The Scarlet Cord

by Eliza Master

  “This is my mother, Esperanza Caterina Martinez.”

  “Mucho gusto,” said Renata, offering her hand. When Darwin’s mother looked up, Renata could see that one of her eyes was cloudy, and she wondered if the woman was blind. Esperanza took Renata’s hand and stood up, drawing her into a hug. Renata hugged her back, feeling they had met before, though of course it was not so. The tiny lady grasped Renata’s shoulders and focused her good eye on Renata’s face. The gaze didn’t match the little old lady but felt fierce and invasive. Renata tensed, but relaxed as Darwin’s mother released her and chattered to her son in the native dialect.

  Renata’s tattoo itched like a mosquito bite. Had Esperanza scratched her? Yume had told her that the white tambou might itch as it healed, but it hadn’t until now. How strange.

  Darwin made his departure. “I’ll meet you for dinner later, after you rest.”

  “Bye, bye,” said his mother sweetly. Renata watched as he helped her into one of the jeeps. The house was quiet now, and Renata was looking forward to a little solitude. She hadn’t heard a peep from Kenny. He must be out cold, she thought.

  Thankfully, there was a satellite dish on the corner of the house, so when sitting at the dining table, she could get online. Renata sent off an email to Erik letting him know she had arrived and everything looked good so far. She needed to do some more work, but she felt exhausted, so she went into the bedroom and stared at the ceiling. The isolation of the farm put her into a deep sleep.

  Renata dreamed that Darwin’s mother had come into her bedroom. She was telling Renata something in dialect, but Renata couldn’t understand the ancient woman. Then Esperanza left the bedroom, shutting the door softly. Woken by the sound of the door closing, Renata saw that she was alone. She got out of bed to find Kenny at the table on his computer.

  “Hey,” he said, barely looking up.

  “Did you see Esperanza?”

  “Who?”

  Renata remembered that Kenny had been sleeping when Darwin introduced his mother. She must’ve been dreaming. But then who had opened her door just now? Had someone been in her room while she was sleeping? Weird. Kenny wasn’t a creeper, was he? He’d probably been looking for the bathroom.

  17

  Stumps and a Scrape

  Darwin arranged to meet the Americans for dinner at a Chinese restaurant a few miles east along the rim road. Renata wondered what Chinese-Guatemalan food would be like. They were the only patrons in the place, and the hostess was expecting them. Perhaps they were friends of Darwin’s. There was no choosing of dishes; either Darwin had pre-ordered or the restaurant only served one meal. The food came quickly, and it was nice and hot: a large dish of fajitas with soy sauce. The vegetables were a bit bland, there were too many carrots, and the chicken was dry. They ate family style and discussed the yohimbe stumps, their delivery, and the planting and care. There were just five stumps in the ground so far, which Renata had had shipped from Cameroon months ago. Kenny didn’t say a word.

  “I can show you the stumps tomorrow. They have lots of new leaves.” Darwin spoke with pride.

  “I’m going out for a smoke,” Kenny said, as the waitress cleared the empty plates.

  Leaning in, Darwin spoke. “My mother, she wants to see you. She says you must come to her.”

  “Me? Um, okay.” Renata didn’t really want to make time for the old woman, but she didn’t want to be impolite. “Why?” she asked, hoping that she wasn’t being rude.

  “She not tell me, just said it’s very important. You come to my home tonight?”

  Renata didn’t know what to say. She wondered if Darwin’s mother might want something from her, but she couldn’t imagine what.

  Kenny returned, extinguishing the conversation. Turning to Renata, he said, “Shall we go?”

  “Possibly another night,” Renata told Darwin. Kenny raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. He was her hired gun and also her driver tonight. They left Darwin at the door.

  “Was he trying to pick you up?” Kenny asked, once they drove off.

  “No, not at all.”

  “You sure about that?”

  Renata felt defensive of the Guatemalan. Was Kenny jealous? He had no claim on her. Anyway, Darwin was very sweet and respectable. His offer was for Renata to visit his mother; it wasn’t for a date. But somehow Renata felt sure she should not mention Esperanza. Kenny smirked. If he was jealous, he clearly didn’t see the Guatemalan as an adversary. They passed a cantina, and without asking, Kenny pulled in.

  “Care for a cerveza? I’m buying.” The Americans went in and sat at the bar. The place was dirty and reeked of spilled beer. A few other old men were there drinking. Kenny ordered two bottles of Moza. This beer was barely cold, but still tastier than the Gallo Renata had drunk with Darwin at the hotel.

  Kenny was telling her about motorcycles and that he wanted a Harley. They were the best, according to him. The first beers were gone, so Kenny went to the bar for two more. He placed Renata’s on the table in front of her and swigged his own bottle. This one tasted stronger to Renata than the first one, but it didn’t matter. Then they had a few more. Renata’s tattoo tickled her again, and she was getting drunk. Kenny helped her into to the car and they drove back to the little house. She caught a glimpse of the gate boy awakening to unlock and lock the gate behind them, and that was the last thing she remembered.

  Before Kenny did his job on Renata, he thought about Tim. Tim had said the orgasm saturated the sample somehow. He wondered if that was true, or if he was just getting turned on by commanding Kenny to fuck Renata again. Then again, Tim wasn’t even there, and Kenny was looking forward to Renata’s cocoa skin and her warm cunt. He didn’t have to buy her dinner or pretend to like her. It was the same routine that night: drug her beer, give her an orgasm, then text the Fitzer nurse. The drugging and procedure were what he was being paid for. Kenny thought of the fucking as a fringe benefit. He had done as he was told, and the cooler got picked up on schedule.

  Renata woke to the sound of the gravel driveway as a car pulled off. Her phone read 7:30. There were two aspirins on her night table and a water bottle, which she supposed Kenny had put there. How embarrassing. At least she hadn’t barfed. Ugh, she groaned. Renata scolded herself for drinking too much and promised she wouldn’t do it again, especially because it was a workday.

  Still fully dressed in yesterday’s attire, minus the Gore-tex sneakers, Renata slugged to the outhouse to relieve her bursting bladder. It stung. Dammit, could she have picked up a UTI or an STD? The welt was there again too. She had forgotten about it since Cameroon. But she promised herself she would go to the gynecologist when she returned to San Francisco.

  This was the day that the 5,000 stumps would come to port and be trucked to Atitlana. Renata had arranged four semis for transport, each to pull a double load, and Darwin had arranged extra laborers to carefully unload the yohimbe without damaging the living product. Locals would gather to unload and plant them in a ready-made field, complete with irrigation. Renata was worried that the stumps might have rotted, dried out, or been damaged, but she’d be able to inspect soon enough. The trucks were expected at noon.

  This was a big deal – Renata’s most important of the trip. She reminded herself that her project was a multimillion investment by the Agri-Gen/Fitzer team, for a new subsidiary company called AGF that had been formed just for the yohimbe.

  Renata sighed with relief when the semis pulled in to the virgin fields. The crowd of Guatemalans waited by the trucks while a foreman gave orders in a language that wasn’t Spanish.

  Renata had contracted a bulk sum for the labor cost. Darwin was in charge of dispensing wages. The laborers comprised both men and women, and some children, too. Like in Cameroon, Renata wasn’t sure how she felt about a labor force with no workers’ rights. It seemed like whole families had shown up waiting for the unloading to begin.

  “Aren’t the kids supposed to be in school?” Renata asked Darwin.

 
“All finished for today,” he answered, without a trace of guilt. “Tonight, you come to my house? To see my mother?”

  “Okay, sure.” Renata wanted to get the inevitable meeting over with.

  18

  Esperanza

  Hot and sweaty from the day of stump planting, Renata welcomed the lukewarm water of the cool, concrete shower in the little house. Red sand grains of irregular size surrounded the drain as the showerhead sputtered. Renata realized that the same water that nourished her juvenile plants was now cleansing and refreshing her. She stepped under the stream, rinsing her long ebony locks.

  The stump input was going well. First, each stump was planted a few feet into the earth, roots down of course, then it was fertilized and hand-watered. As soon as each rectangular field segment was full, a hoop house was constructed on top. Unfortunately, there had been some rot, and about one-fifth of the stumps were mildewed. Renata had already conceived of a better packing plan for the next shipment.

  Renata was impressed with Darwin. He had brought enough hand tools and more than enough laborers to use them. Renata would pass along the word on to AGF and request a bonus for him. She knew that in the Guatemalan economy he was already becoming rich, but she didn’t care. His hard work deserved reward.

  After the shower, Renata dressed in a colorful sundress that reminded her of the traditional colors the Guatemalan women wore. Since it was a spaghetti strap, she threw on a blouse for modesty. None of the women here exposed their shoulders, and Renata didn’t want to be disrespectful.

  Darwin knocked on the door. “Ready for dinner?” he asked. Darwin’s hair was wet, and he was wearing a blue button-up shirt.

  “Yes, I’m ready,” Renata answered, grabbing her purse as she slipped on a pair of strappy sandals.

  “What’s up?” Kenny growled like a disturbed lion. “Where you going?”

  Renata had not mentioned her appointment with Darwin because she didn’t want Kenny’s company; and frankly, Kenny was starting to be annoying. She knew he was there guarding her, but at the same time she was a grown woman — she was not in need of a babysitter. Additionally, he’d developed some kind of weird, jealous attitude, like he owned her, and that had to change. So tonight, it would.

  “I’m having dinner with Darwin.”

  “I’ll join you.” Kenny went for his shoes.

  “Sorry, no.” That came out harsher than she’d meant it to. “I mean, no thanks, Kenny, I’ll be fine,” Renata said more gently. Kenny was just following orders, and the only restaurant was the Chinese one.

  “Hasta luego,” Renata said as she slipped out the door, leaving Kenny standing in the middle of the room. Darwin looked concerned.

  “It’s all good,” Renata assured, and touched Darwin’s arm gently.

  Darwin drove the jeep like a pro. The big road near the farm was the Trans-American highway that traveled through all of Central America. It was populated with chicken buses, trucks, rebuilt cars, and Guatemalan motorcycle taxis. They passed a car accident on the side of the highway, but Darwin drove onward like it was nothing.

  Soon they turned off the highway onto a pitted gravel drive made up of deep, dry rivulets. Darwin carefully avoided the ruts, but the ride was very bumpy and slow. It was a full moon night, and Renata could see like it was daytime. Scattered homes sat in terraced fields farmed almost vertically on the canyon walls. After driving a few miles, Darwin parked the car and came around to open the door for Renata. Taking her hand, he said, “It’s a little walk, okay?”

  The path was a mini version of the road, with deep crevices scattered at random. Renata was surprised Darwin didn’t offer to help her. She was careful with her footing and tried to keep her sandals clean, but it was an impossible task. Renata was breathing heavily, yet she didn’t feel sweaty. It must be the altitude.

  Soon they reached a flat area, and Esperanza came out of a small mud building. Could this tiny place be where Darwin has lived for his entire life? Renata wondered. The old woman reached out her wrinkled hand, which Renata enclosed in her own.

  “Welcome,” Darwin’s mother said in English, and Renata wondered whether she had learned the word just for meeting her.

  “Thank you,” Renata said slowly, before stooping down to give her a hug. Esperanza had several earrings in each ear and a silver nose ring, and Renata noticed some of her teeth were browned.

  The homestead was made of three free-standing rooms around a small open area. “Venga a la cocina, por favor,” said Darwin’s mother. Come into the kitchen. She led Renata into one of the rooms. It was filled with smoke, and inside there were only a table and four rough chairs. The furniture was made from solid wood; it looked strong and old. The room was dark, and at first Renata couldn’t see a thing. Black with creosote, the ceiling seemed to further darken the room, fighting one weak light bulb hanging from a wire. The woodstove was in the back of the kitchen, and a cat and two kittens sat on the warm stove next to a cooking pot. Renata wondered why Darwin hadn’t bought a new house or at least improved on this one with his new income.

  Tap, tap-tap, tap went the rhythm of Esperanza’s palms as she flattened the tortilla dough into perfect circles and cooked them on the hot burners. Smoke leaked out, and Renata could smell the wood burning. Mother and son were talking in dialect.

  “Are you speaking K’iche’?” she asked Darwin. Renata had looked up the language last night and learned that it was one of many native tongues in that area of Guatemala. She wondered if it was the same dialect Darwin had spoken with the soldier on their journey from the city. Darwin’s and his mother’s conversation seemed heated, but that didn’t stop Esperanza from ceaselessly making the tortillas. Renata watched hypnotically. The cornmeal stuck to Esperanza’s hands as she flipped the tortillas effortlessly to the uncooked side.

  The conversation went on around Renata. She heard the word Americana, and Esperanza briefly stopped making tortillas and met Renata’s eyes. The room fell into a thick silence. They’d obviously been talking about her, but she had no idea what was being said.

  A man entered and sat at the table, nodding at Renata. He was wearing a threadbare checked scarf tied around his waist. He was very short, like Darwin, but he sported a tall cowboy hat. Renata had seen many men dressed this way working the yohimbe. No introductions were made.

  Esperanza put four bowls of brown beans on the table in front of the chairs and then set the tall stack of fresh tortillas in the center wrapped in a soft cloth. They all sat down, and Darwin said a brief grace in Spanish. Then they ate. The absence of seasonings brought out the pure taste of the corn and beans. Renata found the meal delicious.

  The man had not said a word the whole time. Then he stepped outside and lit a fire between three large stones that looked as if they’d held many fires before. On top of the stone fire he placed a large charred metal pot of water with a lid. Darwin and his mother were talking non-stop again, and from the sideways glances in her direction, Renata knew the discussion was about her. She was starting to feel uncomfortable.

  Darwin brought the four wooden chairs outside, and they sat around the boiling pot. Esperanza gave out plastic bowls to Renata and Darwin and kept one for herself. The man didn’t get a bowl. That’s odd, Renata thought to herself, but she didn’t say anything.

  The man removed the pot from the coals, and Esperanza filled the bowls using a hand-carved ladle. Brownish broth with an earthy smell sloshed into the bowls.

  “Wait until it’s cool, then drink. You can put it down.” Darwin and his mother had placed their bowls beside their chairs on the cool dirt, and Renata imitated them.

  Then Esperanza began a conversation with Renata translated through Darwin. Cordially, she got Renata’s stats. How old was she? How long had she worked for Agri-Gen? Was she married, and why not? How did she become the boss of the farm in Guatemala? In turn, Renata asked about Darwin’s siblings and family life. Darwin told her that his family had lived on this very spot for many years. Since his
father’s death, Esperanza had lived by trading spiritual help and accepting whatever Darwin could provide. She seemed ancient, but Renata discovered she was only 62. The youngest of twelve children, Esperanza claimed her grandmother had lived until the age of 123.

  Soon the broth was cool, and the three sipped it straight from the bowls until it was gone. The flavor was smoky and bitter. It tasted like burnt tea. Renata didn’t know what it was, but she trusted Darwin and his mother, so she drank the liquid down. Somehow the liquid chilled her even though it was hot. As if reading her mind, the man brought a small blanket and draped it over Renata’s shoulders. Her tattoo itched as if the white dragonfly were taking wing. Renata saw a beautiful woman, brown and strong, sitting among three natives. After a moment, she realized she was seeing herself. She watched a conversation begin between the lovely lady and the old woman.

  Now Renata could understand Esperanza without a translator. She knew she was with a witch. Darwin had been telling the truth when he’d said his mother was a bruja. Esperanza spoke from the spirit world right into Renata’s head. She touched Renata’s face and told her to be safe. She said that people wanted to use and hurt her, and she mustn’t let them. She insisted that if Renata got hurt, the people of this place would be hurt too. Meanwhile, Darwin sat very still, staring into the fire. The other man had disappeared.

  Esperanza’s voice seemed to be coming from behind her in a haunting tone as she gave her warning. “The trees and farm are not evil, but the people and money behind them are,” said the old woman. “A white man is chasing you and will steal you. Be watchful!” she warned. “Darwin is an angel, a good boy; he would help you, but he can’t.” Renata looked at her friend. Darwin remained in a trance, not reacting at all. She wondered if he could even hear the conversation.

  The night was thick, and the moon had set. Slowly, Renata came back to reality. Her heightened senses dissipated, and she sat with Darwin and his mother as the fire turned to ash. Renata saw that Darwin and his mom were ordinary people, just tired from a long evening. She wondered if she’d imagined everything that had transpired. Of course, she couldn’t speak K’iche’, so how had she understood Esperanza? And the warning – was that her own paranoia? Where was the gentleman who had shared dinner with them, and who was he? Was he real, or had she imagined him? She was too tired to care.