by Will Forest
I pulled a rebel strand of hair back behind my ear, feeling proud. “Just a few centuries late, no?”
It was the dawn after the next full moon, the morning of 6-Death, 1-Crocodile, 10-Reed [August 26, 1515]. Bark Shield and Jade Flower had paddled down the Tecolutla River to meet Pilli at its mouth, as arranged. It was a very misty morning, but they finally found him on the beach with a fisherman preparing a boat for travel.
They embraced, and Pilli said to them, “My friends, I thank you for this welcome.”
“Welcome?” asked Jade Flower. “But it is plain that you are leaving.”
“I leave, this is true. But you have brought to me your homes—your bodies—and it is a welcoming, a homecoming.”
The fisherman called to Pilli in a strange tongue, and Pilli replied in the same.
“He is Maya,” said Bark Shield. “You travel south.”
“I go to the homes that speak with Mayan tongues, and from there I will seek passage further south.”
Bark Shield considered this, and spoke, “It is said that beyond the Maya lies a land of gold.”
“If it is a land of gold metal I cannot say,” said Pilli, “but I have heard what shines there is the gold of the bees. And I am sure the gold of the sun shines there as well, where it must make glow the skin of my Precious Flower, Xochiquetzal. The bloom that throbs in me will also be the Queen of her Lake.”
“Take this before you go,” said Bark Shield, and he gave to Pilli a bundle of cacao beans, wrapped in a cloth marked with a symbol of five butterflies.
“From our patroness,” said Pilli.
Bark Shield affirmed this. “To pay your transport. Five Butterflies guessed you would travel. She also paid to release us from prison. On the day you left, Jade Flower and I—and a score more—we were marched back to Xalapa and jailed for twenty days.”
Pilli smiled. “You are braver than I, and yet I ask you again to be brave.”
“We cannot return to Xalapa,” said Bark Shield.
“Stay in Cempoala,” Pilli told him. “There you will find what you need to tell our story. Make the codex, Bark Shield. Tell the root, the truth, of our story. Paint the figures unclothed, uncovered to the world as we stand here in the rising sun. Take from the fog, if you must. Look—only the fog coats us, a convenient but thin cloak. But even now it lifts, and soon the light of truth will pierce through once more.”
Then Pilli addressed both Bark Shield and Jade Flower: “Keep the knowledge of the necklace for bringing youth from the glowing water. Make a family together, and raise your children to be at home in their bodies, to take good care of their homes and to feed their humming hearths properly.”
They embraced again, and the embrace was a throbbing, blooming home for three.
Some while later, the fog was gone, and Pilli’s eagle could be seen circling above them. Pilli and the fisherman pushed the boat into the waves, and soon they were one with the rising sun.
It had taken a couple hours for me to draft the translation, so in the meantime Zé had dragged Filo and Bill back into the museum with detailed questions about the collection. When they returned and read the final chapter, Zé was very pleased. “This is promising! Wait, where is the Tecolutla River?”
“Here in Veracruz,” said Filo. “It meets the sea in the little tourist town of the same name.”
Zé’s face lit up. “He left into the Gulf, then, and he went south! He went to find gold!”
“Not necessarily to find gold,” I said. “Doesn’t it seem to you he spelled out a couple different metaphors for gold there?”
“And also the fog as a metaphor for the wax layer,” added Bill. “Ingenious, really. Absolutely unique.”
“But you can’t deny that Sun Prince confirmed Bark Shield’s guess—he was going south!” Zé was ecstatic. “And Palafox mentioned a necklace from Brazil that is similar...”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is this related to what you were telling me about yesterday?”
My former teacher cleared her throat, as she always used to do in class before highlighting a main point. “It’s very important,” she said, “to allow room for the particular expressions of local symbolism and individual artistic motivation before attempting to prove some kind of cultural influence. Or, perhaps you have a hidden agenda?”
It was as if I had been transported back to class with profesora Filo, and I quickly remembered her lecturing one day about the newly arrived European Catholics, in the sixteenth century, who would find, every so often, a cross carved into some stone somewhere in the Americas. They would then claim that the cross was proof that the apostle Thomas, rumored to have traveled to “India” after the death of Jesus, had brought the gospel to the “Indians” centuries earlier! Some priests relied on the arrival of Saint Thomas in the New World as an excuse to justify abhorrent treatment of the indigenous peoples, on the ridiculous grounds that they must have already heard the word of God from Saint Thomas, but had rejected it to worship their idols. Whether these priests actually believed the story is anyone’s guess.
“Let me be clear,” Zé was saying. “It’s true that I have been keeping my agenda hidden from you, but I’m ready to reveal it to you right now. In fact, I have already shared it with Marisol. Estimada doutora Filo, estimado doutor Bill, what we are going to do with this information is nothing less than save the Amazon.”
Filo looked at me and shook her head. “Está loco.”
And even when Zé had finished telling her and Bill the story about his brother and the plot of land in Amazonas state, and something about a Sun Prince, Filo did not look very convinced. But she soon brightened up at Zé’s generous proposition:
“Filo... mena, I need your help as much as Marisol’s. And Bill—you, too. Will you please accompany us to Brazil? I’ll cover all expenses, of course.”
And that became the first time I left my home country, with Zé, on my own decision. But that time, I was very glad to go. I looked forward to traveling with Filo, who could simply leave town a little early for the Holy Week break coming up the next weekend. I felt like we were all contributing, if not to save the Amazon, then at least to recover and analyze precious manifestations of native cultures. And most importantly, I knew I was free to go, or not go, as I chose. I had grown to appreciate Zé enough to know that I wanted to go freely.
Chapter 14: Dress to Impress
But we still had to meet my mamá for dinner. Jota drove Bill, Filo, Zé and me through the soft rain to El Itacate, a restaurant featuring regional cuisine. Mamá was already there, and she surprised me with her new look—her hair was cut short in a bob, and she was wearing a floral-print dress I hadn’t seen before. She didn’t know anyone in our group except Filo, and I could tell she was apprehensive as I made introductions all around.
Zé and I had decided that our mothers should each have the same information—no more, no less. Dora knew only that I had agreed to help Zé with some project, but my mamá is the one we had to disabuse of her notion that we had eloped. I had warned Zé that my mamá was much more conservative than his mamãe.
“Hija, entonces… ¿ya estás casada?” she whispered to me, looking at my ring finger, as soon as we sat down.
“Mamá, do you really think I would do that? No, I’m not married,” I whispered back, and then I spoke at a regular volume, choosing my words carefully. “I met Zé at the Palafoxiana, and he took me to participate in a special recovery and translation project that Friar Francisco entrusted to us.”
I looked at Zé with a smile and raised eyebrows, prompting him to chime in. He swallowed hard. “Señora, doña Silvia, I, uh… I apologize for how abrupt this has been. What with the friar’s untimely death…”
My face changed instantly. I shot him a scowl for even thinking about blaming any of this on poor Friar Francisco’s death.
“Uhm… Your daughter, well…” he continued, “she has very special tongue skills that have been very gratifying…”
By that point
I was shaking my head vigorously.
“I mean!… She knows several tongues, and I am very grateful for her abilities in Nahuatl. If it were not for her help, we would not have understood that Sun Prince, who was a nudist heretic… I mean, who nakedly dared to question official Aztec beliefs, had developed certain ideas about social nud… about social networks, which he may have taken to South America.”
I didn’t know whether I was more concerned or more amused by how red Zé’s face had become when he finished this awful summary.
“If I may, señora,” began Bill, “it turns out that Don Juan de Palafox left three items to be hidden in the library that was eventually built in his name: a codex, its narrative, and a necklace. Filo here, and Zé, and, well, I’ve helped a little but Marisol more than any of us with her translations… we’ve been able to understand, better than Palafox himself, the relationship among the things he left.”
“For the most part,” interjected Filo.
“Yes, that’s right,” Bill went on, “for the most part. And what they seem to indicate is that this man, Sun Prince, was an unorthodox spiritual leader who left this area for lands to the south.”
“But we don’t know how far south,” said Filo.
Zé, recomposed, jumped back in. “And so, señora, I am trying to see if this spiritual leader is the same man, also named Sun Prince, who showed up in what is now northern Brazil some years later. This information will be key to stopping some very harmful land development that is about to happen in the Amazon.”
My mamá, blinking violently as she took this all in, turned to me. “Hija, todavía no entiendo porque te fuiste tan de repente. Why did you have to leave so quickly?”
“Es un caso urgente, mamá,” I said. “Zé’s brother is the one who’s looking at buying this land in the Amazon. The property title research turned up information about a ‘Sun Prince.’ We need to let Zé’s family know if there is something about this land that is of historical significance, before it gets turned over to developers.”
A waiter brought the toritos de nanche, a regional fruit liqueur, which Bill had already ordered for all of us. Zé threw me an enthusiastic wink and raised his cup in a toast.
“To Friar Francisco, who found illumination in the life of Sun Prince, and who brought us all together to finish his story. May he rest in peace.”
This was indeed very nicely done, I thought, and almost made up for Zé’s previous nervousness. We all toasted, and then my mamá filled us in on the details of Friar Francisco’s wake and mass.
As we were enjoying our hearty comida of skirt steak fajitas with smoky ancho chili tortilla soup and rice, I eased my mamá into the understanding that I was leaving again.
“Mamá,” I asked her with lowered voice, “did you get this new vestido just for today?”
“Yes. I wanted to dress to impress.”
“But he’s never met you before. You could have worn any of your dresses.”
“You don’t have to make such a big deal out of it! I love to try new clothes, you know that. Y mira quien habla. You’re wearing a new outfit, too. Did you go to Galleria Dallas?”
“No. Zé got it for me. But, ¿sabes? I’m starting to think of clothes as… you know, just cloth you put on your body… cuando tienes frío… or to protect from the sun.”
“Qué interesante. Well, he knows your size. Hmmm… Muy especial. Must be nice to have someone who knows your size and style buy clothes for you.”
“De acuerdo. Okay, I’ll bring you back a dress or two from Brazil.”
This helped assuage her feeling of loss, at least a little bit. She also felt better knowing that Filo would be going with us.
But then Filo brought up something important we hadn’t considered. “What if we need the necklace?” she asked. “Just in case. I mean, we can’t bring it—es un artefacto de muchísimo valor. But I know someone who can make a good replica in a day or two.”
“We should also make copies of the documents,” added Bill. “I’ll accompany you, Filo. We can catch up with these guys in a couple days,” he said, pointing at Zé, Jota, and me.
We all agreed to this, and Zé, between bites of flan, started discussing itineraries with Jota.
When we left the restaurant, my mother and I were headed in different directions. She invited me to go with her to stay with her sister, my Tía Elena, but I told her Zé had already arranged for a separate room for me at the posada where we would stay the night.
She took my hands in hers and looked me in the eyes. “Marisol, pero, ¿te quieres casar con él? Es guapo, listo, emprendedor… y yo creo que te quiere y te respeta.”
I could see why she thought I might want to marry Zé. After all, I agreed with her that he was handsome, smart, enterprising, and that he seemed to love and respect me.
“No sé, mamá, and I won’t know until I see how we get along on this trip. I met him in a… kind of abrupt way. I like him, but he’s got an intense rivalry going with his older brother, and I want to know how he treats his family.”
My mamá sighed and pulled me into an embrace. “Ah, you’ve always been so... logical. Just like your papá.” She crossed herself and then added, “Cuídate mucho, hija. Let me know how it goes.”
“Sí, mamá. Te quiero.”
“Ay, te quiero mucho, mi niña que ya no eres una niña.”
***
After Zé, Jota, and I had gone to our lodgings at the quaint, verdant Posada La Mariquinta, I tried to convince Zé that we should also stay in Xalapa another day or two so we could visit some of the places mentioned in Sun Prince’s story, like the waterfall at Texolo, or the Pyramid of the Niches at El Tajín, which is where I think they were in the episode at the ruins. Neither of these is all that far from Xalapa. But he responded with bad news.
“I didn’t tell you earlier, but my brother called while I was out getting our food this afternoon. He now has title to the land. Well, it’s not in his name—I mean the title is now in the family company’s name. He told me he’s already lined up a surveying team, and they’re going out there soon to decide how to proceed.”
“Proceed with what?”
“Development. There’s already a little ecotourism lodge on the land. He could choose to preserve that, to develop it sustainably. But that’s what I would do, not Pedro. What he probably wants to do is drill for oil, which the property apparently has. Or he might turn right around and resell to some other energy developer he says is interested in the land, too. This is awful, Marisol. Chega! I’ve had enough. I don’t want my family to have anything to do with Amazon rainforest devastation.”
“I understand,” I said, and put my hand softly on his arm. “Have you told him anything about what we’ve found out? About the codex and narrative?”
“No, I don’t want him to have that information. At least, not yet.” He looked at me with a resigned smile. “This is all to say, thanks for your patience. I’d love to stay here too for a few days, with Filo and Bill, and we could do a Sun Prince tour! But we will have to come back and do it some other time. I feel strongly that the information we have on Sun Prince means that we need to act now. And I’ve got to see what’s in that report my brother commissioned. What if this whole business of a lake of youth, or something like that—what if that’s on this land? I don’t believe it’s magic, but whatever understanding the indigenous peoples had of it, it’s got to be preserved! As you told your mamá so convincingly, this is an urgent situation.”
“Let’s go save the Amazon!” I rallied as heartily as I could.
Zé looked wistful. “Can you believe what happened to Bill?”
I laughed out loud. “You are one lucky man! Not only is he clueless about what really hit him on the head, but somehow, it turned him into a much more courteous guy!”
“You’re telling me! Muito mais simpático mesmo. And, you were right, Marisol. Obviously he does not believe in aliens, he only believes in alien Europeans.”
“Qué bueno, la
verdad, qué bueno that he has rejoined us. And qué bueno, Zé, that you are such a generous man.”
“I am happy, Marisol, even though I feel angry at my brother, and angry that I feel angry. But, you and me, and Filo, and even Bill… and Jota of course, we are a good team. A very good team indeed. We will figure this out. So good night, Marisol. Sleep well. See you at five o’clock sharp for something to eat before we board the plane.”
He gave me a quick kiss.
“And... thanks for being here with me, of your own choice. Não sei o que faria sem você. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
I gave him a quick kiss back.
Chapter 15: At the Nude Beach
March 28, 2012
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Circling Guanabara Bay in our plane as the sun was rising over the Atlantic? Check.
Panoramic views of Sugarloaf Mountain and the Christ the Redeemer Statue? Check.
Traditional breakfast of coffee, fresh tropical fruit, and pão-de-queijo cheesebread at a posh restaurant? Check.
Dora and Pedrinho had arrived the day before, and Pedrinho met us at the airport with Jota. It was a beautiful storybook arrival, but what I had not anticipated was how quickly after landing we’d head out to the beach. I was used to the ocean being a day trip away. In Rio, the beach is everywhere.
“Pedrinho wants to go to the beach today,” Zé informed me as we left the restaurant.
“Great idea! Which one—Copacabana? Ipanema?”
Zé smiled. “Rio has lots of beaches, you know. This one’s further south and around to the west. But we’ll drive by the others on the way so you can see them. And, you’ll see just how crowded they are.”
I couldn’t help looking a little downcast. Then it hit me. “Hey, wait a second. This isn’t some topless beach, is it?”
Zé kept his smile frozen. “Marisol, I tell you truthfully that it is not.”