The second installment of Strange Horizons’ reading of “Santos de Sampaguitas” by Alyssa Wong arrived this week and it’s just as rewarding as the first. As a whole, the story is a beautiful, heartbreaking piece of magic realism.
“She is a Reyes girl, from my line. I am not the only god in the region. And Manila is an amalgamation of many peoples from many regions. For the first time, the dead god sounds contemptuous. Perhaps you fancy yourself special, Christina Maria Reyes. But there are plenty of other witch-families that would love to stamp you—and me, with you—out completely, and they are much more powerful than an uninitiated girl-child and a stray god without a disciple. It breathes its fetid odor into my face. Maybe I have been too lax on you and have not emphasized the danger your family is in. The danger that you brought into this house!”