3
ARRIVAL TO EISENBAUM
I had been riding for five hours on the back of “Good”, tied up to the thin reins as a castaway would tie up to a lifeguard, not to stumble over the uneven gravel road. Exhausted, by the double effort that meant to keep me upright on the back of “Good” and, at the same time, to resist her attempts to expel me from her spine, engaged as we were in this silent war that unfolded behind Leonardo, we reached a point where the road ended and a trail of fine, white powder began, which penetrated into the mountain and then became smaller and smaller until losing its sight.
Huge cliffs bordered the road. The mare, with her four legs as long as stakes splashing numb powder that was dispersed to her fast touch, traversed the acute hills. I had the certainty that the animal lifted much more dust than necessary with the clear intention to cover me with the blast of white dust from head to toe.
Leonardo, in front of me, walked the same path, immutable. There was a moment during the trip in which “Good” walked on an edge of the roadway and leaned her head leaving me a deep cliff view, covered by big, greyish stones, very sharp, full of nettles and vines, very thorny. Shaken by the sensation of vertigo and the expectation of an imminent downfall, my body shook with an intense flavor to fear and amazement. Then, she turned and said:
-Who is ridiculous now? -and getting away from the abyss joined the path acting as though nothing happened.
I had the feeling that if Leonardo had not been present, my body would lie in the bottom of the abyss with profound and multiple lacerations. I decided to abstain from adverse comments as long as more cliffs were ahead.
Passing the abyss and the mountains, the vegetable lattice became milder and we began to see the first stone houses with the reddish clay roofs and the gardens planted with orchards and green vegetables. The clean air carried a faint aroma of orange blossom and fruit. My mood revived by the freshness of the atmosphere and my adventurous spirit resurfaced. In the distance, I recognized the imposing structure of The Fortaleza, with its large gabion walls, plump and corpulent as Titans. The sound of sea waves highlighted the closeness of the sea.
The night was just falling when we arrived at the village, a small town on the outskirts of The Fortaleza. Being in the villa is how to make a jump back in time. It had no electrical lighting and all the night time lighting was provided by the glow of the moon, the shine of the stars and the kerosene lantern that seemed onlookers from the windows of the houses. The roads, which were not paved; were sown in beautiful countryside and wherever the view the rugged hills and lush green terraces in gradient dominated. The houses had orchards and stables and some, showed rudimentary carts in front of their facades.
Diversity of clothing swarmed among the inhabitants of the village, modern outfits lived in perfect harmony with robes of the early century, all a Carnival of colors and styles. And as a result of this dichotomy of fashion, it was not uncommon to find, for example, a gentleman wearing an oxidized iron pants and a prestigious Lacoste terracotta flannel; or a lady, with French lace petticoats under a majestic gown by Carolina Herrera. How came these garments so far? It was a mystery. This town was very avant-garde, at least in matters of fashion, not so in matters of morality, as I realized, sometime later, when one of its inhabitants was commissioned to instruct me the concept in detail.
We crossed the village very slowly along the main street, Leonardo occasionally looked back to ensure that I remained "still on" the back of the mare, I, as an Amazon trying to keep an experienced and perky attitude, made superhuman efforts to keep me on the brawny backbone of “Good” and she did equal effort to make me look like an eyesore.
In one corner, where a building with a sign of "Library" was, Leonardo bent to the right and rushed; as I could I managed to put myself by his side. A few meters from there, he stopped in front of a house, so white and bright that it seemed built with sea salt, the windows seemed to greet us warmly. I sensed that I had reached my destination. The magician got off the horse and caught the mooring ropes to tie them up to a stake placed in the sidewalk for this purpose, then tended me the arms to help me get off my rebel mare. So delicate, so subtle, so exquisite, it was the contact that I felt transported in billowing clouds of cotton and my spirit soared into the outer reaches of the absolute happiness, and during one thousandth of a second his enigmatic blue eyes looked at me with the glare and glow of a lover, but the moment barely lasted until the minute that my legs were anchored on the ground. Blurred the magic of the moment, Leonardo returned to the expressionless face that usually wore and warned:
-I am going to introduce you to the kind people who will take care of you, but please, try not making mockery of their names, right?
I nodded with a slight movement but I couldn’t stop thinking about the warning that I was being given. Were the names so ugly that they deserved of such exhortation? Or perhaps Leonardo intended to intimidate my effusive spirit with the ointment of the prudence. In any case, soon the question would be solved. From inside the house, a lady came out with averaged height, somber expression and narrow and flaccid face. She wore a very black dress that covered her arms and neck completely. Grey circles hung below her eyes, brows so thick that they almost meet with the heavy eyelashes. Behind her, a Lord appeared with the complexion as round as apples, which cost him to keep pace since the weight made him to balance forward and backward.
Leonardo introduced me to them:
-Camila, with great pleasure, I am pleased to introduce you to Madam Severa and her husband, Misfortune.
For a moment I thought it was a joke… Ah! And a treacherous laughter began to form very inside of me threatening to transfer the dyke of my moderation and throw me into the humiliating valley of recklessness. How right was the Magician to warn me! But, what have these people against normal names? Didn’t they know of the existence of “John”, “Mary”, “Peter” or “Charles”. Isn’t the name a judgment with which we must live each day of our lives? And since the promulgation of this judgment is given to the parents, shouldn’t they really consider more carefully the consequences of this action? As their children are the ones walking along the already tumultuous paths of existence, carrying a name that promulgates derision and scorn. What fault does the unfortunate carrier of the name, have if his Grandfather Euleterio, was a god of generosity on Earth and rendered some money to the mother to manufacture a little house in the land of Don Gutiérrez? Or what if Aunt Rosa is an angel of goodness, which was always stuck, feet and head, in the Jesus Sacred Heart Church, praying and praying, to get a job at the pharmacy to the father of the creature? In gratitude, parents decided, as a big deal, naming the kid with the first three letters of the name of the grandfather and the first three letters of the name of the aunt, who was so good. Thus, the poor boy ended so-called "Euros" and lived his existence blaspheming by the benefits received from Grandfather Euleterio and lovely Aunt Rosa.
However, Severa and Misfortune did honor to their names and to complete the family they included their progeny in the presentation:
-Camila, these are our cherubs, Victor Joseph, Victor Rafael and Victor Andres. The Cherubs were three boys with skeletal appearance and too kinky hair, very similar to mine, dressed exactly in the same way, with the same eyes, the same mouths, the same noses and the same manners; and this constant uniformity was reflected not just in clothing but in characters. Everything that one said was repeated by the other and the other. When one of them laughed, the other chuckled and the other chuckled too. With so much homogeneity of thought and clothing, it was difficult for me to recognize them separately; but this small mishap was diminished by the coincidence of names, so to avoid confusion or discrepancies, I chose to call them all by "Victor" and with this small gadget I was able to appear as "educated and distinguished" to the dark eyes of Severa, her husband and the Victors.
Then, Severa allowed us the entry to the house. The door was wide so we could go in in threes without problems. Passing the door, there was a small seeded hallway planted with fuchsia and yellow roses that after a while changed color and were purple and green, beautifully cultivated in a celestial blue turf, which caught powerfully my attention, but as the others this singularity did not impress them, I, following the dictates of reason and in order of not attracting unnecessary suspicions, choked the question that was beginning to emerge in my lips about the origin of such phenomenon.
On the grass, a huge cage of narrow, long white bars in wrought iron, housed the robust figure of a parrot that bobbed in its small bamboo swing, singing a Frank Sinatra tune, "My way", and I shall say, with excellent diction and great expertise in the management of the musical notes! I later learned that was a "female parrot", which was unmarried, that her name was Consuelo and had been in the family for more than thirty years.
From the hallway departed a long corridor of small white and turquoise mosaics, with rooms side by side of the corridor. The doors were closed so I could not look inwards. The aisle led to a main room upholstered with a paper with dark designs and cold and sad colors. The furniture was also unicolor, without any part in particular that highlighted above the others. A kerosene lamp shared lighting with a candle candelabrum whose wax was dripping intermittently giving the site a smoked fragrance.
Severa and her black dress extended us the invitation to sit; the Victors remained standing next to Misfortune, watching me as one could watch an animal in a Zoo, with the vitrified smile on the face. Leonardo sat on a small sofa and I sat by his side, then he talked:
-As you agreed with Americus, Camila will be with you until she finished her studies. The coming week she will begin the course. We will look for her transportation. She will be picked up at seven in the morning and will return at five. I am counting on your customary hospitality!
Severa looked at him with the phlegmatic face that I would be very familiar with. Her voice was sharp, without modulations or nuances, like the monotonous melody that you hear when someone is praying. The face and the voice were a very gloomy set very appropriate for a cemetery, but in the house, with the accompaniment of lighting so weak and so strange characters were shocking and misplaced. Leonardo, immune to the face and the prevailing tone in the enclosure, continued giving directions to the matron, and she assented with a nod while Misfortune had not said, so far, any word, and I began to doubt of the existence of the vocal cords of the Lord.
-I am sure, Leonardo, everything will be fine if Camila follows the rules of this house. That was the only condition that I agreed with Americus, nothing less or nothing more -concluded the woman.
Instantly I started to think about the blessed rules. What if they were not to my liking?
-I think it is time for me to leave -said Leonardo and looking at me- I'll see you in a week.
While he was talking, walked towards the door and almost disappeared from my view when I realized the bloody fate that meant staying in that house. I ran up to him and caught him by the arm with the absurd hope that he would feel pity on me and take me with him.
-Wait! Are you going to leave me here? I have to see Americus. I do not understand why I cannot stay in The Fortaleza. As far as I know all trainees are staying there -I felt like if a huge hole was being open in my stomach.
Leonardo, using the same conciliatory tone used with Ño Josefina at the time of my departure, looked at me for a moment and replied:
-These are instructions from my father. In a week you will see him and be able to ask him directly whatever you want. In this place, you will be okay, if it were not so, I would not leave you -and lifting my chin he gave me a light kiss on the cheek.
The kiss, as unexpected as it was, left me paralyzed; signal which was misinterpreted by the magician as my consent to remain in the residence and then, riding in one of the horses and taking the reins of the other, began the ride towards The Fortaleza, leaving me behind. When I turned my head I saw the big eyes of Severa nailed to my neck, shaking her head in disapproval. Misfortune and the single Victors looked at me in silence.
-A decent young lady should not allow a gentleman to take such liberties with her. It is in very bad taste to give that kind of spectacle in the middle of the street, when, surely, neighbors are watching us -said roughly. Then, taking my arm I was brought to the living room, where a Victor brought me a chair and the others took position around the table, with Severa, at the head of the same. From one of the pockets of her black dress she drew a small glass lenses and placed it on the tip of her nose, then she brought closer the light of a candle to greater vision.
-Dear girl, now I will read the "Regulation of Coexistence" of this house. It is important to note that we do not make exceptions to any of these rules. They must be obeyed, with disposition and discipline. A copy of these rules has been placed on the bedside table in your room so you can study it as carefully as they deserve.
Thus she began the reading:
-Clause Nº. 1: In relation to meals: breakfast is served at 6:30 am, not a minute more or less. Consequently lunch is at 12:00 m and dinner at 7:00 pm. To attend meals, you should dress with casual attire.
-Clause N° 2: In relation to the sleep hours: every inhabitant of this house must be in bed at 9:00 pm. It is enforced the use of pajamas. I will pass inspection to check that this rule is serving. Also, it is strictly forbidden the use of insomnia.
-Clause N° 3: With regard to the objects of the house: all inhabitants are responsible for the pans that are assigned for use: dishes, cups, cutlery, glasses, etc., as well as of its care and cleaning, or replacement in case of loss or breakage.
-Clause N° 4: In relation to the site of the objects in the house: personal hygiene items, such as toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, must be placed in the white cabinet installed over the sink of the bathroom for this purpose. The elements must be 5 centimeters from one another to avoid the appearance of disorder in the toilet area. With regard to the position of other objects of the house, every cabinet and closet has a paper list attached to one side with the correct position of the elements.
-Clause N° 5: In relation to leisure: laziness is not permitted in this house, so that activities that encourage participation and family harmony will be enforced. These activities will be displayed in a list at the beginning of each week, on the undercard on the inner wall, beside the door facing the street. Spontaneous recreational activities which by their nature are not included in the program will be monitored by a member of the family, in order to preserve the reputation, morals and good manners of the family entity.
-Clause N° 6: On lies: lies are strictly prohibited in the family, and in any case, restricted in the outer scope. If it is necessary its use, in very exceptional cases, this will be under the supervision and authorization of Severa, indicating date, reason, lying (black or white) type, and will be used only in situations of extreme emergency or when life is being threatened.
-Clause N° 7: On the noise: the level of noise allowed in the house is 60 decibels.
-Clause N° 8: On the sanctions: in case of any kind of breach, partial or total, of any of the clauses stated here, we will proceed to gather evidence and, in a family reunion, will take on consensus the necessary corrective or preventive measures that put an end to the conflict.
-Clause N° 9: The President of the Family Office, Severa, has the authority to issue, resign, reject, defer, evaluate, pamper, approve or disapprove any of the above items, without the consent of the other parties.
After read the parchment, Severa raised her eyes above the glasses and observed me, carefully, studying my reaction.
I would have laughed very willingly if it were not for the tragic circumstance that was developing before my eyes in which I was irresolute, hopeless and irreparably alone at the mercy of this Hitler sympathizer. Where had I fallen? In the military forces? As ridiculous as it might seem the regulation in this house had force of law and was very clear that whoever violated the rules would be the receiver of the sanctions. I had no other choice but nodding as a sign of conformity and get into this military regime.
As it was almost nine o'clock, and if we continued talking we would be violating the Clause Nº 2 of the law, Severa took a candle and said that she would take me up to what would be my room. Misfortune and the Victors rose in turn and after the < Goodnight >, were lost after one of the doors. As seven o‘clock had already passed, I sensed, as indeed happened, there would be no dinner for which I was glad of the good judgment of Ño Josefina to provide me with abundance of food for my trip.
We walked towards the corridor and stopped before a heavy oak door, Severa took from her pocket a strange key with a cross made of copper on it and opened the door slowly. She entered first and placing the candle on a small nightstand next to the bed, turned indicating me with a gesture to get in. As the Magician had promised, on the bed was my luggage. At that moment the "gong" from an old clock I had seen in the room, began to sound indicating the nine bells. Severa, with a disgust face, said goodbye blaming me for having her maintained up to that hour of the night. When she closed the door, I let a sigh of relief and took a look around.
The room was spacious and ventilated. A huge window was hiding behind a white chiffon curtain, matching the quilt that harbored the bed and the very fluffy pillows. They seemed to greet me lolling on the header. A small door on my left hinted the bathroom. I was very satisfied with the inspection; then I felt asleep.
Very slowly the days passed by in the house of Severa and this had not meant a mishap were it not for the strict Hitler military regime ruling in the small Republic of Severa that was his home, where her person only presided with omnipotent authority the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary power, and, in addition, boasting the title for life, in other words, indefinite and perennially.
Misfortune, the Victors and my person, humble inhabitants of her autocratic Republic, were not able to have our say, and our presence was only tolerated in order to complying with the orders of the great dictator. It disturbed my sanity the nonexistence of instruments or means of communication with the outside world, namely, telephone, computer or fax, so any attempt of insubordination or protest, remained isolated within the confines of the house, classed as fascist by the Supreme Court of Severa, without the right to defense or counsel. Having no means of expression our protests died in their inner selves, without having ever met the daylight or a just sentence. I suffered from this injustice and enduring it with high-minded agreement, waiting for the propitious moment of my interview with Americus, to empty the pot of my recriminations for leaving me to my fate in such autocracy.
Severa complained with much indignation of all my acts, how much more so when passing the days became evident that her progeny flourished in deep admiration for everything I did or said and always followed me as little lap dogs in all my endeavors and daily chores. When I arrived late for breakfast, Severa, billowing anger and irritation, hid the bread, cheese and the orange juice, which from six and a half had been on lively display on the table, under a cloth decorated with a few felt hearts that watched me on the table without being able to say anything; on the other hand Severa did say the following:
-You broke the Clause N° 1, therefore you're confined to your room, reflecting on your actions!
As exemplary punishment executed to force me to arrive early, Severa was not very successful. Her offspring, away from the look of her mother, hid abundant and nutritious snacks that later delivered to me close to the lawn, next to Consuelo’s cage, where the haggard eyes could not see, reason why I was able to get rid of the famine that I would surely suffer if it were not for the altruistic actions of my silent benefactors.
After breakfast, we always went for a ride in the surroundings of the village, full of greenery, so it was extremely easy finding places to surrender to leisure and fun. There, the Victors and I freed up our revolutionary spirit and discussed of the excesses of the Nazi regime, the President and all her Cabinet; then, we engaged in some fascinating discussions of what we would do if we were in the position of Government.
It was then, when we argued very passionately of the virtues of communism, socialism and capitalism. On occasions, we were more in favor of communism and socialism since its economic structure by an equality of classes, in my view, satisfied more to the poor people, but when it came to the point of the non-existence of private property, I was thinking about the tragedy that this would mean for my poor sister Beatrice and then, I twisted my convictions toward the freedoms of capitalism.
On one of these walks, I came with Dorian, the magician that I shared dances at the Party held last year in The Fortaleza and that throughout the night was dedicated to woo me. On this occasion, he found me sitting on a sack of wheat, on the outskirts of the village; with my clothes saturated with mud and my hair matted of herbs, talking about the French Revolution with the Victors, whose clothes and hair were in identical condition than mine.
As I did not want to be rude with Dorian or abandon the Victors for engaging in conversation with the wizard, to his question about how I had been, I answered only with the indispensable, that I was staying at Severa home and that in a few days I would begin my learning. After this short encounter he said goodbye with the promise to resume contact as soon I reached The Fortaleza.
Shortly after noon, after the allegations about different Government systems, we returned to the house, like sheep into the fold, with the same resignation and gentleness, to enjoy a silent and abundant lunch. Indeed! Severa, with all that blackness and darkness in her temperament or her outfits, in culinary matters was very colorful and mixed with much authority, carbohydrates, proteins and fats, and the end result was a dish that was very chromatic and colorful, with the additive of being low in calories as well as nutritious and delicious.
As Ño Josefina, Severa had a special obsession about wasted food, and looked after with psychopath dedication that no trace of food remains on the dishes but the minimum time required swallowing it. After much thought, I understood that this was not the only similarity shared by the ladies: both reigned in their homes as the King Luis XV reigned in his court, religious fervor took one to the Heart of Jesus Church and the other to the Three Seas Church, with the same facial numbness of Saint Theresa in the Calvary street. Severa carried the blackness of her soul with pity and Ño Josefina loaded hers onto the canvas of her skin with pride.
After lunch, a nap was mandatory. And that was the precise moment I chose to think about my family and Leonardo. Wow! Leonardo! Leonardo! Leonardo, you said good bye to me so lovingly! Would it be possible that, perhaps, you are having feelings for me? Cupid! Cupid! Cupid! If you exist, I call you, and call you loudly, so aim your bow, relax your arrow and in the sweet ink of love bury its tip to aim your crossbow towards Leonardo’s heart because I am already in love and do not need your spear.
Just days away to see him again, I felt the vaporous agitation and nervousness of a faithful lover. Severa’s punishment or harassment did not matter if I could remain in Eisenbaum to see him again! However, not all was blackness or blackening in the person of Severa. There were occasions in the afternoons that in an effort to dominate the rebellions of my soul, she dipped in the sea of anecdotes and confidences, revealing to me, without suspecting it even, the wonders of the fable that was her life, with moral and all. That was how I found out of her past vicissitudes, her childhood and youth in distant lands. She was the fourth in a family of seven brothers that death broke little by little. First, it took her parents, victims of poorly healed tuberculosis, then two brothers martyred by a profound malnutrition, followed by two deceased product of cholera and the last two taken by the calamity of war. Thus, two by two, little by little, the death took the members of her family to let her alone, helpless and sad, sunken in a bottomless depression. Then, the misadventures of fortune came, luck reverses and the subsequent submission in misery. It was at that point that she decided to come to Eisenbaum and begin her apprenticeship as a sorceress, but this did not have a happy ending because she knew Misfortune, another apprentice of good strain and from her same town, and fell in love, married and began the production of Victors, so she had to devote herself full time to support her family, beginning in this way her autocratic reign. In view of these facts, Severa gained recognition before my eyes, acquiring hero overtones and protagonist characters. With the birth of this other Severa, more human and subtle, the features of her face also lightened, the dark circles were no longer dreadful spots escorting her eyes but rather palpable evidence of past pain. Softened the bitter grimace from her mouth by the nectars of my indulgence, I saw her now with other eyes, other ears and other mouth and, also, learned to read through her authoritarian shield, the democracies of her spirit.
Thanks, dear Severa! Because in your fable I found the greatest of morals, that no other teacher had ever taught me in a class room, with the skill, expertise and the greatness with which you did,... you taught me that in all blackness there is a whiteness, that all whiteness hides a piece of blackness and that the two of them alternately redeemed the scraps of life.
Another aspect that Severa devoted much of her time was to teach me the scope of morality. Morality is a very prestigious quality in the realm of magic and its concept is much wider here than in the real world. It had a lot to do with ethics, decorum, honesty, decency, integrity and commitment and when Severa spoke, tremulous of passion in praise of the morality, shaking her hands and the fins of her nose in an effort to give more drama to the enumeration, I, on the other hand, dwarfed of shame, remembering my lying and how little I had of such a prestigious attribute. As if this were not enough, attached to the moral, as an inseparable companion, was a strict code of conduct that I do not intend to enumerate here, by the intricate and extensive of this code and if I mentioned it is only to express that my actions did not comply with it, constituting another obstacle in the way of my learning. Thus between fable and morality tales I spent the week in the National Republic of Severa.