With a racing heart and shallow breaths, Angélio touched his head, face, chest, and arms. Everything seemed to be intact. He exhaled, feeling somewhat relieved, even though he still could not see any part of himself.

A twig snapped. Angélio whipped his head to the left. Footsteps crunched on dry leaves, growing louder with each second. Something was coming toward him from within the shady forest.

Angélio tried to back away but tripped on a root sticking out of the ground. A yelp escaped his mouth as he fell.

"¿Hay alguien ahí? (Is someone there?)" said a bass voice from within the woods.

Angélio didn't reply. He was trying to sit as still as possible. Don't breathe, don't breathe, don't breathe, he thought.

What stepped out from behind the trees made Angélio's invisible jaw drop. It almost hit the ground.

The figure looked like a man. It... or he was tall and athletic with short, straight ink-black hair, and tan skin. If he had been wearing a suit and tie, he could have easily been mistaken for Diego Moya's doppelgänger. But the creature was dressed very differently.

He wore a black shirt covered in tiny, gleaming silver dots with sleeves that stopped just short of his wrists. The pants matched his shirt and were ankle-length with small red feathers at the ends of each leg. A long white cape with a black zigzag pattern trim covered his left shoulder and part of his chest; it was secured by a knot above his right shoulder. And a white hip cloth with red trim was tied around his torso.

Its human-like features ended there.

Near the corners of his forehead were golden antennae that were thin to the point of near invisibility. However, they didn't stick up in the air and laid back over the creature's ears instead.

Most stunning of all were the figure's wings, which reminded Angélio of the stained glass windows he'd seen at church--especially how they shimmered when light shone through them. Now that he could see them more closely, he could tell that the wings looked like those of a male Swallowtail Cattleheart butterfly.

I must be dreaming, Angélio thought and rubbed his eyes. But the magical being was still there.

"Ouch," he pinched himself.

The creature looked in his direction and squinted its golden-brown eyes. "I can't see you, but I know you're there," it said. "And I want to help--if you'll let me."

Shaking, Angélio opened his mouth to speak. "I'm... I'm over... here," he stammered and patted the pillow-soft grass with his palm, leaving a handprint on the spot.

The figure started approaching and then stopped. "What kind of being are you?" he asked.

Angélio swallowed with a lump in his throat. "Human," he said.

In an instant, the creature's face softened. "That explains it, then." He stroked his sharp, stubbly jawline for a moment. "Oh, right--I have just the thing!"

The creature reached into his pocket and pulled out a red woven bracelet. The pattern on it looked like the illustration of a DNA string Angélio had seen in an encyclopedia once.

"Put this on your left wrist," it said, tossing the bracelet to Angélio.

When Angélio pulled the strings to tighten it on his wrist, he gasped. Slowly, but surely, his hands, arms, chest, and everything else reappeared.

"Un momento (one moment)," the creature said, flapping his wings slightly. "You're the boy that was crying in the human realm. I had no idea you followed me here."

"Donde--where... where is here?" Angélio asked, stammering.

"This realm is known as Realania," was the reply.

"Oh." Angélio examined the bracelet on his arm.

"It's made with fibres from the sunset agave," the creature said. "It helps humans control the powers they acquire in this realm; they always seem to be different in some way." He paused for a moment. "Well, you probably want to return to your home--if you follow me--oh. That's right." He turned to face Angélio. "You were crying when I found you--would you mind telling me why?"

Angélio was about to speak, but then he held back. Papi said I shouldn't talk to strangers, he thought. That probably is still true here... in Realania. But he did help me, though...

"If you tell me about what made you sad, I might be able to help," it said.

Angélio knit his brow together. "How could you help me with that, Señor... uh?" He wanted to add the creature's name but realized he didn't know it. "May I have your name--por favor (please)?"

"Certainly," the creature smiled handsomely. "My name is Roende. There's no need to add Señor. And what's yours?"

Angélio gave his name and said, "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of being are you?"

Roende chuckled. "I don't mind at all. I'm a Maraluje, specifically a Maralujo since I am what humans would call a male."

Angélio scratched his head. "Then, does that mean female Maralujes are called Maralujas?"

"Clever boy," Roende smiled. "Yes, that is what they're called. Now to answer your earlier question, I can help you with Yutsil--or magia (magic) as you might say."

"Magia?" Angélio repeated the word, not quite sure what to make of it.

"Yes," Roende nodded. "But I need to know what your problem is, so I can determine how magia can fix that problem."

Angélio looked at the ground. I don't think he can really help me, but I guess it couldn't hurt to tell him, he thought before closing his eyes. Then he took a deep breath and told Roende about his papá forgetting his birthday and wanting to get on the fútbol team so he could spend more time with his dad.

It felt good to just get things off his chest.

"I see." Roende stroked his chin and sat on the grass across from Angélio. "I'm sorry that happened to you. Such things would make anyone sad. But that is a difficult problem you have."

Angélio's shoulders drooped. "I knew you wouldn't be able to help." He was about to stand up and walk away, feeling his eyes starting to burn again.

"I didn't say that," Roende corrected him. "Difficult doesn't mean impossible."

"Really?" Angélio said with an air of hope in his voice.

Roende nodded. "Yes. Though it will be difficult to obtain, I know of magia that will help you get what you want. However, we will need to work together to achieve our goal. Are you willing to do that?" He held out his hand.

Smiling, Angélio shook his new friend's hand. "Yes. I am." He wiped a tear away.

"Perfect," Roende beamed. "Now, you shouldn't cry; it's not appropriate for boys."

"Oh. I didn't know that," Angélio's said, feeling like he had just gotten hit in the gut by a soccer ball. Something about what Roende had just said seemed off to him, but he didn't want to do anything that might upset his new friend. So, he tried to ignore the pit forming in his stomach.

"I know just the thing that will eliminate those tears," Roende said. "Do you want to guess what that is?"

"Tissue?" Angélio shrugged.

"Something better: a grand birthday party for my new amigo," Roende flashed his charming smile.

Angélio could've jumped over the moon. Was this really happening? That sounded like the kind of birthday party that only lived in his dreams but now it was coming true! And on top of that, he would get on the fútbol team and his papi would spend more time with him. It was everything he wanted!

If this were a dream, I wouldn't want to wake up! Angélio thought.

Roende tapped his left wrist and in a burst of shimmering green specks, a device appeared on the spot he had touched. It looked like a watch with a woven red and green band. Except, where the watch face should be, there was a little glass dome with a small sun under it.

Around the burning ball of light were three stone rings; the largest one was the furthest from the little sun. Within each ring were strange but beautifully etched symbols. No two were alike. Are those numbers or something else? Angélio wondered. Maybe it's both. The rings flipped over the small sun at different speeds, reminding him of the diagram of a neutron he'd drawn in his notebook. Roende examined the object with a careful eye.

"What is that?" Angélio asked, no longer able to contain his curiosity.

"Follow me." Roende tapped the top of the little dome and the device vanished. "We must make the most of our time."

♧♧♧