When Time is Cracked and Trees Cry_A mysterious novel that takes you deep into a Magical tour in the secrets of the Amazon jungle and the psychological depths of the human soul

by Nahum Megged

  Surprisingly, the blank-faced warriors did not try to stop me and allowed me to pass. I opened the door with ease and discovered they were waiting for me there, Herbert and Yakura.

  “What was the voice that commanded me to come in here?” I asked them, or perhaps myself. “And how could I have known you would be here?”

  Herbert remained expressionless, but Yakura smiled at me and said, “It was the same voice that called us to go to the spring when Marina was tied there.”

  I looked at Herbert curiously, trying to find confirmation of Yakura’s mysterious words.

  The man with the viper’s mask suddenly entered the stone house, the one who had spoken with Yakura next to the spring. He took off his mask, and we immediately fell into each other’s arms. Now I knew: The pure-hearted Xnen would join us on the great journey. The future suddenly seemed brighter. Yakura looked at me with combined joy and deep sadness, and came to me and stroked my head. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

  30

  The Rain Is Falling

  Despite Yakura’s promise, the rain continued to fall the following day. Xnen disappeared again, as if he had been swallowed by the forest, while Herbert shut himself in his room and didn’t show his face. Yakura didn’t hide her satisfaction that the rain kept falling and postponed our departure.

  The rain quickly turned into a routine that locked us up in the hut most of the time, and the four of us tried to get used to the shared accommodations that had been forced on us. The joy of bathing in the spring had almost completely disappeared and was replaced with embarrassment, awkward silences, and nervous anticipation.

  Now and then, I remembered the drawings Marina and I had seen in the round house, in which the man of various forms was depicted, always surrounded by many women. I looked at the women living with me in the hut, and a sharp pain pierced my heart. Was I yearning to become a man like him? I thought about Herbert, who had shown almost no interest in the women since I’d met him, not Christina or Marina, and devoutly dedicated himself to his great vision and the discovery of the secrets awaiting him in the forest. Suddenly, I wasn’t certain who the drawings had been intended for.

  I also thought of Xnen’s decision to join the expedition, contrary to the opinion of the rest of the shamans. A decision that gladdened me, but also filled my heart with doubts. I couldn’t understand why he was interested in helping Herbert fulfill his insane plan. Could it be that Xnen had other intentions, and Herbert was nothing but his instrument?

  I knew that Yakura would be able to answer at least some of my questions, but I dared not address her. She smiled at me mysteriously from time to time but spoke very little. The rest of the women hardly spoke either, each busy with her own concerns. At some point, they each left the hut, one after the other, maybe wanting to find some privacy in the forest, or perhaps to bathe in the spring again. Disturbed by my loneliness in the abandoned hut, I went out to the camp as well. I saw Clara walking on her own. I went over and asked to speak with her. She was surprised by my request, but she nodded and wordlessly followed me down one of the paths leading out of the camp. The rain was a mere sprinkling, and gentle, almost imperceptible drops of water fell on our heads through the trees.

  We reached a small bridge and crossed one of the brooks bordering the camp. The bridge, which was made of a few tree trunks, looked relatively new, and the rain that had ceaselessly fallen over the past few days had not damaged it. We continued to walk down the footpath, without me knowing where it led. After about an hour of silent walking, we came on a hut built at the top of a tree, which looked very much like the huts I had seen close to town. We stopped there, but despite my curiosity, I dared not climb the tree to examine the cabin. We sat beneath a bush with broad leaves, which protected us from the thin drizzle. The stones we sat on appeared to have been cut by hand and looked a lot like the stones I had seen near the clasped hands. I supposed we were close to Xnen and Yakura’s village, and possibly also to that same mysterious cave that had once served as a temple. And maybe the hut built in the tree had been built to indicate the place it presided over was sacred.

  Clara had noticed the stones as well and looked at them with curiosity. “This is an ancient settlement, right?” she asked.

  I told her that this region contained the remains of an unknown, extremely old civilization that would probably change some of the accepted conceptions about the history of the rainforest and the entire continent. I asked her if the organization she was active in had heard of these discoveries from Herbert, Sr., and she explained the institute did not deal with the ancient civilizations of the forest. Its sole purpose was to protect the forest itself, and in that way to protect its dwellers of every shape and kind — not only human beings but also the many endangered animals and plants.

  “In that case,” I asked, “why did you embark on a quest to find Herbert? Did your organization fear the consequences his actions might have on the forest?”

  Following a long silence, she began her story. “No one sent me,” she said. “I wanted to come out here and managed to convince the organization to finance my trip.

  “It all began two years ago, when I found out I had cancer. Following a series of prolonged treatments, the disease was in remission, but fearing it might break out again, I felt I was living on borrowed time. I decided I must do everything in my power to fulfill my great dream, meeting my ex-husband again, whom I still loved dearly.”

  She lowered her head, blinking to stop her tears. I raised my hand to stroke her head, but she recoiled and pushed my hand away.

  “Luckily, Herbert’s actions in the forest worried the management of the organization. His letters indicated something had compromised his judgment, that he had lost his mind or was consuming too many drugs. He spoke about earth-shattering findings he had discovered in the heart of the forest, about an ancient civilization holding great secrets, and about dark, inhuman powers seeking to destroy the forest and claim its treasures.

  “I took advantage of that concern and volunteered to set out to find him and, if possible, aid him. I was also asked to see how our plans for the preservation of the forest were coming along, plans that mainly had to do with establishing contact with local governments and other forces active in it, trying to influence them in various ways — information campaigns and sometimes bribery.

  “One of the organization’s senior officials, an exceptionally gifted and dedicated man, had set out for this region a few years ago and managed to infiltrate the country’s government and local centers of power. He’s had quite a few achievements, and thanks to him, the local treatment of the forest has significantly improved in recent years. He was able to establish extensive connections with various elements operating in this area, and according to our reports had even managed to form a small army that obeys his instructions. He was of the opinion that the forest is likely to become a complex war zone in the coming years, with many conflicted interests taking part. He thought we must strive to gain as much power and connections as we could in order to realize our goals.

  “The institute did not appreciate his militant approach, and they especially didn’t like his independence. You’ve probably already guessed I’m talking about George, who met his death in Don Pedro the other day. But what you probably haven’t guessed, is that George and I were once married. We met each other years ago, here, in the rainforest. We were both young, adventurous, and idealistic. When we returned to civilization, we met Herbert, who was also very young back then. Along with a few other like-minded people, we established the institute.

  “The organization’s senior officials were delighted to find out I was interested in undertaking this journey, considered to be extremely dangerous and complex. They were hoping I might be able to establish contact not only with Herbert, who was a source of great concern for them, but with George, who worked under a veil of secrecy and stayed clear of other institute representativ
es. Meanwhile, I had also been asked to locate you. Surprisingly enough, I was able to find all three of you. George and I met in town and reconciled. You witnessed our reunion, even though we did everything we could to conceal its meaning from you and everyone else.”

  “But why did he point a gun at me that other night at the school?” I asked. “And who was he working for when he was killed?”

  “I don’t know all the details,” answered Clara, and something in her expression told me she was being truthful. “He was committed to too many conflicting parties and must have gotten himself entangled in his own web. During his last days in town, he was under a great deal of stress, and I have a feeling he was hiding many things from me. I know he was very concerned about Herbert’s plans and wanted to stop them. He suspected you were a part of these plans and that’s why he did not confide in you.”

  We sat in a companionable silence. The rain intensified, and I suddenly feared for Clara’s health and suggested she return to the camp with me. When we rose, I turned my head to the hut in the tree and thought I saw someone looking at us. My imagination told me it was Yankor. I strained my eyes, but the image had disappeared.

  We turned to the trail leading back to the camp, the same one we had taken earlier, but the way back seemed much longer. Each obstacle seemed much larger than it had been just an hour earlier; the bridge above the stream seemed almost impassable, and the path repeatedly threatened to disappear into the foliage. When we managed to reach the camp, we met Yakura. There was panic in her eyes, and she opened her mouth to talk but couldn’t make a single sound for long moments. When she regained her ability to speak, she told us Christina had tried to enter the stone house, possibly to speak with the captives, and the blank-faced warriors guarding it had injured her. Yakura urged us to hurry to the hut, and promised to join us later. We did as she asked. Christina was in her hammock with Marina kneeling beside her.

  I went to the hammock and both women raised their faces to me with worried eyes and nervous smiles. Marina held my hand and pressed it tightly, while Christina limply held my other hand. Marina told me what had happened.

  “I went with Yakura to the spring, and when we returned, we heard Christina screaming. The screams came from the center of the camp. We ran there together. Next to the stone house we saw three warriors standing over Christina, beating her with palm fronds. I picked up a long stick and began to hit them with it, and Yakura called out for Herbert. He showed up and with a few quiet words ended the attack, which could have ended with a severe injury or even death. He muttered an apology, ran to the round house, and returned with a first aid kit.

  “Yakura washed the wounds. Fortunately, they weren’t deep, and there aren’t any fractures or other severe traumas. We picked Christina up and brought her back here. I gave her some painkillers, and Yakura promised to return soon and treat her with one of the forest remedies. I believe she will recover soon.”

  I leaned down next to Christina and asked her what she had been seeking in that house. With a trembling voice, she told us all about the gang that had kidnapped her from town.

  “A few of them used to work on the farms my family owns, and that is where I met them…” She paused and spat some blood into a container Marina held out for her. “I didn’t know the rest. One of the men I didn’t know kept staring at me and trying to get close to me, and once, when we were left by ourselves, he tried to strike up a conversation with me. I was afraid he wanted to rape me but found out he had other intentions.

  “He merely wanted to tell me his story and thought that we could become allies. He told me he was a scientist and had decided to come to the forest after finding an old research paper about a magnetic center supposed to be located at the heart of the jungle. He said that magnetism influences the mind and induces hallucinations and divine visions…” Talking must have taken too much of her strength, and she went silent again. After she drank some water she said, “He is there, in the stone house.”

  The mysterious dog stood at the hut’s entryway. He looked at us fearfully, as if asking if we wanted his company. Finally, he approached me cautiously with his head hanging low, lay on the floor next to me, and looked up at me. A soft sadness filled his eyes, and he shook his head from side to side.

  “It’s almost as if he can understand us!” Marina said. I laughed, but deep in my heart, I agreed with her.

  The dog’s visit had interrupted Christina’s confused story. The idea that someone joined a gang of slavers to investigate a story he had heard or read concerning a mysterious “magnetic center” at the heart of the rainforest sounded completely unreasonable to me. Also, I couldn’t understand from her story how she knew he was held in the stone house and why she had wanted to talk to him. It could be that he had protected her during her captivity, while the others had wanted to harass her, or simply that she had been drawn to the mystery in his words. Christina’s closed eyes and regular breathing meant she would not continue her story for the time being. The dog wagged his tail as if he was reading my mind.

  I kissed Clara and Marina and went out to the camp. I saw Yakura on one of the paths. She smiled, came to me, and stroked the dog. Only then did I notice that he had come out of the hut after me and had been following me ever since. His tail was between his legs, as if fearing punishment. He licked Yakura’s hand and looked at me with a pleading expression, asking me not to run away from him. Run away? Where to? And why had I left for the forest clearing and left the women in the hut in the first place?

  The skies darkened again, and the dog begged me with his eyes to seek shelter. Not far from us, there was a hut that looked deserted. I ran to it to escape the rain, and Amir ran after me. Inside, I took a box of matches out of a waterproof pocket in my pants. When I lit the match I saw a white man sitting in the corner with his eyes closed. He hadn’t noticed our arrival. I went to him and gently shook him. He did not respond. Once again, I fished in my pockets and took out a pouch of powder Yankor had given me. I forced the stranger’s mouth open and placed a little of the powder on his tongue. I gathered some rainwater in a hollow gourd, poured it in his mouth, then pulled the stranger out of the hut.

  Thanks to the powder, or thanks to the pouring rain, the young man opened his eyes and woke up. He immediately began to vomit. After emptying his stomach, he raised his head to the rain and washed his face. I brought him inside the hut again. Bless Yankor who had given me that powder for a time of need. I always carried the small pouches with me. Thanks to him, I had stopped the process that would have eventually turned the man into one of the blank-faced warriors.

  The stranger looked at me, confused and weak. I laid him on the hut floor. Amir paced around us, and the rain struck the branches of the walls with great force.

  “We are allies,” I whispered to him. “You must pretend that the drug has influenced you, and you’ve lost your free will. Don’t take anything they might give you. I’ll try to help, but you must listen to me. When you can, tell me everything you know about the magnetic center in the forest.”

  He looked at me but said nothing.

  A forest man dressed like a shaman suddenly appeared in the hut. I told him in Yarkiti that I had entered the hut because of the rain and had found this man, whose behavior resembled that of the guards and other men walking about the large house and the stone house and serving as the great Nave’s bodyguards. I suggested that the stranger join me and the women to serve as our bodyguard.

  “There are five of us, and we need a warrior to protect us,” I said. “I think this man will fit the job perfectly.”

  My suggestion seemed to disturb the shaman, but he must have been afraid to confront me. After a few minutes, he said he must go and consult with someone, promised to be back soon, and asked that we stayed in the hut. A short while later, he came back with Herbert. I explained to Herbert that we needed a guard, and the white stranger might help us. He is one of the blank-face
d men, I said, so I can control him, and it is better to have a white man guarding a company composed mostly of white people.

  Herbert reluctantly agreed but demanded that I let him know of any changes in the man’s behavior, then he turned and left. I pulled the young man out of the hut again, so he could be revived by the purifying water. Yakura was standing not far from us, standing under the waterfall of rain and washing her body. She looked at us and smiled.

  31

  The Arrow of the Goddess

  I decided to look for a secluded place to talk to the stranger, and my instincts drew me out of the camp, away from Herbert and his bodyguards. I chose a path I had taken earlier with Clara, the one that led to the isolated hut built at the top of a tree. The dog reluctantly trudged behind us. Now and then he stopped, shook his body from head to tail, and looked at us as if pleading for mercy.

  “If you are the reincarnation of a man who feared rain, go back to the camp immediately!” I ordered him with a smile, but he looked at me stubbornly and kept following us. Lightning struck a tree not far from us, as if the sky commanded us not to continue into the forest. When we reached the stream, we found the wood bridge had collapsed. I decided to keep going anyway and sought another way to cross the stream.

  I looked around and saw the opening of a cave not far from us. There we might find the privacy we wanted. The stranger and the dog followed me. The cave did not appear too deep and looked like a kind of fold in the ground. I turned on a flashlight so we wouldn’t accidentally sit on a snake and saw two eyes twinkling in the darkness. We immediately left the cave. A boar bolted from the cave with frightening speed, but instead of attacking us, it ran and disappeared in the thicket. I wanted to overcome my fear and return to the cave, but the man grabbed my arm and said, “Don’t do it, it’s dangerous!” I don’t know why, but I took his advice.