excerpt
Perhaps I was misjudging her. She, too, had changed in the
months of the expedition. She was no longer the frightened girl she
had been; feral strength had blossomed in her as it had in the rest of
us. “But what is there to do?” she said. “Losada has said nobody
should go near them.”
Indians had the unnerving habit of approaching like felines,
always unnoticed. Tamanoa suddenly appeared before I had a
chance to finish talking to Josefa. Something was evidently on her
mind, perhaps a plan of some sort, but she left as soon as Tamanoa
arrived.
“Here,” he said. “Chew this, it will help you.” He was offering me
a few leaves and a pinch of ash cupped in his hand. “It’s called coca.
Chew on it, you’ll see. Take the leaves and then the ashes.”
“I have to eat the ashes?”
“Yes. Remember the mother of the child you took away from
when he was cleaning his boots that day? She comes from the
mountains far to the southwest. They have this plant that takes pain
and tiredness away. She is so thankful to you for what you did that
she didn’t hesitate when I asked her for it. She has a little bundle left.
She gave me some when Pánfilo did this to me.”
Tamanoa hadn’t let me down yet on his knowledge of medicinal
plants, and, at this point, I would have eaten dung if he had told me
it would help. I put two leaves and a bit of ash in my mouth and
started chewing. In only a few moments, my tongue was tingling
and growing numb. The juices were pungent at first and then
milder. The taste wasn’t all that bad, really. Very quickly relief crept
over me; my heart beat faster, and I felt myself sitting taller.
I squeezed Tamanoa’s forearm in gratitude, leaned my head
against the trunk and closed my eyes for several seconds of bliss,
only to be jolted awake by a woman screaming. It was Josefa.
Josefa was standing beside Gregorio, whimpering, cradling her
arm, and leering at Apacuana with accusatory malice. It was a
performance of great drama. “She attacked me!” she squealed,
pointing at Apacuana. “She attacked me! I came offering friendship
and she attacked me!”
Libros Libertad 