Entry #3

This has been written, and it will be written over, and over, and over again. I have seen this story a dozen times. Infecting the walls, rendering her knuckles useless, fingernails split and inky, and her eyes so filled with tears. She never speaks, she just keeps… writing.

Adan!


We left once Father Alvarelo had finished his smoke, and the friendly deacon saw us all the way through to the border of the port. There were horses Father Alvarelo had waiting for us in the stable since the previous day, and I learned how to ride one for the first time! The Father was very patient. Now, Adan, I do not think I could take off at a heroic gallop any time soon, but I can make the horse walk, and even lead it into a trot.

A stone road tapered into the jungle beyond, shrouded by the sharp shade cast by a high noon sun over a lush canopy. While we left the port I was seized with a sudden memory of our childhood, Adan. We were playing in the woods. You were hiding, and I was seeking, and I could not find you. You played a nasty trick on me, you and your friends. I thought we were playing a game and you ran off.

I remember being so alone, and I was scared. I thought I heard you giggling in the bushes, under the roots, and behind the trees. I thought I heard your friends too. When I wandered back into our parents’ yard later, I had been lost for two hours. Your friends had gone home - too afraid to get in trouble - and you grabbed me. You embraced me so tightly, and you were so sorry. I had forgiven you, I just could never forgive myself for losing my way so quickly.

“Enchanting,” Father Alvarelo’s voice brought me back. “Just enchanting.”

The dark memory was left behind me as I took in this forest, unlike any I had ever seen. Trees reached to the sun, whose rays could barely muscle past the wide leaves and the woven black branches. What light could be spared came through in smooth yellow beams that kissed the ground. All around me the bugs were buzzing, and beyond the stone path there was movement in the jungle that was ceaseless. Whether this was the wind or a creature I could not yet identify was beyond me, and I did not know. The heat was forgotten, as well as the fact that my legs were burning from the uphill climb Carmen, myself, and Father Alvarelo were tackling.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” I breathed.

Carmen was anxious, her head constantly whipping this and that way about her shoulders. “I feel like we are being watched.”

“We probably are,” Father Alvarelo chuckled, and shooed a grape sized fly off his horse's neck. “There are numerous creatures in these woods.”

“Are they… dangerous?” Carmen hazarded.

“Oh, well, some of them,” he looked back to find us both amazed and slack jawed. He winked, and moved on. Carmen and I were left exchanging a glance, only to race after him. A blur of questions were chomping at our lips, begging to inquire him: what creatures? What did they look like? When was this? Were you hurt?

Our would-be questions were silenced and swallowed. The stone path was fainter here, and had drawn off through a thicket. Father Alvarelo led us I into a clearing filled with huts, all sitting in the blue shadow of a mission sitting further up on a hill. The huts were odd, they were stone, but the roofing was made of reeds and ceramics, not thatches I am so accustomed to back in Seville. There were only a few of these abodes, each boasting inhabitants dressed in loin cloths, ponchos, and occasionally in a Spanish leather cuirass or robe. Their faces were pierced with gold studs and loops, their expressions curious and fixated on us. There were women seated outside these peculiar homes as well. They had long black hair, and they were beading jewelry in their laps, and some were bouncing wide-eyed babies on their knees.

“Is this the Tairona village we heard so much about?” I asked.

“This?” Father Alvarelo echoed. “No, these are a few volunteers from the village. They helped us build this mission. They help us maintain it as well. You’ll never find a more devoted congregation.”

A couple men passed us, as if on cue, and smiled at Father Alvarelo while they lifted a casual wave. They tipped their hats to us as well. We continued through this tiny gathering of huts, and climbed a dusty path to the top of the hill where the mission was waiting for us.

A timber perimeter enclosed the mission. Two Tairona boys rushed up to us from the courtyard, and Father Alvarelo hopped down to greet them, slipping them each a piece of candy. The boys spoke excitedly, and tugged on Father Alvarelo’s pockets before they were chided by a much bigger man from the stable. I could not understand him, but his words sounded like a song… an angry song, that made the boys leap into action. They were very insistent that we dismount. They waved their arms at themselves, crying: "Down! Down!" We descended from our saddles clumsily. Carmen managed fine, but my heel caught the stirrup oddly and I stumbled. Father Alvarelo caught me, his fingers wrapped around my arms to steady me. The horses were drawn away to the stable by the boys, one of them tugging on two sets of reigns, the other stifling a giggle at the Father and myself.

"Easy, easy,” he withdrew once he was sure I had my balance, and turned to Carmen who was marveling at the church. “Carmen is hypnotized,” he remarked.

“How long did it take to build this?” Carmen asked, her gaze fixated on the church.

“Not long,” Father Alvarelo made his way up the steps of the simple wooden church. “We are trying to reinforce the walls, lately the storms have been wanting in as much as the congregants. Please, come inside!”