Me on a Mexican beach wearing my amulet. Don Francisco once placed an amulet in my hand — small, ordinary-looking to anyone else, but heavy with something deeper. He told me: “When you need something, hold it and think of the outcome — not the problem. Imagine what you want as if it has already happened.” I listened, the way you listen when an elder speaks — with more than ears. Later that year, I flew to the United States to visit my son. In my rush at the airport, I forgot

She arrived leaning heavily on a cane — every step measured, every movement stiff with pain. A knee injury from her youth, decades old now, worn into her bones. Doctors had recommended a replacement. She was in her sixties. She walked slowly, carefully, bracing herself against the world. We drove three hours into the Yucatán for a limpia with Don Francisco — healer, yerbatero, a man who works with more than herbs. While we traveled, she told me how long she had suffered. I co