Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer

fast as I could think them. All at once, a calm slowly draped over me like a
protective cape, and I began to relax, letting my shoulders gently slide
down the concrete. The words “Have faith…. Thy will be done,” seeped
into my mind.
Jarring me out of my paralysis, I heard Panti’s raspy voice. “I’m
enchanting this stone for you, Rosita, asking the Spirits to show you in a
dream how you are to use it, read it, and care for it. A sastun demands much
attention, you know.”
“I know, Don Elijio, that’s what I’m afraid of,” I mumbled.
“Afraid? Are you really, my daughter? Why?”
“Because I don’t think I can do what you do, papá.”
He waved away my objections. “Don’t think about all that. Day by day.
Step by step, Rosita. You’ve already learned so much. I always tell people
how quickly you learn. What would happen to me and my art were it not for
you, child? Just think of that.”
I had thought of that, and the concept now seemed overwhelming. “The
Spirits frighten me a little. Should I be afraid of them?”
“No, no. They are good friends, very gentle, wise, and loving,” he told
me. “Have no fear, I know them well. They can be mischievous, but never
intentionally harmful.”
Then the old man said, “You’ll be meeting the Spirits tonight.”