Still trembling, I reach into my jeans pocket. My last piece of chocolate brings salvation. Though bitter at first, it melts over my tongue and goes down sweet. The frenzy subsides as the cacao quenches my ungodly appetite. I groan and drag myself upright.

Abuelita kneels before the cacao tree with a parched leaf cradled in her hand. "It's dying." Her voice cracks. "We can't lose it."

I place an arm around her hunched shoulders. "What can we do?"

Her expression is solemn. "Tell Don Videl. He'll know how to catch that puta serpiente." She resets the tree onto its pedestal and pats the soil into place. "Until then, I can keep the cacao alive."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Sometimes, we must give ourselves for others." She kisses my forehead, then she steps toward the trunk.

I clutch her arm. "'Lita?"

"There isn't much time." She smiles. "Te amo por siempre, mija. Go back, quickly, and help our friends."

The tree reaches for her. Branches and vines wrap her in a cocoon of plant fibers and wood.

I shout and claw at the bark, but it's no use.

The cacao tree perks back to health, but the leaves and fruits have all fallen.

I whisper a prayer to Santa Muerte, my patron saint. I'll find Fire-Snake and save my Abuelita, no matter what. Wiping tears, I hurry back to the kitchen.

Rodrigo's bell jars my eardrums. His spirit-house rests on a humble altar in the corner, surrounded by drippy candles and offerings of fruit and animal bones. He stops ringing and emerges like a fluid cloud.

"That goddess zoomed out of here faster than anything," he says. "Dios mío, are you hurt?"

"I'm okay, but Abuelita's stuck inside the tree. It's all my fault. I lost control and attacked Fire-Snake, made her angry, and...now this." I bury my face in my hands.

"Don't cry." He reaches as if to stroke my hair, then stops himself. Though he looks away, his tone is gentle, reassuring. "You have many friends, mi caria. Don Videl is coming."

I pace to the hearth and set the kettle on the counter. At least I can keep the chocolate from scalding. About all I'm good for, now. I wipe sweat from my brow with the oven pad, then I slump into a nearby chair. "I only bring misfortune to my friends, Rodrigo. Know what? I'm lying to Abuelita, to all of you. I just want to learn the chocolate recipe for myself. So I can travel away and learn what the world's really about. I only care about me, my own happiness. Not much of a friend, am I? All I have are selfish secrets."

"We all have secrets like that." He drifts closer. "I have one, too."

"Really?"

Specks of light glimmer in his eye sockets. "Remember when I said I died a hero in the revolución?"

I nod.

"It wasn't really like that." He removes his cap and shows me the gunshot wound on his head. "I've always been a fool. And, well, it got me killed. We were running from the authorities, my compaeros and I. I, uh, tripped over my shoelaces in the street. My pistol flipped. Fired. Bang. The end of Rodrigo Puentes was a joke. And your grandma isn't kidding when she says I'd be damned without her. I was trapped in the pits of Mictlan until her spells bailed me out."

I study him. "Oh. I'm so sorry."

"I've never told anyone but you. Keep it to yourself, will you? I have a reputation to uphold among the village spirits. Make you a deal. We'll both keep mum about our selfish secrets."

I try to smile. "Okay. Deal." Shaking hands with a ghost is strange. Tingling, ice-cold, but it comforts me. I can count him as a friend. Maybe he isn't such a pest.

I've never had a boyfriend. My curse threatens anyone alive, but Rodrigo's already dead. No blood to provoke me. With him, I can relax and be myself. I wonder if his lips are electric like his touch.