Zia

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism and child abuse.

Zia, a 14-year-old Nicoleño girl, lives with her younger brother Mando in the Santa Barbara Mission in California. The two often spend their mornings on the beach, gathering blue clams and bringing them back to the Mission to cook soup. One morning, the siblings discover a stranded boat on the shore with the faded sign, Boston B Y, imprinted on its side. Mando suggests they cannot take it to the Mission because someone might steal it. He says they should hide it in the San Felipe lagoon. The two siblings float the boat to the lagoon and find what Zia characterizes as a “haunted cave.” They recall scary tales about the lagoon and the cave, which is believed to be home to bats and a large snake. The children hide the boat in the cave and return to the Mission.

Following the church service, Zia goes to Father Vicente for a confession. Zia considers Father Vicente a kind man, and the two get along well. Zia discusses finding the boat. Father Vicente says it belongs to Boston Boy, a whaler that hunts beyond Santa Rosa Island.