![]() ![]() While they worked, Leo helped out by passing her supplies and made corny jokes to keep her spirits up. Esperanza was making a prototype for a drill bit, and if she sold the patent, they would finally get a break. One night, when Leo was eight, Esperanza and Leo were working late at night. In kindergarten, he was taught how to sign his name. He once got in trouble after turning a cross-section kidney and some skeleton legs into a kidney monster, and scared the school nurse. In The Blood of Olympus, Leo recalled how he used to play with plastic organ models as a kid. Rosa would force him to stay for the picnic, as if eating with dead people would fix his appetite. During Día de los Muertos, his Aunt Rosa took it seriously and dragged him to the local cemetery in Houston, where they would clean their relatives' graves and leave offerings of lemonade, cookies, and marigolds. Leo had a cousin who bullied him, named Raphael, and a mean third grade teacher named Mr. They would also have special Friday night dinners of shrimp and catfish from a local seafood restaurant in Houston. ![]() By the time Leo was eight, he spent every spare minute at the shop, knew how to use the machines, and could do math better than most adults, solving mechanical problems in his head. She consistently told him that he would someday meet his father, but would not answer questions about him. His mom worked at her machine shop since no one would hire her, providing for the both of them. It took years for him to realize not everyone spoke that way. Esperanza would switch between English and Spanish when she talked to him, and made him bilingual. She taught him Morse code, and they would communicate simple things with it, tapping messages on the walls. She told him to never use fire again until he met his father, and when he did, he would explain everything. After the visit, Esperanza had a talk with him and said she couldn't come back again, and that he wasn't ready to be a hero. ![]() The fire left his handprints in the table, leaving the people in his apartment complex to wonder for years how he did it. A few minutes later, Esperanza came out and shrieked when she saw him sitting in the middle of a fire, with his hands burning the picnic table, and the crayons melted into goo. She then told him to make a fire to warm her old bones. Tía told him that it wasn't time yet to be a hero, and that he would find his destiny, but first he had to face many sorrows. When he was about to sign his name, it flew away. As she sang songs, Leo drew the boat he'd dreamed about- what would become the Argo II- with crayons. She brought him paper and crayons, and sat at a picnic table under a pecan tree while Leo drew. The last time Tía Callida watched him was when he was five. He didn't poke the snake as it didn't seem fair, and it disappeared into the grass. When he was four, she found him a rattlesnake from a cow pasture, gave him a stick, and told him to poke it to show that he was brave, and that the Fates were right to choose him. Tía continued to show up at his house, and when he was three, she let him play with knives, saying that he needed to learn his blades early if he wanted to be her hero someday. When Esperanza came home, she was furious, went to take Leo from the flames, and yelled, "How could you?", but Tía had disappeared. He didn't know what the language was at the time. He dreamed of being on a boat made of fire, and Tía sang him lullabies as he slept, in Greek. He remembered sleeping comfortably and grabbing at sparks. She nestled him in blankets and laid him in what Leo thought were red and yellow pillows, but realized later was actually a fireplace. Leo was about two when Tía Callida decided to lay Leo down for a nap and said she wanted to see if he was her brave little hero. He gave his great-grandson his blessing and said Leo was special, just like Hazel. He told him to apologize on his behalf for selling the diamond and that the diamond came with a curse: she never saw her again. He then told Leo to tell Hazel that he was sorry, and told him to help her. He told his great-grandson that a woman named Doña Callida had warned Hazel's danger would not happen in his lifetime, but he'd promised he would be there for her. Sammy told him about Hazel, and said he would not live to see her again. Sammy was overjoyed to see Leo and held him, chuckling and tickling his chin. When Leo was just a baby, his mother took him to see his bisabuelo (great-grandfather), Sammy Valdez. He is the first child born of Hephaestus to be able to control fire in centuries. Unlike most of his half-siblings, Leo has the rare ability to control fire. Leo was born in Houston, Texas, to the mechanic Esperanza Valdez, and the blacksmith god Hephaestus.
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