Leo, only 7 years old, playing in the yard, saw something shiny peeking out of the mud. He took it out: it was a silver bracelet, small, like a child’s bracelet. Engraved on the surface of the bracelet were blurred letters:
“L.T.A – 1968”
Leo ran to the kitchen to show it to his grandmother, Mrs. Esperanza, 82, who had been a well-known midwife throughout the region. But as soon as she saw the bracelet, Mrs. Esperanza screamed as if she had seen a ghost, then collapsed on the floor, losing consciousness.
The rumor spread like wildfire: “What is Mrs. Esperanza hiding in the dirt of her house?”
“Who is L.T.A? Could it be…?” The townspeople came. Some dug into the dirt. Others carefully examined each of the letters engraved on the silver bracelet.
Finally, an old woman spoke: “L.T.A… It’s Leticia, the girl who disappeared in 1968!” The whole town froze. L.T.A. – Leticia Torres Aguilar – was the 3-year-old girl who disappeared on that same Day of the Dead. Her family searched everywhere for her without success. In the end, they were forced to erect an altar to her. Mrs. Esperanza had been the midwife of little Leticia’s mother, and had gone to play at her house several times before the girl disappeared. The news that Mrs. Esperanza fainted from the silver bracelet caused the local police to intervene. Under the pressure, Mrs. Esperanza, upon regaining consciousness, cried and admitted that in 1968, she…
The house was left in a deathly silence, only the sobs of Mrs. Esperanza could be heard that tore her soul: “That year… the same night of the Day of the Dead in 1968… it was I who took the little girl Leticia.” Everyone shuddered, and the silence became even deeper. She recounted: “At that time I was in my early thirties, working as a midwife and selling some things. My husband and I could not have children, we had tried everything.
That night, the full moon was shining in the sky, and I saw little Leticia playing alone in the backyard, while her family was busy with the offering. Greed and longing to be a mother invaded me… I took her away. I intended to go to the village next door to raise her as if she were my own daughter. But…” Mrs. Esperanza trembled, her voice cracked: “When we were halfway there, I met some soldiers.
They stopped us and stole what I was carrying in my hands. In the struggle, I fell and the girl escaped from my arms… then she disappeared into the darkness. I searched for her and searched without finding her. The silver bracelet I was wearing on my wrist fell off, I took it home and buried it at the foot of a tree in the yard. I kept it a secret all my life… I thought this secret would die with me…” Hearing this, the townspeople were upset.
Someone asked, trembling, “So… could little Leticia be alive? Or already…?” A police officer, in a deep voice, said, “The silver bracelet is evidence. We will continue to go through the files and look for her whereabouts. Although more than 50 years have passed, we have to clarify this.” Mrs. Esperanza fainted again, muttering endlessly, “Leticia, please… forgive me… forgive me…” The whole town was in shock. The story of the disappearance of a girl in 1968, who was thought to be forgotten forever, was suddenly revived, all because of a silver bracelet stained with mud.
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