Romancing the Maya (English version ) Part Five

PART FIVE

 

    Hard to answer but then, because of my frustrations I was quite insecure, but then I thought, “Why don’t I recruit a few strong men in the village and find out if something hides behind?”             

         When I asked for help Grandpa objected to my idea, “You don’t have the right to disturb the peace of those spirits resting here.”

        “Grandpa you have well heard Lord Tula. He wants us to find where his last battle took place and where his remains are.”

         With this argument I won his approval and he sent the stronger men available.

            But my judgement proved to be wrong. Behind the rubble weren’t any hidden places or any other secrets. I fall into a complete despair my morale was at the lowest ebbs. On that night I couldn’t even find comfort in Maria’s love. I deserted her as well, and instead I took comfort with a bottle of Bourbon and I directed my steps into the seclusion of the cave. Hopelessly I knocked my fist into that wall, asking, invoking Lord Tula to give me a clue. I drank a lot, and that was again my usual habit.    

         I tried to formulate a plane for the future but my thoughts were blocked. I couldn’t go further that damn rock wall that obstructed my chances of success. I told myself,

“I have been a fool all the times. Maybe Father was right. After all, according of how things are going, my best place would be behind the business desk at home.”

 Then I argued again with myself, “I’m telling you, Charlie, you must be damn sure you are going to find that tunnel that takes you on the way that Lord Tula is directing you.”

       But those were thought that came to me only because I was under the influence of alcohol.

        Certainly the liquor didn’t help me much. My head was heavy and I couldn’t think properly. My legs by then were stiff and rigid and my eyes, against my will, closed and I felt into remoteness where nothing existed. I had only visions and incubus.

        The spirits of the Mayas stand hungrily in front of me. Their fingers pointed into a far away sea. They laughed at my presumption and chanted insults to me that kept repeating in my ears like an unstoppable echo, “GO HOME, GO HOME, … GOOO!!! ”

       Then I saw my father’s spirit in front of me. He was furious, “You are an idiot, Charlie.” But was he right” Like an Olympian God, thundered back again to me, “Charlie you are a fool and you’ll never learn your lesson, do you? You had promised to be a dutiful son and to look after the family business. You have let me down again over my expectations. Why did you left somebody else to take control of the family’s business?

       “I prophesied to you many times. Archeology would give you nothing but miseries. It isn’t any fame behind that cave’s walls where you are now. I’m sure that if you persist in it you’ll, belong soon to the reign of the ghosts. ”

         The rising sun filtered with a weak light from the shaft above and woke me. My head was aching and my tongue thicker and acrid in my mouth. Had I lost my battle and the last change to find Lord Tula? Did a final vital link exist?

 

         I’m stubborn and in difficulties I’m getting more obstinate in chasing results. I don’t give away that easily and so, at that time, I fought against the adversities and I decided to stay and work harder. I was sure that the tunnel descending from the City of the Moon was in a way or the other connected with that old sacred place. I was sure I’ll discover the way which would take me to the remains of Lord Tula.

        Maria supported me morally in my decision. She also, as a woman, was fond to see our love affair to go on for ever, a reason more to tell me to keep on the searches.

         On that occasion I told her “Maria, somewhere we are missing some vital evidence in our searches. More then ever I am convince that Lord Tula had existed and isn’t a dream propelled by an hallucinogen’s drinks. Basically that story has a solid base. Don’t you see that yourself? The city was destroyed and certainly the people of the city and his king fought to the last. It must be a veracity of what we heard on that night. We must find those proofs that will take us to the existence of the king and his last fight for life. It’s imperative we find that secret passage, so we can show to the world the veracity of his last battle.”

         Maria thought for a while, and then she said, “Where do you want to direct your investigations now? The City of the Moon extends over miles of rubbles and we don’t have resources enough to go through systematic searches. We can only depend from a good dose of luck and the little help the locals can give us.”

         “We have discussed this many times, Maria. I know that we are restricted financially. But before we give up the cave searches let us spend one more week inside. We’ll go over again, once more. We check up those possibilities that let us with contrasting answers, we never know, in this game we have to be persistent.”

           “Yes, an extra week could be beneficial and we can have the right answer.”                   

           “You are right, Maria. Still I believe a passage coming from one of the major building of the Maya’s city exists.”

 

       We spent many extenuating hours. We used stronger light beams and we explored again any possible cracks on the rock walls.  I made new photos using some special sensitive films, capable to detect secret passages behind the rock wall surfaces.

      Then one night, developing a film, appeared an unnatural crack over the rock surface forming a perfect cross. It was too perfect to be natural. Was that the missing clue we were looking for? Definitely it was worth a new inspection over that particular section of the wall. It was also another coincidence that I couldn’t ignore. That was the same place where the cave-in that previously we had clean up existed. We returned to the cave with a stronger arch beam and patiently we searched, inch by inch, the entire surface for that invisible cross. Finally it was there in front of us. Some fine dust had filled the tiny rock crevices and canceled the joint of the perfectly lock masonry work. My heart started to pump faster for the emotion and jubilantly I exclaimed “Eureka!”

       So finally I proved myself to be rights. A wall had been created by expert masonry to conceal its existence from the human eyes and to keep the secret from the indiscrete. What would be hidden behind that wall? Would that possibly be Lord Tula’s tunnel, where he fought his last battle?

       It took two days to Grandpa’s men to open the passage behind the wall, but we didn’t venture in immediately.

    Maria and I were quite excited from our discovery. We eagerly commented where that tunnel will take us, and we took the necessary step to prepare our equipment and cameras ready to document anything it was along that dark tunnel.

        On the second day we started inspecting the tunnel. We followed it for about five hundred meters and then we reached a T section. This new section was descending on our left and ascending on the right.

       Which way first? We chose the left but we walked only a few hundred metres and we reached a new wall, barricading the way. This wall was just a mass of rocks and rubbles, something that had been constructed roughly and in a hurry with the evident intention to create on obstacle for don’t move through that point. Was that the barrier that Lord Tula’s enemy constructed to bury him alive?

 

         We were halted again and it needed a few days work from our working team before we could proceed. I documented the discovery with photos and some notes on my diary.

        We returned over our steps. At the T section we kept going on to explore the second harm of the tunnel.

Suddenly we reached a large chamber possibly thirty meters long and ten meters wide with the ceiling standing about three meters high. Broken vessels were scattered on the floor and others were still lined along the walls.

          Our attention was attracted by some wall painting. They were frescos in basic white, ochre and black colors. They represented the life of the Mayan, from war scenes to, day to day life, in religious rituals or consuming their meals on special festivities.

        Some of the works were in need of restorations, but the same all had a great archeological value. Finally luck was on our side and the emotion was enormous.

        We were living in a remote part of Mexico and made easier to keep secret our discovery, at least until such time we could establish more reliable facts. And still we didn’t know what else we could find on the other end of the tunnel.

        That night I wanted to celebrate. I had a bottle of wine stored away for the special occasion, and so I asked Maria, “Do you know where the best place for a celebration is?”

       “I’ll get ready a basked of delicacies and together with your special bottle of wine we’ll go to our cave on the banks of the little lake. I can’t see any better location. All has started there with your dramatic fall, and the rest had pivoted around the cave for so long. Don’t forget also this is the place where you became my lover.”

        “You are right, Maria, this will always be our place.”

         We enjoyed our meal, we talk a lot about our discoveries, but more important our celebration finished in a great night of love. Maria was the most passionate lover that man can dream. 

       

        It took a good week to clean up the rubble on the left branch of the tunnel. Behind that wall we found the remains of Lord Tula together with two other warriors. They still were brandishing their lances. Over the last two hundred metres from where Lord Tula laid, the floor was scattered with a dozen of corpses, enemies that they killed in their last battle, and before their enemy built that wall that buried Lord Tula and his companions alive.

    This finding proved to us also the histrionic powers of Grandpa who had raised from the grave the spirit of Lord Tula.

       Finally I had proved my archeologist capacities to the spirit of my father. He had certainly, come to know about my discoveries, that sure made him turn in his grave, when he found that against his spell and will and only with the help of the Maya Gods I had achieve something in archeology field capable to give me fame and wealth.

 

     The End