La Luz

“Luz! Luz! This way!”

“Luz over here!”

Reporters shout from every direction.

“How does it feel to have your record at the top of the charts?”

“How does it feel to be the top groundbreaking artist of the year?”

“Luz! This way!”

“Luz! We love you!”

“Luz! Luz! Luz!”

Overwhelmed with all of the love Luz turns to greet her fans…..

And then her dream was cut short by the current nightmare called her life.

“Hey; hey get up; get up! You have chores to do!”

Luz wakes up and stretches as she gets out of the bed.

“I’m up; I’m up.”

“I want the kitchen and bathrooms cleaned within the hour; make sure you get the food prepped and set the table and place the hors d’oeuvres out. After that you need to get dressed and get ready to help with the guests.”

“Yes ma’am” Luz replies.

“And hurry up.”

Luz sighs as she stretches her arms and gets out of bed. She walks to the restroom and quickly showers.

After getting dressed; Luz heads upstairs to begin her daily chores and prepare for her aunt’s guests.

“Luz! Luz!” Aunt Patricia screams. “Hurry up! My party starts at 3pm this place is filthy! Get to work!”

“I’m here; please stop yelling.” Luz says as she grabs her cleaning bucket; fresh towels and her mop and broom.”

Now she had just dusted and cleaned the kitchen and bathroom as she had done every day and there was really not much to do; but in order to keep the peace Luz went over all of her hard work as if the place hadn’t been cleaned in months.

Starting with the restroom, she worked her way to the kitchen and living room spaces. She scrubbed the floors on her hands and knees until she could see her reflection in the wood. As she scrubbed, she drifted off into her own world thinking about what life would be like as in her dream.

“Lights, Camera, Action!” the director screamed.

“Quiet on set! And Action!” the PA screamed.

Luz walks into her scene

“Luz! Luz! What are you doing? Day dreaming? Hurry up! I told you I had guests coming at 3:00pm it’s 20 minutes to noon! This place better be spotless! Stupid girl always daydreaming! You’ll never be anything but a maid; if you weren’t my niece, I promise I would throw you out on the street. You may as well drop those dreams. They will never come true; you don’t have any talent; why do you think that someone is going to want to listen to a little orphan girl? No, they are going to boo you off of the stage. You may as well just forget about it and do what you are good at doing. Keeping a house.”

Luz holds her head down and keeps scrubbing. Holding back tears; she finishes the floors and heads to the dining room to set the table. She places the hors d’oeuvres out covers them and heads downstairs to get dressed to help with the guests.

Once in her room Luz drops to her knees and bursts into tears.

“Why am I going through this? Why do I have to live like this? Why does my aunt hate me so much? Where are my parents. I can’t keep living like this. I won’t make it. If anyone is up there listening... please help me. Please deliver me from this place of evil and disdain. I don’t know how much longer I can survive.”

Luz wipes her tears; takes a deep breath and puts out her server uniform to host her aunts party per usual. She starts her shower and puts her hair up. She had about two hours until the party started, and she just couldn’t wait for the day to be over.

“Okay Luz; pull yourself together. You got this it’s just like any other day; you get through it, and you can come back and dream.”

Luz drifts off as she is in the shower back to her dream.

“Luz! Luz that’s your que.”

“Oh right;” Luz chuckles; “my bad”

“Okay guys; let’s reset.” The director says.

Luz opens her mouth as a beautiful melody fell from her lips. The entire set was stunned.

“Luz! Luz! What are you doing?! Get out of that shower and stop that making all of that damn noise! You act like water is free; not like you have a job to help me with these bills! I don’t know why you keep trying to sing; you are going to end up just like your mother; always dreaming about how she was going to be the next big thing. And what happened to her? Who did you end up with? Me! Now I’m stuck with her twin thinking she is going to be a big superstar! Well guess what? That's never going to happen! You may as well keep dreaming! Now hurry up!”

Luz shuts off the shower and gets dressed. She puts her hair in pig tails and puts on her server outfit and heads up stairs.

The doorbell rang.

“It’s not even 3 yet.” Luz whispers; then sighs as she opens the door with a forced smile.

The band had arrived early to set up.

“Hello; welcome you can set up in the backyard right through those doors.” Luz points the band to their set up space.

“Thank you.” David the lead guitarist says as he stares into Luz’s eyes. Distracted by her beauty he stops in his tracks.

“Come on man; we need to set up. Irene will be here any moment and you know that Diva is always fashionably late” says John the bass guitarist.

“Yea; ummmm right… My bad.” David stammers as he extends his hand to greet Luz. "My name is David."

"Nice to meet you. Luz."

“Excuse us miss.” John says as he pushed David to the back for set up.

Luz blushes.

The band begins to set up.

Luz goes back to ensuring everything was prepped and ready to go for guests as they arrive.

“What do you mean she isn’t coming?” John asks.

“She is sick or something. IDK. All I know is she isn’t going to make it." David replied.

“Great; now we have no vocalist. I told you she wasn’t reliable when we met her; but no kid you just had to have her. We don’t even have enough time for a replacement. You know Patricia is going to blow a gasket when she finds out there will be no live music as her guests arrive.”

Luz can be heard softly singing in the kitchen as she is finishing her preparations.

“Shhhh, shhh, do you hear that? Wow. We need her.”

“Isn’t she the help? “John asks.

“I don’t care who she is. I’m going to go and ask her to sing with us. If she does well, she can be our new lead vocalist. I’m sure she is tired of doing whatever it is she is doing.”

David walks into the foyer and approaches Luz.

“Hey; how would you like to sing with us?” David asks.

“Oh…” Luz blushes. “I’m sorry was I being too loud.”

“Not at all; on the contrary. Look I’ll get to the point. Our lead vocalist isn’t going to be able to make it and we were hoping you would be able to fill in. And if you would accept, we would like for you to become our permanent lead vocalist. We are heading on tour soon and we need someone reliable. What do you say?”

Luz smiles as she drifts off into her own world imaging what it would be like to finally be living out her dreams.

“Hey, hey earth to Luz.” David snaps his fingers to gain Luz’s attention. “What do you say? There are going to be big names in the room and your voice needs to be showcased in front of the entire world. You don’t belong here waiting on anyone hand and foot. You are a gift. Think about it and let me know your decision. We have maybe about 45 minutes before guests begin to arrive.”

Luz stands there in utter shock; wanting to say yes but then thinking about her aunt and how furious she would be. But this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she wasn’t going to let this chance pass her by. She would deal with the consequences later.

"She has plenty of additional help; she doesn’t need me." Luz thinks to herself. She was so tired of her Aunt Patricia always trying to keep her locked up. It was time to break free from her cage and take the reins of her own life.

Luz runs to find David.

“Hey sorry about that back there. I accept your offer. I just need to go and change.”

“Change for what? You look fine. Let’s get on stage so we can begin rehearsal.”

Luz knew that her Aunt Patricia would be livid; but she no longer cared. Her prayers were being answered today; and she knew that faith without works was dead; so, she took the very first step and got on stage with the band to rehearse.

The party commenced in less than an hour and she wanted to stun everyone in attendance.

“Alright; the star has arrived!” David exclaimed.

Luz blushes.

“Luz are you ready?” asks John

“Ready!” Luz smiles

“Okay superstar! We’re following your lead.” David says.

Luz begins to harmonize, and the band follows. The band members look at one another in awe sweet melodies slip from Luz’s lips.

The clock strikes 3; Aunt Patricia comes running as the doorbell rings and guest begin to arrive.

“Luz! Maria! Martin! Who’s that other girl! Y’all in place? The guests have arrived!” Patricia yells.

Martin opens the door as he welcomes guests in.

In the back you can hear the sweet melodies from the band.

“Great; everything looks great! The band sounds amazing! Hello Richard, Stacey, Tom, Betty! Welcome! Welcome! Make yourselves at home.” Patricia says as she greets her guests.

The guests come in herds, so Patricia has no time to realize that Luz is with the band. After the door settles down a bit; Patricia makes her way to the towards the back. She grabs a glass of champagne and begins to mingle with her guests. The number of attendees turned out to be more than she expected.

“Thank you! Thank you for coming! Please help yourselves to whatever you like. My home is yours! Maria bring out more hors d’oeuvres and refill the champagne! Luz! Where is that darn girl!” Patricia rambles on.

As she reaches the entertainment, she notices how the crowd has gathered around the stage in awe. As Patricia approaches her smile turns into a frown.

“What does that girl think she is doing?” Luz grunts under her breath.

Patricia locks eyes with Luz but Luz is unbothered as she knows that her aunt will not make a scene in front of her guests. She continues with the show.

During the intermission, Luz and the band go over their next set as Patricia takes the stage.

“I just want to thank you all for sharing this momentous occasion with me. I hope you all are enjoying yourselves. Eat, drink and be merry!” Patricia finishes addressing the crowd and turns her back to them as she heads for Luz.

Patricia pulls Luz to the side as not to make a huge scene and reprimands her.

“And what do you think you are doing young lady? You are supposed to be serving the guests not up here singing and prancing around.” Patricia says as she grabs Luz’s arm.

David notices that Luz is uncomfortable and comes to intervene.

“Hey Ms. Patricia. How are you? Everything okay?” David asks as his eyes avert to Patricia’s tight grasp on Luz.

“Hey David; yes of course everything is okay.” Patricia says as she releases her grip. “Where is your vocalist?” she asks.

“Oh, she couldn’t make it, she is sick, so we asked this amazing young lady to take her place. We overheard her while she was finishing her set up and begged her to step in. We know how important the entertainment is for you and couldn’t disappoint you!” David said with a grin.

“Yes of course! Luckily my niece was here, wasn’t she?” Patricia snarls as she cuts her eyes at Luz.

Luz adverts her gaze and looks into David’s eyes for support.

“Well, she is doing a great job! We have offered her the permanent position of vocalist. We need someone reliable! Paid of course; all expenses included. She will be well taken care of!” David explains.

“Is that so?” Patricia snarls as she pierces through Luz’s head with her eyes.

Patricia knew she couldn’t make a scene and as much as she wanted to forbid her and send her to her dungeon, she knew that she could not stop the show. Some of the most important people from the city were in the room.

“Well; that is a great opportunity, isn’t it?” Patricia says forcing a smile. “And when does this tour begin?” Patricia asks.

“Oh, we have our first show tomorrow!” John chimes in.

“Oh, is that so? This is moving along quickly! I assume you all have a contract for her to sign. My lawyer is right over there we will have to look at it! Want to make sure my niece is getting everything she deserves.” Patricia snickers.

Luz rolls her eyes and walks away to prepare for the next set.

“Sure thing Ms. Patricia; hate to cut this short but we don’t want to keep the guests waiting.” David says with a forced smile.

He felt the tension and couldn’t wait to get away from the heaviness that was beginning to weigh on everyone.

He walked over to Luz; “hey are you okay?” he says as he consoles Luz.

“Yea I’m fine. I’m used to it. My Aunt never wants me to do anything; she keeps me locked in this house like I’m Cinderella; always telling me what I can’t and won’t do. Frankly, I’m tired of it, which is why I accepted your offer. I have been praying for an out from this hell hole. And it’s finally here. I wouldn’t miss this tour for the world. Thank you.” Luz says as she hugs David.

David embraces Luz for a moment longer before releasing her. They get lost into each other’s eyes.

“Okay, okay enough of this! Now let’s get back to it shall we!” Luz exclaims as he wipes the tears from her eyes.

Luz takes center stage.

“A one two, a one two, three!” the drummer yells as the show begins.

Luz could see the steam rising off Aunt Patricia’s head as she won over the room with her sweet serenade. The evening seemed to fall quickly upon the entertainers as they went into their final song.

“Thank you all so much for rocking with us this evening! Safe travels home!” Luz bowed as she addressed the crowd. The band came and everyone said farewell to their audience.

“Luz that as amazing; thank you so much for performing with us. You saved us!” John exclaimed.

“Now let’s get ready for this tour! We need to rehearse and go over what songs we will be performing. You may as well go pack your bag!” David shouted as he embraced Luz.

“Okay; okay just wait right here! I’m going to go grab a few essentials!” Luz screamed as she ran down to her room.

She grabbed her journal; pictures of her mom; a few clothes, her favorite blanket and ran back upstairs.

“Excuse me miss; my name is Tommy Davenport and I absolutely loved your performance. Have you ever thought about recording your music? I am a music producer and would love to help you with that if that is something you are interested in.” Tommy said.

Luz’s face lit up; she couldn’t believe all of this was happening so quickly.

“Are you… are you serious? Wow yes; I would love to record that would be a dream come true.” Luz stammers excitedly.

“Okay great! Take my card and when you are ready, we will get to work.” Tommy said as he handed Luz his card.

Aunt Patricia comes marching over trying to hide her disdain.

“Tommy hey; how are you? Did you enjoy yourself?” Patricia asked.

“Yes; I did. I was just speaking to this lovely young lady; she was amazing, wasn’t she? She just agreed to record with me. I can’t wait.” Tommy exclaimed.

“Is that so?” Patricia asked as she cut her eyes at Luz.

“It is. It’s going to be magical, and I can’t wait.” Tommy said.

“Well; my niece here is quite the package, isn’t she?” Patricia chimed in.

“Your niece?” Tommy asked surprisingly. “Why didn’t you tell me that your niece was such a great vocalist?”

“Oh well; you know how it is. She’s my niece, her mother was a singer as well. Music runs deep through our veins. Everything happens for a reason, doesn’t it? She was able to showcase her talent today because the bands lead vocalist fell sick. Speaking of which have you already reviewed the contract?” Patricia asked.

“We have it right here ma’am. Here you go Luz let us know what you think?” David says as he hands over the contract to Luz.

Luz reads through the short but through contract and loves everything that she sees. A smile crosses her face from ear to ear.

“OMG! Thank you so much! I’m so ready!” Luz exclaims as she quickly signs the contract before her aunt could snatch it out of her hands.”

“Don’t you want the lawyer to look over it?” Patricia asked.

“No Auntie everything looks good to me! Tommy; I’m going to call you as soon as we get off of tour.” Luz exclaimed.

She looks at her Aunt Patricia walks up to her and gives her a huge hug.

“I’ll see you soon! “Luz says as she picks up her bag and heads towards the door.

“Luz! Luz! Now that the tour has ended, what’s next?” The reporter says as she shoves the microphone in Luz’s face.

“Luz! Luz! This way! Everyone is claiming that you are the hottest vocalist to hit the scene in a long time! How does it feel to be on top of the world!” Reporter number two shouts as he shoves the microphone in her face.

“Alright guys that’s enough; let’s give the lady some space!” the bands bodyguard says as he shoves through the crowd making a way for Luz and the fellas to get into the limousine.

Luz looked out of her window and for the first time in a very long time; she felt her mom’s presence glimmering down on her. She knew this was only the beginning and couldn’t wait for what was to come next. The dreams she would dream every night in the basement of her aunt’s home were finally coming into fruition. And she knew there was so much more to come.

She locked eyes with David; he grabbed her hand and they both waved to their fans as they drove away.