excerpt
of my body and bit me viciously. I was too scared to open my mouth
to scream, for they were all over my face.
I tried to get out of the hammock but received a heavy blow. This
was not just an amusement for them, it was some sort of ritual or
test. I kept my jaws clenched and willed myself to quiet down,
hoping the ants would do the same. But they were in my nose, and I
had to snort forcefully to expel them.
It crossed my mind to try to get out of the hammock at any cost,
but the caciques had put me there. They were there to see how I
would respond. Who knows what would have happened if I had
rejected their punishment? They might have come up with worse or
simply had me killed.
I wondered if Apacuana was also watching. I hadn’t seen her yet.
I wanted to see her, I wanted to live.
The hair on my body was standing on end. I was burning from
the sting of the bites. I was slippery with sweat. Gradually, very
gradually, the ants calmed down, but I could feel them in parts of
my body no one had ever touched, let alone bit or tickled. I
squeezed to keep them away from sensitive areas of my anatomy,
with some success.
To achieve perfect stillness, I recited Psalm 63. Tomy surprise, my
mind and my spirit began to detach from my hardship. The words
took on meaning, and the meaning changed with the notes of the
melody we used to sing in the monastery. O God, thou art my God;
early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a
dry and thirsty land, where no water is.
I stopped singing to myself when the ants found their way into my
mouth and bit me on the tongue. I chewed them and swallowed. I
tried to resume my singing. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have
seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy loving kindness is better than life,my
lips shall praise thee. I wanted to prove to them my faith was strong.
Several ants explored my face, curiously not biting despite the
movement. But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the
lower parts of the earth.
Libros Libertad 