Trip of Memories

The sound of announcements echoed through the dense and noisy air. Spanish and English overlapped, blending with the creak of suitcases, hurried footsteps, and the mingled scent of coffee and perfume that lingered in the air.

Like a heart that never stops beating, Mexico City International Airport was always bustling with life. People passed by endlessly, every single minute.

From the arrival gate, a young man with messy black hair walked out carrying a large backpack and a small bag with a camera slung over his shoulder. Beside him, a pretty little girl twirled around like a bird freshly freed from its cage.

“So this is Mexico,” the girl murmured in awe. “I thought it would be dustier.”

The young man smiled faintly, lowering his sunglasses. “You’ve watched too many cowboy movies, Lia.”

“Yes, yes, I know. You don’t have to remind me, Brother. I’m mature enough not to judge a country from its movies.”

The young man stroked his chin. “Hm… during summer break… who was it again who packed a bag full of survival gear because she thought Indonesia was nothing but jungle without modern civilization?”

“Don’t remind me!” Lia’s cheeks puffed out like a squirrel storing food in its mouth.

The young man burst into laughter, and that was when his little sister started pounding his broad chest playfully with her small hands.

“Brother Ren, you’re annoying! Annoying! Annoying!”

“Alright, alright. Let’s go find an inn, Lia.”

Lia turned her face away, cheeks still puffed. “Then… lead the way, my dear brother.” She extended her hand like a princess.

“You’re still acting like a child, even though you’re already in high school.”

Despite saying so, Ren still took her hand as though a prince guiding a spoiled princess.

The little princess smiled at last, and they hurried toward the exit gate to find a taxi.

Not far from the airport’s exit, rows of souvenir vendors stood neatly, offering trinkets from their stalls. Their enthusiastic shouts blended with the music of mariachi that echoed along the street they walked through.

For outsiders like them, everything felt foreign yet beautiful.

Ren inhaled deeply, letting the variety of scents fill his chest that longed for adventure. As a vlogger who loved visiting ancient sites and foreign countries, he always admired the warmth of people from distant lands.

Without realizing it, he had already taken out his camera and started recording everything around him.

Meanwhile, Lia suddenly stopped in front of a small stall and stared at a line of colorful wooden masks. One of them had a skull face, with a carving of the sun’s eye on its forehead.

“This one’s cool. Look, Brother. They say this symbol belongs to the Aztec Rain God.”

Ren lifted his camera and recorded the mask briefly. “Tlaloc,” he answered without looking. “He is the rain god who demanded the sacrifice of human hearts in exchange for rain throughout the year for the Aztec people.”

“That’s such a creepy explanation,” Lia huffed, folding her arms. “You always make interesting things sound scary.”

“Because that’s how the mythology goes,” Ren chuckled softly. “That’s what makes it fascinating. Those fantastic, unexpected tales people once believed as symbols of their faith.”

“You really love mythology, don’t you,” Lia muttered, frowning.

Ren smiled and shrugged.

After passing through the crowded market, they finally reached the taxi stand. Dozens of cabs lined up neatly there.

They booked one, and after a short conversation, the driver took them to a modest inn in the San Juan Teotihuacán area. The place was very close to the ancient pyramid complex that Ren planned to explore for his new vlog.

The trip took about an hour, passing rows of brick houses and cactus fields stretching into the distance.

As the car drove along a narrow sandy road, Lia pressed her face against the window, admiring the murals on the walls.

Some depicted jaguar-masked gods, and one painting showed a woman in a white dress standing beside a red river.

She stared at it for a long time, not knowing why the painting made her want to look back.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ren asked, glancing at her.

Lia nodded, though her expression changed slightly. “Beautiful… but kind of sad.”

The driver chuckled softly. “That painting is La Llorona.”

“La Llorona?” Ren turned to the driver, eyes widening. “You mean the spirit woman who’s said to cry by the river?”

“Yes,” the driver replied enthusiastically, adjusting his mirror toward them. “They say the artist who painted it once met La Llorona herself, crying by the river. He was lucky she didn’t take him away.”

“A g-ghost?!” Lia moved closer, clutching Ren’s arm tightly, her face turning pale.

“It’s alright. That’s just superstition. Don’t worry, little girl,” said the driver kindly, seeing Lia’s frightened reflection in the rearview mirror.

His sister had always been a coward when it came to ghost stories. Realizing this, Ren gently patted her head to calm her down.

The sun was almost setting when they arrived at the inn.

The sky burned orange, and from afar, the great pyramid rose like the shadow of a god resting at the edge of dusk. The sight made Ren’s excitement grow stronger. He gripped the small bag containing his vlogging gear.

“Tomorrow morning, we’ll go there,” he murmured, smiling toward the distance.

“Yes, yes. Now let’s go in and rest. Aren’t you tired after the long trip?”

Ren nodded.

They went inside and booked a room. After getting the key, they hurried upstairs to the second floor. The room was spacious enough, with two beds and a private bathroom.

As soon as they entered, Lia threw herself onto the bed. “You know, Brother… sometimes I wonder if people in the past really believed that gods lived in pyramids.”

Ren paused, then looked at his silent camera that reflected his own face. “Believe it or not… maybe to them, the gods were real.”

“Oh, hey, don’t sleep yet, Lia.”

Lia tilted her head.

Ren glanced at the wall clock. The short hand pointed to six, and the long one to three.

He had heard that near their inn, there was a beach quite lively at night. He decided to invite his sister, who loved the sea, to visit it for a while.

Lia agreed eagerly. She changed into a light white dress matching her pale skin. A lace hat sat upon her head, and she was ready to go with her brother.

“You seem so energetic. I thought you were tired.”

“The word ‘beach’ revived me. Now let’s go, Brother.” Lia pulled his hand with enthusiasm, though he hadn’t changed his clothes yet.

“Let me change first.”

Lia nodded and waited patiently.

After putting on more casual clothes, Ren and Lia left the inn. With help from the locals and Google Maps, they finally reached the beach they were looking for.

As rumored, the beach was bright with the glow of lanterns like a sea of stars revealing the veil of night. Food stalls lined the shore, and people wandered across the fine sand that tickled their bare feet.

Lia asked her brother to take a video.

Ren smiled faintly and nodded. He knew his sister was an influencer with many followers. She loved sharing glimpses of her life on social media. Occasionally, he was the one helping her record and edit her videos.

“Camera... Action!”

“Oh, is it on already?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll edit it later.”

After posing briefly and greeting the camera, Lia walked to the stalls to buy and try various local snacks.

Elote (grilled corn) in her left hand. Nopales Asados (grilled cactus) in her right. She also bought a single portion of tacos with seafood filling. Before the still-recording camera, Lia smiled brightly as she reviewed the food.

When they finished recording, they sat together on the quiet part of the beach. Only the sound of waves and the night wind composed a natural symphony around them. The moon and stars hung silently, as if gazing back at the two of them.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is. Nature always knows how to display its art to those who pause to see.”

As they admired the night painted by nature, the cold wind brushed against Lia’s thin skin, making her shiver.

Ren chuckled. “Seems like nature also knows when to tell a child it’s bedtime.”

“Ugh… I’m not a child. I’m fifteen.”

Ren shrugged. “Let’s go back. It’s late.”

Lia nodded.

After turning off the camera and ending the recording, they walked back to the inn. They chose to walk since it wasn’t too far, and it gave them a little more time to enjoy the night.

That night, once they returned, Lia fell asleep instantly. Ren, however, sat by the small table near the window, checking each video he had recorded since they landed.

Footage of the market, the masks, the murals, and even the beach all looked normal. But amid the clips, one thing stood out.

When the camera had captured the seashore, a faint sound of crying could be heard, hidden beneath the crashing waves.

“What does that mean?”

He replayed the clip, but the crying was gone. Even after trying several times, focusing hard, he couldn’t find the sound again.

Ren removed his earphones and sighed deeply.

He looked back at the camera’s screen. “What was that sound I just heard?”

While scrolling through the photos, his eyes widened. In the corner of one picture, the faint silhouette of a woman in a white dress appeared. Her long hair flowed down, and her gaze seemed to be fixed on them.

Ren froze, almost dropping the camera.

After calming himself, he picked it up again. But the woman’s silhouette had vanished. He could swear he saw her with his own eyes.

He sat still for a while, trying to make sense of it, before shaking his head slowly.

“Maybe I’m just tired... Yeah... I should sleep.”