Maria's Trail (The Mule Tamer) (6 page)

“I knew you weren’t tryin’ to save your own skin.
It’s okay.” She put a hand on Maria’s shoulder and patted her. “It’s okay.”

By late day they arrived at the ruins and Maria
was mesmerized. The ruins were high up in the side of the mountain and here and
there walls and buildings could be seen peeking out from the honeycombed face.
It was as if the people had just walked out the day before. Maria stood, jaw
hanging. “Where are they?”

Juana chuckled. “Dead.”

“How? Were they attacked? Did they get sick?”

“No, Maria, they’ve been dead a long long time.
Millennia.”

“What’s that?”

Juana shrugged. “I don’t know, the bad priest
said it. It’s a long time.”

They wandered about and found an entrance. A
little further on, they discovered a box canyon which would be a good corral
for the burros. Maria put them there and cut some mesquite to make a fence to
insure they stayed. She hobbled them for good measure. They were content; there
was much for them to graze on. She found Juana and they went to the nearest
cave.

“Whew. It stinks of bat shit in here.” Juana
held her nose.

“It’s not so bad.” Maria peered at the walls
which were still good. This would be a perfect home for them. She sat down and
made a fire and soon had a good blaze going. Juana dug through their kit and
prepared a meal. She wasn’t much good at helping because she was used to
talking and listening to the bad men at the brothel, she wasn’t used to doing
chores. Maria didn’t mind. She liked working and she enjoyed Juana’s company
and constant banter as she watched her new partner work. Maria was always
working it seemed, it is what made her happy.

They got their oil lamps and lit them. It was
time to explore. Maria was enthralled and Juana bored. They found the place
with the most guano and surmised that the bats used that part of the cave. The
rest would be cleaner and smell better and it wouldn’t be bothersome when the
bats flew in and out. This is where they’d make their home.

Further up, they found by walking a steep
incline of narrow steps, a beautiful high fortress-like structure. It offered a
commanding view of the entire valley below. They would be able to see any
intruder for at least a mile away. This is where they’d sleep.

Next, they moved down another set of steps, a
steep decline into a dark and narrow passage. Maria heard movement—water, and
in short order they came upon a fairly swift moving stream, flowing from under
a deep crevice in the rock. She tasted the water and it was good. It was clear
and cold; they would be good here indefinitely as they’d never want for water.

Before Juana could say anything Maria had
dropped down into the swift current and was wading her way across to the other
side. She held her lamp up high to illuminate her way. She eventually reached
the far side and was soon perched on a narrow ledge, up high and invisible from
Juana’s side.

“What are you doing?”

“We’ll hide our money here. No one can see it
and they won’t think to wade and carry a light like this. They won’t ever think
to look here.”

She waded back and was shivering. They hurried
back and sat close to the fire to warm up. Juana threw a blanket over Maria.
They ate and stared into the fire.

They soon fell asleep and stayed there until
morning. Maria was up first and started the housekeeping. She moved their traps
up to the fortress where she began kicking the debris away and, to her pleasant
surprise, found a neatly laid stone floor. The people were very handy who lived
here so long ago. Next, she hid their treasure and came back by the fire to dry
off and get warm. Juana finally stirred.

“Sleep good?”

“Uh huh.” Juana stretched and ate a tortilla
left from the night before.

“Well, tonight we’re going to sleep better.
We’re going to make pine needle beds up there and sleep in comfort.”

Maria was happy and excited about her new home.
It was safe and warm and had plenty of water and no one could bother them. She
couldn’t wait to make it a proper home. Juana watched her and shook her head
from side to side. “Bumpkin.”

By afternoon, Maria had made a broom and a big
bed. She had covered the bed with their blankets and fashioned pillows from
some empty sacks. Everything smelled of fresh pine. She’d collected grasses and
was working on a basket when Juana finally sauntered in. She sat and ate and
watched Maria work.

“You need to learn to make baskets too.” The
old woman had taught Maria well and she could make many baskets in a day.

“For what?”

“To trade. At that little village we passed.
The people will trade food for them. We can keep from spending our money that
way and no one will wonder how we got money in the first place. They won’t care
if we have baskets to trade. That’s expected.”

Juana picked up some grass and half-heartedly
mimicked Maria’s actions. She soon sliced her hand and stopped. “That hurts.”

“You get used to it.”

Juana began fidgeting around.

“Is there anything you know how to do, Juana?”
Maria wasn’t cross with her friend. She was just teasing her a little.

“Oh, sure. I can sing.” She began singing very
badly and Maria stopped her.

“You sound like a trampled puppy.”

“Hmm!” She thought for a moment. “I can burp
words.”

“That’s handy.”

“Oh, it’s funny.” She took in a deep breath and
burped. “Ma-ri-a.” And smiled. “I can burp a lot better with beer. I wish we
had some right now.”

“What else can you do?” Maria liked the sound
of her name burped.

“Well, I can make farting noises with my hand
and my armpit.” She reached under her arm with her hand and began flopping it
at the elbow, emitting fart-like sounds. Maria smiled and held her nose.

“You’re stinking up the place.”

They giggled. It was the first time the walls
had echoed giggles in many years. It sounded happy in there.

Juana stood up and surveyed the place. “Poor
pagans.”

“What’s that?”

“Pagans. People who didn’t know Jesus. They’re
pagans. All the savages, like you, who don’t know of God and Jesus. You’re
called pagans.”

Maria kept working and wondered if Juana wasn’t
making such words up in her head.

“How do you know?”

“A priest. He was a drunk and took up with the
whores. He used to talk a lot when he was only half drunk.”

“What did he do when he was all drunk?”

“Fall on his face.”

They both giggled at that.

“And he told you about the people here?”

“Oh, sure. That’s how I knew about it, about
the caves and the people. But I thought he was lying. I didn’t know we’d really
find it.” She looked around and regarded their handiwork. “Too bad they all
went to hell.” She sighed and regarded Maria. She liked to hold court and leak
out little bits of information to her friend. It made her feel very
intelligent.

Maria was intrigued. She’d heard of heaven and
hell, certainly, but never gave it much thought. She figured hell was for very
bad people like bandits and cutthroats and that everyone else just
automatically went to heaven when they died. She didn’t know that one must know
of and believe in Jesus to avoid hell. This didn’t make much sense to her and
she figured she’d probe Juana a little. She liked Juana and was entertained by
her, but was not completely certain that Juana knew as much as she let on.
She’d probably gotten much of this information wrong from this priest, or maybe
the priest was wrong or addle-brained or drunk when he was telling it and told
Juana a lot of bad stories. She decided to get her new friend to talk.

“So, what is this priest, then?”

“Oh, he’s the man of God. He usually wears all
black and he lives in a church and performs the miracle at mass.”

“What’s mass and what’s a miracle?” Every new
concept made Maria even more confused and Juana sensed this. She huffed and sat
down.

“Okay, let’s start at the beginning.”

Maria put her partially completed basket down
and looked Juana in the eye.

“Okay, Maria. Many years ago an angel came down
from heaven and found the Virgin Maria. The angel told the Virgin she was going
to have a baby, but she wasn’t going to have relations with a man. You now,
they wouldn’t do it.”

“Yes.”

“So, then Jesus was born. He had the Virgin for
a mother and God was his father. But he was God too.”

“I see.”

“So, in order to go to heaven, you have to know
Jesus and go to church whenever you can and eat his body.”

“What?” Maria looked, confused. “What do you
mean?”

“Well, it’s not really his body. Well, it is,
but its bread, and the priest does a magic trick and turns bread into his body
and wine into his blood.”

“Now you’re just being silly.” Maria started to
resume work on her basket, then thought of something. “So why did these people
have to go to hell?” She looked around as if she could see them peeking out
from the various crevices in the rock.

“Because they didn’t know Jesus.”

“Well, where was he?”

“He lived many years ago in another land,
longer ago than even these people, and there were no priests then. No one could
tell them of Jesus.”

Maria shrugged. This was ridiculous. How could
anyone be sent to hell when they couldn’t know about Jesus which was required
in order to go to heaven and not be sent to hell? It was stupid. She looked at
Juana who seemed just as confused. Maria decided to change the subject.

“Tomorrow we take stock of the land around us
and see what there is to get us through winter.” Juana nodded and finished a
tortilla. She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her lap. She was ready for
bed.

In another week they were settled in and
preparing for winter. Maria knew what winter was like in the country and she
was resolved to have a good one in the cave. She poked and prodded and got
Juana to store wood every day. She’d made many baskets and visited the people
in the village to trade. They now had enough for all the tortillas Juana could
eat through winter. Maria also hunted and made snares like one of the old men
in her village had taught her before he died. They worked and she felt
confident that she’d be able to get enough meat for them. She surveyed her
little settlement and was pleased until she looked on at the distracted and
sour-faced Juana.

“What’s the matter?”

“Bored.”

“Why?” Maria genuinely did not understand.
There was plenty of work to fill the day and it was good work and made Maria
happy.

“I don’t like this bumpkin living.”

Maria shrugged. She knew what Juana was
thinking and realized she wanted to go to the brothel. Juana grew up there. It
wasn’t reasonable to expect her to like the country, just as it was
unreasonable for Maria to like the brothel. She thought hard about this.

“Maybe we could go there before the weather is
bad. We need an axe.”

Juana brightened, then thought of all Maria had
done. She looked around doubtfully. “I don’t think we should leave everything.
Someone might come in and take it. Or move in and we’d be out of luck.”

She sat resting her head in her hands, poking
every now and again at the fire. She suddenly brightened. “I’ll go!”

Maria thought about it. Juana was right.
Someone had to stay behind. They couldn’t just leave everything, and their
fortune needed guarding. They did need an axe and more coal oil for the
lanterns. They needed some extra blankets as well. And candy.

Juana was excited now. She skipped around the
cave and thought about the fun she’d have. She’d take some money and spend it.
She’d visit the whores and they’d be happy to see her. They’d probably given
her up for dead by now. She was ready before sunrise and sat on her burro as
Maria worried over her.

“Stay out of sight. Spend the night in an
arroyo, don’t let anyone see you.” Juana nodded and waved her off.

“It’s only a day and a half. I’ll be fine.” She
smiled and rode off. “See you in five days.” She was gone.

Maria was alone now, really for the first time
in her life. She was always with the old woman and then she immediately met
Juana. She thought about this as she worked. She used to work constantly with
the old woman but now it felt different. She used to work, really,
for
the old woman. The old woman would tell her what to do and when to do it and
for how long. The old woman ran their little household and she decided when
things were to be done and it seemed, somehow, more like drudgery then. Now it
was fun. She decided what needed to be done and for how long and when. It made
her very happy.

Before she realized it, dusk had fallen and she
had let the fire burn down. She’d fashioned coverings for the old windows, but
decided not to use them. It was a bright night and the light from the stars and
moon poured in through the windows. Slits of silvery light illuminated her
bedchamber. She rested and thought about Juana not being in the bed with her
and it didn’t bother her too much. Juana had a habit of snoring and flopping
about quite a bit and this night Maria would likely sleep all the way through
until morning. She turned onto her back and looked at the silver slivers of
light. Soon she fell asleep.

Next morning she got cleaned up, ate breakfast
and made three baskets. She wandered up to the high place, the lookout, and
gazed out over the land as she had her midday meal. It was bright and clear and
she thought about Juana’s progress. She’d nearly be there by now. She’d taken a
lot of money with her and she imagined Juana would come back with fancy clothes
and lots of candy. She’d probably forget the coal oil and axe and blankets, but
that didn’t bother Maria. Nothing Juana did really bothered her. She was a free
spirit and did not take much in life very seriously. That was okay with Maria.
She resolved that someday she would be more like that; be more happy go lucky.
But, then again, it probably wouldn’t work. Maria had to always be thinking and
working and planning.