Standing in the entrance hall of the Kartheca, I watch as Valeria continues to pace back and forth as the creases on her forehead begin to permanently set in. I can feel the agitation rising inside her the longer we wait. I know being here is unpleasant for her. I did tell her she didn’t have to come, but she made it clear that wasn’t an option. As she begins her umpteenth trip from one side of the room to the other, I pull on my magic and fan my fingers out causing her feet to get stuck to the marble floor of the hallway. “¡No mames!” She exclaims nearly toppling forward and assessing her feet. She looks up at me and narrows her eyes then proceeds to throw some very colourful Mexican swear words at me, some I can’t even translate. Something about a donkey? I’ll have to get a translation

