No one had ever handed them anything. They had been realists and strategists, and they were determined that they would continue to be. Each year, they knew, there would be more to add to their tale. All Nahua peoples were proud of the enduring life of their altepetl, the water-mountain, the community that outlived all individuals. Like Shield Flower, though, the Mexica exhibited an added panache in their pride. They weren’t merely poised between the days that were gone and the days yet to come: they beckoned to the future.
