CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
VICTORIA PEAK
Monday, August 13, 1973
About two and a half months later.
I stood on the highest hilly krast of the Cockscomb Mountain Range. I stood on Victoria Peak. All of the beautiful, challenging, dangerous broad-leaved evergreen tropical jungles and mountains lay around me. Just below, the slopes of the peak were near an angle of ninety degrees. I was so fokin happy as I stood absolutely naked reaching out to all that surrounded me. I raised my hands up high above me and shouted to the highest reaches of my voice. “I just fucked over the whole of British Honduras.”
“Belize,” said Molly. “Our country is no longer called British Honduras. It is called Belize. And you know I don’t like when you call our love making … well you know what.”
I turned and looked at her as I chuckled. “Molly, that wasn’t ‘love making’. That was real passionate, sweaty, fucking.” She smiled and shook her head. She was dazzling in the morning sun as she lay on top a ground sheet among the small plants, low shrubs, and mosses of various colors, greens, pinks, browns, yellows, which grow only on the summit of Victoria Peak. Some looked like sea anemones, others like small pine trees, some like long narrow crystals. On a couple of the nearby shrubs were her veil, wedding dress, and her other articles of clothing among which she had placed her bouquet of wild ferns and flowers. Further down were stunted trees of green and brown hues, with large curtains of brown mosses hanging, pale mists surrounding them. I turned around again, raising my hands and shouting, “I just fucked over the whole of Belize. And I will do it again.” I turned around and smiled at my wife, Mrs. Eutimio Chiac.
After jumping into the Ch’ajch’oj Chiyul, we all found ourselves in the small creek southeast of the Victoria Peak as Molly and I had found ourselves before. The return journey was really uneventful and we had been provided with food in small cuxtals which we had attached to our bodies before we left U Wach Ulew. We followed the Sittee Branch of the South Stann Creek River until nightfall. Early the next morning, we continued down river and about midday picked up the old logging road that crossed the river at a ford. The trail continued in an east to west direction and we left the river travelling east. I knew we were on the right track when we came to the old logging camp, Locust Bank, where Molly and I had spent the night on our previous journey. We spent the night there, again, and the next day we marched on the old road and came to the other old camp, Quam Bank. From there, we saw the Forestry fire tower at Cabbage Haul Gap. We arrived there in the late evening and once again surprised the same Forest Officer who was stationed there. That time there were not two Indians who had just walked out of the jungle ‘dressed like real Indians’, but six. I contacted my headquarters on his radio and they sent out a transport to pick us up. Fortunately, the Forest Officer was able to lend us some clothes and he accepted the story that the Maya dress was part of an exercise on ancient battle practices that we were doing … at least I hoped he did.
The men and I had to go through all the usual investigative procedures, but we had decided on the story to tell, and we stuck to it. Basically, Taat and Pte. Teul T. had disappeared in the jungle during the search for Molly. We could find no trace of them. What helped considerably was the fact that Molly was rescued. After a few days, the inquiry was closed. There were no courts-martial.
Molly continued to improve and it seemed that being with her family and friends helped. It was just a week after we were back in Belize City that she told me we should get married. We would delay no longer. I agreed, immediately, and set the date for Monday, August 13th. Of course, everyone wanted to know why on a Monday, why not on the 12th which was a Sunday. I stuck my ground and they gave in, especially since I was willing to have them arrange everything else. I was more than surprised when Molly told me that Mayor Gustavio Cucul had approached her father asking that some sort of reception be held at Santa Cruz if it would not be too traumatic for her. He said that the village felt like it owed us something and that it would bring healing to the wounds that were created on Easter Sunday, April twenty-second. Molly had agreed and the plans were drawn up.
Molly did ask me why the thirteenth of August. I told her that day was very important to the Ke’kchi people as we identified the seven stars of Mam Kutach, or the Big Dipper as it was called in English, with Vucub Caquix or Seven Macaw. At sunset on August 13, the Milky Way was nearly erect, and Mam Kutach was visible from the Maya area in the northern sky. But as the heavens rotated, the Milky Way turned away from its upright position and Mam Kutach dived towards the horizon. About two hours after sunset, Mam Kutach set and that meant that Vucub Caquix was knocked from his perch atop Yaxché. Toward dawn, Ak’-ek, the constellation Orion, moved toward the zenith. I told her that we Ke’kchi referred to the triad of three bright stars in Ak’-ek as the hearth stones, and the hazy nebula below Ak’-ek’s belt as the smoke from the hearth. Ak’-ek, which means the turtle stars, was depicted in Maya writings as a turtle with three stones on its back. Because Kaán, the sky, had not yet risen, the hearth was a location in both Earth and Kaán. The turtle shell was an Earth symbol, like the back of the áayin at the foot of Yaxché. That was the place of Creation. Not far from Ak’-ek was the Constellation of the Kitam.
I remembered how she had looked at me after I had finished. I wasn’t sure if she had grasped everything I said, but she said nothing. I had smiled, reminding her that I had spent most of my off-duty time reading about my people. Of course, I didn’t mention that I had spent an equivalent amount of time drinking and whoring. Anyway, that was the past. I made another comment that really surprised her, however. I told her that the mid-summer descent of Mam Kutach just after sunset marked the beginning of the kiäqiq-‘jab or the hurricane season. I brought to her attention that it was that same month that Christians held processions and prayers in honor of the Mother Of God, Our Lady of Guadeloupe, the Lady from Tepeyac Hill, beseeching Her to protect us from hurricanes.
Well, everything went according to plan, and it seemed that, at last, I was having my wish for a simple and uncomplicated life. We got married at Holy Redeemer Cathedral, the Bishop officiating, and it didn’t feel as cold as I thought it would be. I was dressed in my standard Sergeant’s uniform, and Molly in a plain wedding gown with the traditional length. She did not wear a veil, but a white hat with a spray of white orchids. The only jewelry she wore was the Raax Ch’ayom Puag. After we had returned from Ox Witz Ha, I had told her that I would carve the images of the Green Scapular on it. She told me it was not necessary and I had looked at it. Deeply set within the jade were the images of Ix Na Li Kawa and her bleeding heart. That was it.
There were only a few of us at the wedding ceremony. Pa Cervantez gave Molly away; Ma Cervantez was the Maid of Honor, and the Bride’s Maid was Josephine, one of Molly’s cousins. My Best Man was Rhys. The ceremony was held privately and afterwards we ate some food in the parlor of the Presbytery during which Rhys gave a short toast. That was it.
We left the presbytery and walked to the army transport that was waiting to take us to camp where we would take a helicopter ride to Santa Cruz for the reception. Ma and Pa Cervantez, and Josephine were flying directly to Punta Gorda on a local airline’s charter flight then they would take the road to Santa Cruz. I must confess that I was worried that going to Santa Cruz would bring back horrible memories to Molly and everyone else, and even me. I had even discussed it with her and she reminded me that it was her decision and, after all, since she would be married to me, Santa Cruz was also going to be her home. She needed to go back there and face what had happened.
When we arrived at camp, Choco was waiting, the two pilots already in their seats. The helicopter took off and headed generally southwest towards Santa Cruz. Choco and I sat at the edge of the floor, wearing our harnesses, hanging our feet out. I saw that Molly was nervous that I was sitting so close to open space, but she said nothing. We were soldiers. Rhys and Choco had put her to sit on th
e floor, saying that she was one of us and would sit just as we were sitting, no preferential treatment. She took it in good humor and I kept looking at her and smiling as she sat in her wedding dress, her Raax Ch’ayom Puag glowing green around her neck, holding her small bouquet of wild ferns and flowers. Choco and Rhys also wore their Raax Ch’ayom Puag and I wore my bloodied Green Scapular.
We flew above the lowland savannas of Belize District, west of the Northern, Western, and Southern Lagoons. From where we were sitting, we had a complete view. We saw the coastline and the many off-shore islands breaking the sea surface just before or on the Barrier Reef. The savannas gradually changed to lowland broad leaf trees and as we got over the Stann Creek District, the highland jungles began for we were at the beginning of the Maya Mountains.
We approached the Cockscomb Range and I felt a tug at me heart. It was because I had attempted to climb Victoria Peak that I had lost Bas and the rest of my section. I pushed the memories away. That day was my Wedding Day.
As we came over Victoria Peak, we began to circle and descend. I gazed ardently at the Cockscomb Range, at its peaks, ridges, spurs, green and brown slopes, and cliffs. I thought, initially, that it was just to give us a better view, but we continued to descend. I looked at Rhys opened my hand, questioning him what was happening. He shouted back over the noise of the helicopter, “This is the real gift from all your men and friends in the army.” I couldn’t believe it.
They were going to drop us off on Victoria Peak. My eyes watered. I probably would never get the chance to actually climb to the summit of Victoria Peak, but I would stand on her and look down at the jungle and mountains I loved.
Choco reached into an icebox and pulled out two bottles of champagne. He gave one to Rhys and they popped the corks. By that time, the helicopter was hovering about two feet above the rugged surface of the peak where a small area had been cleaned. Choco loosened my harness while Rhys helped Molly. I jumped down, watching the wind from the blades smoothing out the grass and shrubs. I reached up and Molly slid into my arms and I put her down into the elfin forest that surrounded us. “Rhys handed me the two bottles of champagne and the helicopter started to lift. Choco threw me a ground sheet, grinning.
“You could have brought a mattress,” I shouted, laughing. “It’s rocky.”
“Sorry. This is the Military,” he shouted back. “Now do your thing, Koz.541 You Madafoka! Don’t worry. We took care of the rocks.”
Molly and I looked around in disbelief. There were numerous dwarf plants with brown moss hanging from them, and hundreds of ferns, flowering orchids, cacti looking plants, silver and grey bromeliads, colorful mosses with various hues and shapes. Butterflies were everywhere, including the beautiful orange and black Monarchs. Others were black, red, and blue; some just blue and black; some yellow; some white. Then I remembered the ground sheet and my focus changed. My friends had indeed taken care of the small rocks. An area just the size of the ground sheet had been cleared and a thick layer of the pink anemone moss, the Queen Victoria’s Cushion, had been carefully placed.542 I smiled. The first time I had fuc … made love to Molly, I had placed her on ek-chi-chan, Maiden Hair Fern. Now I would be placing her on Queen Victoria’s Cushion. Tóolok certainly had risen in status and Tóolok and I did do our thing, only stopping in between to have Molly and I drink the champagne.
And so, having made my exclamation to the whole of Belize, I looked around me, taking in the jungle and the entire panorama. I could not help gazing to the southwest. There were no dark clouds, just bright blue sky. I looked down at my wife as she lay naked on the ground sheet, among the short shrubs and bushes. She was beautiful in the sun. I watched her face and saw no fear, just happiness. I watched her breasts and her nipples as they stood erect. My eyes drifted down to that wonderful place and I threw myself over her, landing on my extended arms so as not to hurt her. I didn’t have to do anything else for Tóolok had already surveyed the grid area and was zeroing in on the target. Then she spoke.
“I think I hear the helicopter, Eutimio. They must be coming back.” She looked towards the sound. “The helicopter is going up and down. Is it in trouble?” she asked, sounding worried, and I felt her body tense.
I did hear the sound of the helicopter in the distance and look towards it. It was approaching from the west, but was still sufficiently far away, and indeed, it was going up and down. I chuckled. “Don’t worry,” I said. “They’re teasing us.” She glanced at me, her forehead furrowed. “I’m going up and down,” I laughed, moving against her. She sighed and I felt her relax. “Don’t worry,” I repeated. “They won’t come in if we’re fuc … making love,” I assured her as Tóolok began his maneuvers once again, standing at military attention.
I helped Molly into her dress when we were finished and then I started to get dressed. The helicopter was getting nearer and I rolled up the ground sheet and placed the two bottles beside it.
“Eutimio,” said Molly.
“Yes, Molly,” I said, looking at her.
“Just before we made love, that last time, you said “They won’t come in if we’re making love. How would they know whether we were making love or not?”
I frowned. “They have binoculars. They would check. They wouldn’t interrupt us. They’d wait.”
“I see,” said Molly, shaking her head.
“Oh,” I quickly said. “They wouldn’t stare at us, Molly. They’d just check.” I looked at her and smiled. “They are your brothers, Molly. If anything should happen to me, they would look after you. They’d put their life on the line, as they have done before.” I was suddenly getting distressed. I didn’t want to do or say anything that would upset Molly, that day or any other day. Deep down, I knew that she still wasn’t completely well, though she tried in every way to hide it.
“I just …” Then she stopped and smiled. “It’s okay, Eutimio. It’s okay. I must remember I’m married to a man who is really, deep down, as innocent as the jungle he loves.” I shivered.
I helped Molly into the helicopter and Rhys secured her. I threw in the ground sheet and handed Choco the two bottles then Choco helped pull me up. As both Rhys and Choco were using the available harnesses, I moved beside Molly and strapped myself in. Choco immediately reached into the icebox and started pulling out and opening champagne bottles. He gave each of us one and shouted to one of the pilots who left the cockpit to come for a bottle. “For later,” sang the pilot, going back to the cockpit.
Choco grinned and raised his bottle for a toast and I couldn’t help thinking of Teul. “We’ve witnessed and can confirm that this marriage between Xch’úup Xma’ K’aaba’ and the Great T’oit’ik-jolom Fuck has been consummated, so let’s drink and get drunk.” We lifted our bottles and drank. For a fleeting moment, I went back to Taat and Teul, but pushed them away.
In a short time, we were descending to the central village green of Santa Cruz. The pilots landed and turned off the engine. Immediately as the blades stopped turning, I jumped from the helicopter and I heard the shout of Attention followed by a single sound of the soldiers’ feet hitting the ground. I immediately stood upright and at attention. I turned. The soldiers had surrounded the entire perimeter of the green, and they all carried their rifles. That’s when I realized that no chances were being taken; their rifles would be loaded. I sighed, reflectively. Mahanamtz was dead. I looked to the southwest. It was clear. I turned around and placed my hands around Molly’s waist and took her down. Immediately harps and marimbas began playing I flashed back to Teul and his “I miss my harp and marimba.” I shook my head, trying to hold back my emotions.
We faced the crowd, and it was obvious that the whole village of Santa Cruz was there. Alcalde Gus and his wife Isabella, my sister, walked towards us. I noticed that she was a little plump around the waist. It was either that she was eating too many lejs or Gus was making me an uncle. I would have to find out. They welcomed us and walked us into the waiting crowd. Rhys and Choco followed
us close behind. Choc and Rosalia were together and their smiles showed that they were happy. It also showed that they were fucking, so I was happy for Choco. Ma and Pa Cervantez, and Josephine were already there, as was Rhys’s gyal, Sarah May. Robertson and his wife were there as well as Miss Moss. But there was no Teul and his grinning madafok. There was no Bas to look after me. No flippin Hulse. No Anderson to worry about our feet. No Clarke taking pictures. No Parham making up poetry. No Taylor and his virgins. There was no Taat. But there was Nah’ and standing beside her was Stiobhan. I pushed away thoughts of the sensation that arrangement caused in the villages, not wanting to remember anything about it. They looked happy so I supposed that they were fucking too. I certainly didn’t want to picture that. Stiobhan and I had spoken and for Nah’s sake, and as Taat had asked, I had agreed to get to know him better. I didn’t think I would ever acknowledge him as my father, but at least we could be … acquaintances. I had only one father and that was Taat.
One of the village women brought us a mug of q’utuj and as Molly and I looked into each other’s eyes and sipped the corn dough and cacao drink, I felt I was, at that moment, the happiest Ke’kchi … the happiest Soldier … the happiest Maya Warrior … the happiest Fok that ever lived on U Wach Ulew.
Illustration 27: The Village of Santa Cruz, Toledo, Belize.
ONE JOURNEY ENDS
ANOTHER BEGINS
SISIMITO IV
THE FALL OF AN EMPIRE
Sisimito III--Topoxte Page 70