neighborhood where we saw Daniel? By the Corderos’ house. That was the area where I think Daniel is hanging around.

Yes, Mom answered. There are some things I must do. After I finish washing dishes, do you think you could talk to Olivia and let her know that we are doing everything that we can do to help her and that we love her very much?

Of course, I will let her know, I answered.

Thank you, son, Mom replied. I also love you very much.

CHAPTER 2

I love you too, Mom. I wanted to tell you and Dad that I need to go back to Questa in two weeks. Don Francisco and Jorge Huerta are sending six-year-old Flor with some information that I asked for from my friend Luis. I asked him if there was a way that he could communicate with Luciano or Maria de la Luz. I explained the condition that my sister Olivia was in and that maybe they could help me.

My mother looked at me, trying to understand what I just told her. She said okay, but it seemed like she did not believe me, yet she did not want to lose faith because she did not understand. I felt that she only had faith in me when we talk about Olivia. Camila left for school. I helped Mom wash the dishes. Shortly after that, we were on our way to the hospital. I still had to learn how to drive, but for now, Mom would take me wherever I needed to go. When we got to the hospital, we went straight to Olivia’s room. Mom walked to Olivia and held her hand. As she called me over, I told Mom, Keep holding her hand.

I lightly grabbed her other hand, and she opened her eyes. Mom was stunned as she let go of her hand, and she stepped back. I told her, Don’t be afraid. You are going to talk to her.

But I felt a strange feeling, she said.

I told her, That is fine. She is not going to hurt you. As she grabbed her hand, I started to wake her mind from her unconscious sleep. I said, Olivia, wake up. Can you hear me?

As Mom was about to say something, she heard Olivia answer in her mind. I could tell by the way she looked as she got real still. As if she were hypnotized, but she was not, she was in a deep thought, concentrating. She heard Olivia say, Juan, is that you?

Yes, I am here with Mom. Would you like to talk to her? My mother was in disbelief that she could hear her in her mind. But she felt good that Olivia knows in her dreams her family comes to visit her and they love her and miss her a lot.

Mom was in awe; she had tears in her eyes when she heard Olivia speak without moving her lips, but as she spoke with her eyes, they widen and got smaller with no movement to her head. Olivia said, Is that you, Mom? Or is this another dream about, Juan?

Mom was crying and said, Yes, my daughter, it is me, your mother. My beautiful daughter, I love you so much.

Olivia, with tears rolling down her cheeks, said, Mother, I love you. Am I coming home? I cannot seem to wake up. What is wrong?

I right away talked to Olivia because I did not want Mom to tell her about her state of mind or her injuries or anything about her accident. I told her, The last time I talked to you, I told you that these conversations are real. I told you that I was getting some help from some friends that are going to help me wake you up permanently.

Olivia interrupted, But I only dream about you, and now I see my mother. Something is missing. I do not know what it is. Then I fall to sleep, then I dream about you. Now this is the first time I hear Mom. Is this going to happen again?

I told you before these conversations are real. I will come back and talk to you every day until I get you out of your sleep. That way, you can wake up whenever you want to wake up and only sleep when you need your sleep or whenever you want. But I am still waiting for my friends to talk to me. I promise that I will bring you back from your long sleep. But for now, you must trust me. I must let you go back to sleep so that I can see my friends to get help. We love you.

I then let go of her hand as she closed her eyes filled with tears. My mother was still crying as she let go of her hand. She said, Why does she have to suffer so much?

I told her, She is not suffering. She does not know what is going on. Only you know, and you are suffering for her because we love her. And we hate to see her in that condition. She only remembers or dreams what we talk about when she falls asleep. For three years, she has never had a dream until the first time that I talked to her. If I were to say to her that we are coming tomorrow, she would not know the difference. She could not tell whether it is a day or a year. She has a space with nothing in it. It is a boundary of a space where there has been no memory since her accident three years ago.

I hugged my mother as I walked her out from Olivia’s room, because she was in awe and confused. We talked as we left the hospital, and we got into the car. Mom was wiping her teary eyes as she looked at me and said, I see now that you are a real psychic. I never saw one before, and I did not believe that it was real. But now I am glad that you are one. You have to help my baby.

I said to her, I will never stop trying. I promise that I will bring her back from her unconscious state. I promise. Let us go to the Corderos’ side of town. I must look for Daniel’s lost soul. The sooner I get to taking care of this problem with the young souls, the sooner I can get to Olivia’s problem.

But for me, it was more than just that. I still did not know when, where, and what to expect from the spirits wanting to reveal themselves to me. After Mom gained her composure, she drove me to the Santa Barbara area, where the Corderos lived. When she turned into the driveway, I noticed some kids playing in an empty lot across the street. They seemed to be poor because they were not wearing shoes and their clothes were tattered. These three kids were about six to eight years old. Mom sounded the horn to the car.

Mrs. Cordero was friendly. She had red hair made up in a ponytail. She came out. Oh, Mrs. Aguilar, how are you? she asked. How can I help you?

My mother answered, You remember my son Juan?

Yes, I do, she answered. You are the one that came with your mother that day looking for that boy. Did you find him?

No, I answered.

The only boys I have seen around here are the ones across the street. Elfego and Amado, she said.

Were there three boys? I asked.

No, not that I know of, she said. The only two that live there are the ones that I just saw going inside the house. I do not think their parents are there because their car is not there. They might have gone to the store. I am not sure. Or maybe their mother is there.

Oh, okay, I will go over there and see if maybe they know, I said. But I want to thank you for your help.

No problem, she said. You and your mother have a nice day. Goodbye.

We went across the street to see the kids or their mother. As we drove up to their driveway, the two boys came out. I asked them, Is your mother home?

One of the two answered, No. She went to see my grandma in the hospital.

Was there a boy playing with you just a while ago? I asked.

No, the older boy said. Just me and my brother were playing in the empty lot.

Hmm . . . I thought that he was inside, I said. I am looking for a little boy named Daniel. If you see him, would you let Mr. or Mrs. Cordero know?

The two little boys answered, Okay.

We left, and on our way home, I was telling Mom, I know he was there, but I cannot go in their house without being invited by their parents.

I only saw two little boys, Mom said.

I know, I said. But there were three little boys, and the reason Mrs. Cordero and the two little kids could not see him is because he is Daniel. He is the young soul like Flor. He did not come out. We must come back tomorrow or whenever we can . . . as soon as possible would be good.

Okay, Mom said. Will see what we have to do tomorrow.

Mom drove off, and on our way home, she asked, When are you going to learn to drive? You will be going to school in a few months. You can drive yourself to school.

I joked with Mom, and I told her, Well, I can steer horses on a wagon fairly good. I suppose I could learn.

Mom looked at me and chuckled with a smile. It is not hard once you get the hang of it, she replied. You want to try it?

I was a little excited. Okay! I answered.

She drove to the side of the road and stopped. She opened the car door, got out, and said, Come on, get on the driver’s side.

I opened the door, got down, and went in the car behind the driver’s wheel. As she walked to get on the passenger side, I told her, I hope I don’t break your car.

She laughed. You will not, she said. Just step down on the clutch then change the gear to first gear from neutral. After you release the clutch slowly, the car will move as you step on the gas pedal. Just apply a little bit of pressure on the gas pedal, and the car will move slowly. After you gain a little bit of speed, release your gas pedal slowly and step on your clutch to change to your second gear up here.

As I was going through all the instructions she mentioned, the car was jerking, and it stopped. I started the car and tried again. The car jerked about three or four times, and the gears grind as I changed the stick shift from second to third gear. The car ran smoothly after that. I stopped at a stop sign, and as I proceeded to do the same thing that Mom instructed me to do, the same thing happened again. All the jerking and the grinding went on for a while, but I finally got the car going well. As I drove, my driving got better. Mom looked at me and said, You are doing good. You learn fast.

Thank you for showing me how to drive, I said.

You are a natural! she replied.

I was overly excited driving all the way to the house. I could see Camila’s car in the driveway when we arrived. We got down from the car and went into the house. Camila was in the kitchen, making herself a sandwich. Mom asked, Camila, how was school?

Good, she answered.

Mom had a smile on her face. Guess who drove home today? Mom asked.

Camila put her hands on her face, and with a surprised smile, she looked at me. Did you really drive? she asked. How did you do?

I did all right, with a little bit of jerking, but other than that, I think I did all right. I answered. With some help from Mom.

We were all laughing because of the jerking. Well, Juan did very good, considering that it was his first time, Mom said. He learns fast.

After the conversation, I felt a little drowsy, and I told Mom, I am a little tired. I am going to take a nap for about an hour.

Go ahead, Mom said. "I will start getting dinner going