The water changed as she swam into its blackness. Colder. Smooth. The water smelled almost like rain falling on hot stone steps, and the memory of standing in the rain with her mother, thanking the gods for their gift, propelled her forward. Soon she lost her sense of direction. Up? Down? She swam with the ripple of current that ran through the water.
Rock formations tangled the cave as vines had tangled the jungle. Jagged spears of rock scraped her legs from below while thick ribbons of stone reached down into the water from above. At times, when her legs and arms tired, Muluc clung to these stony vines, losing track of time.
Her body shivered with teeth-chattering cold as she ran her hands along the walls of the deep tunnel to find her way. Sometimes the cave narrowed, and she had to swim underwater, feeling her way for long periods, longer than she had ever before held her breath. Finally she found a ledge and slept while the water flowed past.
***
THE DAY 10 CAUAC
Rain or Storm
Muluc startled awake after a restless dream about a quetzal devouring a snake. She saw light ahead! As she tried to rub warmth back into her arms and legs, the tunnel brightened around her with morning. Gathering all her strength, she swam toward the light ... and found herself in another cenote. Not as far underground as the first, but still impossible to exit. Muluc tried to shimmy up a wet root, but she slid back down into the water again and again.
Soon raindrops began to fall into the center of the cenote. A waterfall crashed from the opening, echoing against the walls of the cavern like a thousand gods screaming. Was this the end? Muluc breathed in the earthy smell of the muddy water swirling around her. She spotted a small pink flower that had washed down with the rain. Crushing it into her wrinkled palm, she wept for her mother, father, baby brother, Balam, and even Quetzal. Would she ever see any of them again? Muluc had spent so much time thinking about all that she had taken for granted: her wealth, her education, her family ... She'd acted as spoiled as an overripe melon!
The current of the river ran stronger, faster. Muluc felt around the edges for the entrance to the tunnel that would lead out of this cenote. She found a branch that had washed in with the storm, wrapped her arms over it, and floated, wondering if today would bring death.
The branch found the current, and Muluc sailed back into the darkness.
***
THE DAY 11 AHAU
Sun, Lord
Waking, Muluc squinted in the bright light and found herself floating in a watery grove of mangrove trees. Between the branches arching overhead, the sky glowed pink against soft white clouds. Had she entered the Otherworld at last? Through the clear water she saw colorful fish swimming in groups, like liquid butterflies. Butterflies were the souls of the dead in the Middleworld; maybe fish were the souls of the dead in the Otherworld. Didn't the Hero Twins turn into fish? A giant fish colored like a parrot scraped against her leg, but Muluc was too exhausted to even flinch.
The river widened, surrounded by high, rocky cliffs as Muluc allowed the slow current to carry her. In the distance, waves crashed toward the river as it emptied into the sea. A sea turtle surfaced in front of her, then disappeared. Muluc peered into the water.
Below her swam a huge gray creature—as long as a small canoe. Muluc gripped the branch with all her strength, certain she would be taken by the gods now. The creature rolled on its back under the water and looked at Muluc with its huge hairy snout and large eyes. Everything went dark, and Muluc felt herself slipping under the water.
***
THE DAY 12 IMIX
Crocodile
"You have been with the Lords of Xibalba," a deep voice whispered in Muluc's ear. "Drink this." A firm hand lifted her head, and Muluc drank from the gourd, too tired to resist. The warm corn gruel tasted good, and she fell back and slept.
When the sun burned high in the sky, Muluc opened her eyes and found herself in a small hut. A coconut shell full of chopped fruits lay next to her mat. She gobbled every last bite, wondering how long it had been since she'd eaten. Footsteps. She pretended to sleep.
"Good, you've eaten," the voice said.
Muluc opened one eye. The oldest man she had ever seen leaned over her—his skin wrinkled by time, but his eyes warm like chocolate.
"Am I in the Otherworld?" Muluc whispered.
"You have returned," he said.
"Did the monster take me?"
The man laughed, like leaves rustling in a warm breeze.
"The monster of which you speak rescued you." The man held his hand out to Muluc. "Come see."
Muluc's legs felt shaky as she walked outside onto the sand, but the sunlight felt luxuriously warm after the darkness that had chilled her bones. The man led her over to some rocks near the river. Stopping to pluck a few ripe papayas from a tree, he handed one to Muluc.
"Eat," he said. "Very good."
Quickly peeling the sweet fruit, she bit into the papaya.
As they walked to the edge of the water, the monster's face popped up. Muluc shrieked. The old man laughed and tossed a papaya into the water. The monster swallowed it, then rolled over like a puppy, playing.
"You met my manatee friend," he said, tossing another papaya into the water. "She is a gentle creature. She rescued you when you emerged from Xibalba." The man paused. "At least I think you came from the underground river."
"I—"
"May I read for you?" He put his hand on a small pouch hanging at his waist. "I am a daykeeper," he said.
"Like a priest?"
"Not so fancy. But I see things, know things."
He led Muluc over to a flat rock and spread out a colorful woven cloth. "You have been close to the gods. I can already feel the power."
He tapped his leg.
"Like lightning?" Muluc asked. "In your blood?"
"You feel it too," he said.
"I think so. Sometimes."
He bowed his head. "Do me the honor of asking a question."
"Will I find my home?" Muluc asked.
The daykeeper opened his bundle and spilled seeds, crystals, and small stones onto the cloth. He sorted the seeds and crystals into small groups, speaking the day names out loud. He looked up at her and grinned.
"You will see your family on thirteen Ik," he said.
"How long is that?"
"Today is twelve Imix."
"It is?" Muluc asked, not keeping the tears out of her voice. "I will see my family tomorrow? Tomorrow?"
"You have been on a long journey," he said. "But the gods have been with you."
"Where is the road to Cobá?"
"Rest today. Do not rush the gods." He said a prayer and packed up his bundle. "I will catch us some fish to eat," he said. "You will need strength for tomorrow's walk."
***
THE DAY 13 IK
Wind, Breath, Life
Thirteen was a magical number.
The daykeeper had already started a fire and prepared some atole and tortillas by the time Muluc woke up.
Muluc thanked him for his kindness and food. "Please take this," she said, taking out her earring.
"It will be an honor to add it to my bundle," the man said. "A stone from the future queen of Cobá."
"What?" Muluc asked.
"You will see in time," he said. "You will know the power you possess."
He reminded her of the blind woman from the market, full of strange talk about the future. Muluc shook her head and said, "All I know is that I want to go home."
He pointed to a trail near the papaya tree. "Follow that path to the white road."
"Thank you." Muluc bowed deep.
"My honor," the man replied.
As Muluc entered the jungle, a cloud of butterflies, yellow, white, and blue, fluttered in front of her like a thousand souls from Cobá. All morning, she picked her way along the narrow path, careful to avoid stepping on the rocky outcroppings in her bare feet. The daykeeper's words echoed in her thoughts, and she thought about how her experienc
e living as a slave—even a well-treated, beloved one—had changed the way she looked at commoners and their struggles. As a queen, she could have real influence! She couldn't wait to talk with her father and Quetzal—maybe they could make her story into a book. What if even commoners learned to read? As the lightning in her veins moved her legs faster and faster down the path, Muluc's thoughts grew bigger. Maybe she could convince Cobá's leaders to make peace with Chichén! Part of her wished for peace so that Balam could join her, but she knew now that she belonged with Quetzal. According to the daykeeper and the old blind woman at the market, the gods had plans for her.
At a fork in the path, Muluc stopped. What now? Squinting, she looked at the sun falling in the sky, trying to figure out which direction would lead her to Cobá. A blue jay landed on a branch a few feet down one path and sang out a few notes.
"I am listening this time."
Muluc ran down the path, following the blue jay all the way to the great white road.
"Thank you, kind bird," she said.
Kneeling down, Muluc opened a scab on her hand, dripping a few drops of blood onto the gleaming stones. Then she stepped onto the road as the sun dipped into the Otherworld and the sky grew dark, bringing to life the stars that told the story of creation and the Hero Twins. Muluc told herself the stories she had heard her whole life, even at Chichén, as she walked toward home.
Voices. Men laughing. Warriors!
But then one told a crude joke about an ancient king from Cobá, so Muluc smiled and continued walking.
"I see a girl on the road," one voice said.
"You're just trying to scare us."
"Maybe you can find yourself a wife," another joked.
"Look! It's a girl."
"Where?"
Three young men stood on the road ahead as Muluc strode confidently toward them.
"It's the Wailing Woman!" The three shrieked at once, scrambling off the road into the thick brush, cursing and screaming.
Muluc laughed as she ran toward the fires lighting the city of Cobá.
***
CHAPTER TEN
Finally we got to hear the end of the story! Nando had insisted that we reach Cobá at the same time as Muluc. With all the strange grinding metal noises the bus was making, I wasn't sure we would make it to Cobá, but I didn't bother adding anything to my list. Last night I'd been reading over my silly old list when Mom came into our room.
"Adding to the list?" Her voice sounded kind of sad.
"Naw. It's kind of stupid. I haven't seen any sharks, jellyfish, or flash floods. And the crocodiles I saw seemed more sleepy than dangerous."
"I'm glad." Mom looked over my shoulder as I paged through my sketches. "Those drawings are wonderful!"
"No, they're not."
"Kat. You've got real talent." She pointed to one. "That has to be that Snake warrior. Am I right?"
"Yeah." I felt like a total idiot because my mom was making me blush.
"You've got to learn to take a compliment, you know."
"I guess. Maybe I'll add that to my new list: 'Things I Want.'"
"Now that sounds like a worthy list." Mom squeezed my shoulder and walked back toward her own room. "But keep up your drawing too."
"Hey, Mom?"
Mom turned around, smiling. "What?"
"Thanks for taking us on this trip. It's been really great."
"I think so too." She smiled like a thousand-watt bulb.
In the seat in front of us, Barb leaned her head on Tanya's shoulder. With those two so cozy, we may have to arrange joint custody or something.
"Did she really become a queen?" Barb asked Nando. "Did she marry Parrot Nose—I mean Quetzal?"
"That is all for you to decide," Nando said.
"I think she did." I looked out my open window at a huge ceiba tree rising like a giant cross above the other trees in the jungle. "That's what she realized she wanted, right?"
"All of a sudden you have an opinion?" Barb said.
"It was a good story," I said. "A really good story."
"Thank you, Little Jaguar." Nando flashed his smile at me. "I didn't mind telling it to you. Much."
"And today we get to see Cobá!" Barb said. "I can't wait."
Before entering the city, Alfredo drove us around the lakes near Cobá. He tried to find a crocodile out sunning itself, but he couldn't. That was okay by me. I'd had enough of crocodiles. And I'm sure the crocs felt the same. Instead, Barb, Tanya, and I argued about seeing the exact spot where Muluc had been captured. Nando just sat there laughing at us.
Not much of Cobá had been excavated. Unexplored mounds dotted the sprawling city, and Barb was just about going crazy, wanting to become an archaeologist on the spot. Every pile of rocks contained some artifact from Muluc. We couldn't keep up with the tour, because Barb kept trying to climb things she shouldn't or get into things she couldn't.
I was dying to climb the big pyramid Nohoch—the highest pyramid in the whole Yucatán. And it was allowed this time!
We rented bicycles so we'd have time to pedal all the way out to the big pyramid. I couldn't believe that I was riding down the same long white roads that were in Muluc's story!
"Barb, let's go," I said.
Barb had stopped by the side of the road.
"Look at this temple," she said. "I see a doorway."
"Do not get off your bike!"
Too late. Barb had scrambled onto the rocky mound of a temple.
"Barb, get down here."
No good. Barb had disappeared into the rocks. Then I heard the loudest scream. I jumped up on the crumbling remains of a wall.
"Aaaaah!" I screamed.
A three-foot iguana stared at me from the doorway Barb had entered.
"Is it gone?" Barb asked in a shaky voice.
"Not even." The thing didn't budge. "It's as stubborn as you."
A few moments later the iguana sauntered down the rocks, disappearing into a grove of slender trees.
"You can come out now, Treasure Hunter."
"You go ahead." Barb rubbed the goose bumps on her arm. It was ninety degrees. "I don't think I'll do that again."
"You won't? Promise?"
"Not until I get a degree."
I got on my bike and rode through the quiet ancient city. So many buried secrets, so many buried stories. My heart sank when I saw the tour group coming back from the pyramid. Did I even have time to get there?
"You're going to like it," Dante said. "Very high."
"Yeah, Mountain Goat. This one was made for you," Josh said.
"Where's Barb?" asked Tanya. "Treasure hunting?"
"Yeah, she found something," I said.
"Really?" Tanya asked. "Something big?"
"If you like reptiles," I said.
"Ugh," the English girls moaned.
"Better hurry," Nando said. "The bus will leave in a half hour." He smiled at me. "Don't worry, I'll take care of our Little Thorn."
"Thanks."
I raced my bike along the path—just glancing into the green of the jungle. On the road a cloud of butterflies, yellow, white, and blue, floated in the air like petals.
"Hello, Muluc!" I shouted.
From the top of the Nohoch pyramid the whole world looked brand-new. I took out my journal and quickly sketched the view of trees engulfing the tops of weathered pyramids. I loved my journal now—except for that stupid old list! I ripped out the two pages of "Reasons Not to Go to Mexico," mentally saying good-bye to all those old fears and insecurities as I shredded them into confetti in my hands. Making an offering to myself, I tossed the bits of paper into the air, watching them flutter away like tiny white butterflies.
I stood with my arms held high, soaking up the greenness below me. I felt like a bird, as if I could jump off the pyramid and soar above the jungle canopy. A breeze cooled my skin, and I became part of the sky.
***
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
Dear Nando, Barb love love loves the jade stone yo
u gave her.
She goes nuts about it being just like the one in Muluc's necklace. She's in treasure heaven. Thank you for the little jaguar you carved for me—my own little balam. It's so cute! And it WILL remind me to be brave. Thanks for everything else too. I can't thank you enough, really. I'm going to miss you so much.
Promise me you'll write. Often.
Love, Kat, aka Little Jaguar
P.S. Are you still thinking about writing doWn Muluc's story? I promise to illustrate it! P.P.S. When are you going to Visit us????
***
* * *
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I vividly remember when I was six years old and climbed down a steep, dimly lit stone staircase to the elaborately carved tomb of King Pacal, who became ruler of the kingdom of Palenque when he was just twelve years old. My biology professor dad had taken our family to Mexico on a research trip. We stayed in small villages, where women washed their clothes in the river and carried their clean laundry home folded neatly on top of their heads! I loved the marketplaces, where vendors sold all kinds of exotic, ripe-smelling fruit, crafts, and even live chickens.
I wrote Jungle Crossing after another family trip. This time I was a grownup, traveling with my husband, my daughters, and their grandmothers. We climbed pyramids in the Yucatán region in the ancient cities of Tulum, Chichén Itzá, and Cobá. We also spent time in a modern Mayan village and even swam in an underground river, bumping into the stony stalactites tangling the cool, dark water. Kat's story follows many of my own travels.
The story of Muluc comes entirely from my imagination, but it is based upon the things I've learned by reading history, archaeology, anthropology, sociology, mythology, and memoirs, as well as my own experiences. As tourists, we saw the elaborate carvings of Mayan royalty in the temples, pyramids, and tombs. One of the stele carvings found at Cobá depicts a queen. Since many of the carvings also show slaves, I imagined what would happen if a royal girl from Cobá suddenly found herself captured by warriors from the rival city of Chichén.
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