Mrs. Death “The Godmother”

Once upon a time, there was a woman who wanted to have a godmother. However, she did not want every godmother, she wanted Mrs. Death (figure 1). This woman wanted to know her destiny and was sure Mrs. Death could help her.

Figure 1. Mrs. Death.

One day the woman went to visit Mrs. Death’s cabin. She was not there that day, but the woman still entered her cabin. She would wait inside.

Several minutes later, she started roaming around and noticed thousands of black candles. Each of them had an imprinted theme. A tiny one had her name imprinted, María Flores. After she read her name, she had a premonition: "She would die of a rare disease soon."

She was shocked because she did not have any notable disease. She was a healthy woman!

Suddenly, Mrs. Death appeared silently from behind and gave her an ointment. She also gave her precise orders on how to use it, "Use this ointment on your feet but be careful you should not smear on it your head. This can cure you of that rare disease, and you can also use it to cure other ill people."

The woman could not believe what she heard, but she just asked, "Why are there so many black candles in your cabin? And the tiny ones I felt are related that someone is going to die like me!"

Mrs. Death answered, "Everything has a beginning and an ending, my dear. If you light a candle too fast, it can burn you or blow out extremely fast. Always be careful with what you do or wish. Take care of your back and be careful with your actions."

Inspired by Serbelio Vásquez’s version collected by Ennis Arely Arevalo Girón, Lissette Amelia Gutierrez Paz, and Karen Liseth Mancia Bonilla in their thesis Cultura Popular de Guatajiagua.

Location: Guatajiagua, El Salvador

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