Dia for Maria

Dia for Maria

Having a cat named Mouse sounds like a joke. Ratona's name was not meant to be funny, though. She was a lot like a mouse. She was small, with thick gray fur, and her meow was a tiny squeak. She loved to hide in holes. Her favorite spot was a missing brick in the wall of our garden shed.

Ratona lived for a very long time. About eight months ago, she died. I'm not sad anymore, but I think about her often. One day, I was thinking about Ratona just as Mamá set a picture of Tía Teresa on an ofrenda, a special altar. Mamá¡ was getting ready for Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Teresa passed away when I was a baby. “ Mamá, is Día de los Muertos also for pets?" I asked.

" Usually Dia de los Muertos is for family . . . " Mamá said, thinking. " Though I suppose Ratona was part of our family, too. " “ Maybe we can have a special celebration for her, " I suggested. " It can be the day before Día de los Muertos. " " That sounds like a nice idea, María, " Mamá said. “ Some of your friends can come celebrate their pets, too. "

That afternoon, Mamá and I went to the big market in Puebla. I clutched her hand so I wouldn't get lost in the crowd. There were dozens of booths selling toys, flowers, decorations, and firecrackers for Día de los Muertos. I bought pink and red paper banners and three pretty candy calaveras, or sugar skulls. Mamá got a big bundle of orange marigolds. I even found a funny skeleton doll holding a cat.

After school on October 31, my friends Adriana and Gloria came over. Adriana brought her big white dog, Sal, or Salt. She had a photo of Sal's sister, Pimienta, or Pepper, who died last summer. Gloria also had a picture of a pet she had lost. “ This is Raúl, the world's friendliest rooster. " " Let's set up the ofrenda by the garden shed, " I said. " That's where Ratona used to sit. " We arranged marigolds in and around Ratona's hole and hung paper banners on the wall. Then we set up our photos among the flowers.