I hear again the voice of the angel, because surely he must be an angel who visited me yesterday.
"Find the serpent. He will guide you. Go now. Immediately!"
I am going in the direction of the eagle, towards the horizon. The sun is very strong. I have been walking for quite a while. The sun doesn't seem to be affecting much. I don't know why, maybe from the sleep that the angel provided me, also the eye of the eagle. I am glad that my friends are alive after all, but I don't want to leave them for long. But I have to find the hidden springs that will open up the subterranean rivers and end this goddamned drought. Many in my town have already died. My town. I was eleven years old when my mom brought me to Mexico. My dad had been killed by the bullets of narcotraffickers. The chief of police did everything he could to help us. Then his wife was killed in an act of revenge. My mom befriended the recent widower, they fell in love and lived together with his twin children, Juan and Yolanda. They accepted me and loved me. And spoiled me. The entire town welcomed us. When the drought began, I insisted on helping my adoptive siblings and Raúl, such was my debt to them. Especially after the death of my mom. And now I am seeking the means of undoing this curse. Now I am certain that the drought comes from a curse, and if we do not resolve this, then we are all going to die. Now I am feeling fatigue. There is shade in the mouth of this cave. I am hungry and thirsty. I am surprised that I feel so cool in the shade here. I reach into the bag of maroon velvet and take out something like bread or cake. It is dense and heavy, brown coloured, and the first mouthful tastes sweet and satisfying. Just after three mouthfuls I am feeling satisfied and I return the rest of it to the bag. The water is in a silver bottle. It is unusually cold, the purest water I have ever tasted. And now, the fruit. It is an orange, and I recall my dream of the orange tree. It is sweet, and very satisfying. I am overcome by tiredness and fall asleep.
I don't know how long I have slept. Maybe the bread and water are drugged. Could be night, or the dawn. The air is unusually sweet, just outside of the cave. I see the stars shining across the black fabric of the sky. Now begins the dawn because there is a line of very faint light on the horizon. I hear a sound I cannot identify. Like a humming. Suddenly I am hungry. Once again the bread is an entire loaf, so it must have grown during the night. Again, I eat just three mouthfuls, no more. Delicious and satisfying. The horizon lightens a bit more, and the humming increases in intensity. It is musical, almost like a human voice, not exactly masculine or feminine, but very strong, very sweet, very beautiful. And now the black serpent is passing me. I back away but the snake doesn't seem to notice me. I return to the cave, just in case. I am not in the mood for becoming breakfast for gigantic serpents. The bottle of water is full, and is still pure, cold and refreshing. I wait in the mouth of the cave until the sweet sound of humming decreases, like the humming of the serpent. I rest a bit more, and soon it is bright outside. Now the first rays of the sun are stretching across the land, lighting the twisted path formed by the route of the serpent.
I am thinking of my route. Yes, the horizon. I suddenly remember the roll of paper that the eagle gave me. It is in the maroon bag. I open it. There are only three words written in ink, very beautifully formed. FOLLOW THE SERPENT. I replace the roll and I get moving. It is cooler today, as if the sun is feeling merciful towards the earth. But I notice something else. For the first time in many months a cloud is forming, a very light cloud, like threads of cotton, filtering the sun just a little. The trail of the serpent is very twisted, but it does lead me to the horizon. I start to sing. I never sing. But now I cannot prevent it as the music and the words of an unknown language come pouring out of my lips, not in Spanish nor in English, but something different, in a tone almost Arabic or Hebrew, but I don't know. I am very surprised because my voice sounds as if some other entity, spirit or soul is singing through me, in a tone so sweet and lovely that I can hardly believe it because I have never known how to sing. After a while I fall silent. I hear other music, like a human voice, contralto or countertenor, so rich and sweet that it practically breaks my heart. It is also the same music that I have been singing. And now it is turning into something higher and richer. I look at the sky and very close to the sun there is something flying, like a bird, in the form of a swallow, although bigger. It is too far away for me to be able to discern its colour, and its very graceful,, rapid and elegant flight has left me completely overwhelmed with emotion. The sun is setting now. To my surprise there is a surviving tree, tall, elegant, like a cypress. There is grass in the shade, where I am seated. Before starting my dinner, I pick up the roll and open it.
The previous letters have vanished. The same elegant writing reads, "YOUR NAME SHALL THE BLESSING OF GRATITUDE." I put the roll back and take out the restored loaf of bread in both my hands and pray, "Behold, the Lamb of God. Behold him who takes away the sins of the world." I lift the silver bottle to my lips. It has a flavour like wine. I pour a drop onto my hand. It has been transformed into red wine!
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