Temples of the Mist

My last thought of Dune was when I was leaving and he accompanied us to LAX.  He carried my suitcase all the way to the check-in desk.  I wasn’t quite sure how to react when he turned and faced me with tears in his beautiful green eyes.  He hugged me so tight I thought I would lose my breath. 

“I’ll be here for you always, Cali.  I’m so sorry about your parents,” he said as he took off without looking back.  I could tell he was a little embarrassed at this show of emotion.  For a guy I guess it would be traumatic.  Wow, I thought it was so hot that he showed he cared.

           When we got to Chichen Itza, the first thing that hit me like a tidal wave was the heat, but when I saw the Pyramid Kukulcan, the heat seemed a small price to pay for the sheer beauty and mystical energy surrounding me.  I lost my breath and swallowed hard at the tingling sensation I felt.   The guide told us the temple was built around 850 AD, at the height of the classical era of the ancient Mayans, and was believed to have been used as a large solar calendar.  He took us inside the temple and up a steep stairway to a room where you could see the King’s tomb.

“This is freakin’ awesome,” I murmured to Aunt Bette. 

“You can say that again,” she replied.   We were both whispering and weren’t sure why.  “Beautiful ….,” said Aunt Bette breathing heavily, as we made it back down.

We headed north to the Well of Sacrifice.It was the size of a ball stadium, and crater-like with formations of rock on its huge sides.  There was a deep drop to the murky green water below.  What should have been a beautiful cenote – a sacred well with clear water - seemed ominous and toxic.  The guide explained that in ancient times people were thrown into the Well of Sacrifice, about 100 feet down, for sacrifices to the Gods.  Skeletons of men, women and children had been found in its depths. 

As he talked, I suddenly had a horrifying vivid vision of an ancient time, and a Mayan woman and child being pushed into the Well by two men dressed in loincloths prodding them from behind with their lances.  The woman turned her head and looked straight at me with a desperate and pleading look in her eyes, and then jumped to her death with her child.  It lasted for a minute, but it was enough to send shivers up and down my body.  I shuddered and felt faint as I grabbed on to Aunt Bette’s arm, tears streaming down my face.

"Are you okay, dear?" asked Aunt Bette taking a look at my very pale face.

            “Yeah, I’m fine, I just don’t like it here,” I said wide-eyed, trying to hide my fear and maintaining my composure.  “This place gives me a bad vibe,” I said as I wiped my face with the sleeve of my shirt.  I took a long swig of water from my water bottle, and I tried to keep my eyes away from the Well and that horrible vision.

  “Cali, why don’t you walk around, take some pictures, and pick up some souvenirs?  You can go ahead of us and I’ll stay here with Marsh.  We can later meet up at the ball court, but stay close,” she warned as she looked at me sternly.  “Don’t talk to strangers and answer your cell phone if I call.”

“Thank you Aunt Bette.  I promise I will.”  It’s just what I wanted to hear.  The Well of Sacrifice was making me literally sick and I was finding it hard to breathe.  I was haunted by the face of that woman right before she jumped in the Well with her child. I had to get out of there. 

Once I walked away from the Well area, I felt the change immediately and could breathe better. It was a bit of a trek back to the main site, but I got lost in thought walking through the pathway lined on both sides with vendors selling every Mayan artifact you could think of – ashtrays, blankets, jewelry.  I stopped to buy a little replica of