Our Lady's Quest

More writings for school. I doubt this will go anywhere, since I know next to nothing about Latin American Catholicism. Sam really liked it, so I thought I'd share again.

Juan gazed in wonder as the sun rose and enveloped the endless highway with golden light. In his morning meditations, Juan wondered at the glory of creation and prayed for the Mother's return. The sun was particularly beautiful this morning, and Juan half-expected Guadalupe herself to descend from those radiant beams.

When the sun began to dazzle him, Juan ended his prayers. He looked to Paloma, who was curled up on a sunlit patch of soil. "Time to hit the road, old girl," he said. Paloma perked her ears, rose, and shook the dust from her silver coat. Dutifully, Paloma padded after her master as Juan climbed into his rig and started the thundering truck.

Juan drove west, following the rising sun's path across the morning sky. He'd been a truck driver for more than twenty years, and he loved his work. Juan was a solitary man, preferred to spend his days admiring the wondrous landscape of the Americas with Paloma as his only company.

Like many in his line of work, Juan's cab was covered from floor to ceiling with photos, candles, and statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe: a moving shrine to the Mother of all. Though his devotion ran deep, few would guess at just how personal his relationship with Guadalupe was.

Five hundred years ago, Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan and asked him to serve. Juan agreed to his Lady's request, and in return, She blessed him with long life. Guadalupe warned that the quest would not be easy, and it may take him many lifetimes to find what he sought. Juan obeyed, cast aside his old life, and began the first steps of his sacred quest.

Juan took jobs in every country in the hemisphere, favoring those that demanded travel. People everywhere accepted Juan as a drifter: a man without a family or a home. It was easy, then, to quest for Guadalupe's lost artifact across the Americas, where Guadalupe promised his quest would end.
    
Today, Juan felt a familiar twinge of warmth in the back of his head. All of his tension seemed to expand and melt there, covering his skull in a pleasant, tingling sensation, as if he were bathed in sunlight.

Juan glanced at Paloma, who was staring at some unseen point to the northwest. Paloma's stance was eager and alert, her ears pointed and her legs straight. Her ancient frame seemed almost puppyish as she gazed far ahead.

"Well, should we go see what it is, then?" Juan asked. Paloma thumped her tail in approval, and Juan patted her back vigorously. Juan changed gears, sped up, and made way for the radiant mountain range ahead.