WHITE FLOWER
I lived in Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua.
The location of my house was near a mountain that was famous
for the findings of Indian idols. In my spare time I went
to the mountain in search of Indian artifacts. On my last
trip, I had the most amazing experience. While climbing the
mountain, I noticed a shining object between the rocks. At
first I thought it was a piece of mirror or perhaps a piece
of glass. However, what would a piece of glass or mirror be
doing all the way up there? I decided to check out what it
was. It was a small rock. I tried to pick it up, but it was
stuck. I kept on trying until the rock started to move. As
it moved, a rumbling sound came from the rocks above me as
they began to move also, exposing a tunnel! I was a curious
teenager.
The diameter of the tunnel was about six feet high. The structure
from the inside looked as if it was made with some sort of
machine. I could see the different types of rocks cut perfectly
even. My imagination started running wild. Could this be a
government secret base? As I started to walk further back
into the tunnel, a wonderful fresh air emanated from it. I
kept on walking. Is there an end to the tunnel? After I had
walked about a quarter of a mile, I could faintly see light
in the distance at the other end. Millions of things kept
going through my mind. Are there people on the other side,
a buried treasure, or maybe government agents? I was afraid,
but my curiosity was stronger than my fear. I started to pick
up my pace. The fresh clean air continued to flow through
my lungs. Once again I wondered if the end of the tunnel would
be an immediate drop off. I was finally close to the end.
I could see the sunlight coming into the tunnel. I slowed
my pace down. The delicious air embodied my whole body. I
felt a sense of peace and happiness. The tunnel ended at ground
level made out of shiny sand. I could see trees all around
me. On my right-hand side was a lake. It looked so blue and
clean that I felt like jumping in it. I started to walk towards
the forest in front of me. I could see fruit trees of different
kinds all over the place. Everything looked so natural. Just
as we picture paradise to be. As I kept walking into the forest,
I saw on my right-hand side a clearing with many things that
looked like Indian teepees.
I started walking toward the teepees. When I got to the center
of the area, people who looked like Indians started coming
out of the teepees. They had bandannas around their foreheads.
I could see tenderness, warmth, and love in their faces. The
way they looked at me reminded me of the way my grandmother
used to look at me.
One of the older men in the group, who had white hair, said
to me, "we all welcome you." Then he went on and said, "White
Flower will show you around."
I was feeling calm and a sense of happiness overcame me. Somehow
I felt as if these people were expecting me. Then I felt a
warm hand grabbing mine. When I looked, I could not believe
my eyes. Holding my hand was the most beautiful girl I had
ever seen.
We looked into each other eyes. I felt as if some sort of
magnetic force was holding my vision. I could not keep my
eyes away from those big dark brown eyes. While starting at
those eyes, I could see that her skin was light and that it
was nearly white. Her long, straight, black hair only added
to her beauty. She had a bandanna around her forehead. I do
not know exactly how long we stared into each others eyes,
but to me it was a wonderful feeling. I felt as if I was hypnotized
by those beautiful eyes. Finally, she broke the silence by
saying, "let me show you around." The sound of her voice was
like music to my ears. We walked for a few minutes.
I was an amateur geologist and was amazed by the different
colors of the rocks on the ground. As we continued through
our journey, we passed by a waterfall. Once again I thought
that this place might be paradise. The water from the waterfall
was like spring water. It was the best water I had ever tasted.
I did not believe in miracles, and for that matter, in love
at first sight. However, White Flower and this place made
me change my mind. As we walked, we saw all kinds of animals,
birds with beautiful colors, white rabbits, and flamingos
on the lake. It was starting to get dark and White Flower
decided to get back to camp.
When we got back, everyone was sitting around a fire. White
Flower pulled my hand gently, and we sat among the other Indians.
They were telling stories about how all the land, lakes, and
animals looked the same in the inside as the outside had been
before the Spaniards had come to the continent. They talked
about how friendly and helpful they were to the Spaniards
at the beginning. However, a couple of months later, the foreigners
took over the land and forced the Indians into slavery. Furthermore,
they would kill each other for a piece of rock that they called
"gold."
I was from a different world, and thus the stories that the
Indians were telling me did not have the same shocking effect
that it seemed to have on them. I did not know what time it
was, but I knew that it was late. White Flower showed me which
teepee was going to be mine, and then she said "goodnight"
as she was leaving. I kept thinking about my experience and
how difficult it would be for anyone to believe my story.
I was so excited that I had trouble falling asleep.
The next morning I was awakened by White Flower. She said,
"breakfast is ready." The food was delicious, however, I did
not dare to ask what it was. After breakfast I jumped into
the lake with White Flower. The water was nice and warm. We
played in the water for a long time. When we got out, I felt
so refreshed and awake as if I had slept for hours.
I asked White Flower whether there was anything that I could
do to help. She said that I could help her father who was
planting corn. As she led me to where he was, he smiled when
he saw us. When I told him that I wanted to help him, he was
pleased. My job was to drop corn in the grooves that he made.
I felt good that I was doing something for these wonderful
people that had welcomed me with opened arms.
The days went by. I was so happy that I started losing the
notion of time. I was not sure whether I had stayed here six
months or a year. Although I was very attached to my parents,
I somehow did not miss them.
I had never felt this healthy in my entire life before. Maybe
it was the air in this place or the smile of White Flower.
Whatever it was, I was feeling great.
The people here were so innocent and nice. I prayed that they
would never change. They had a holy look about them in their
faces. I felt as if they had an aura that made anyone around
them feel good.
In the meantime, I started to fall in love with White Flower.
She was tender and warm. In my mind I had no doubt that she
was the most beautiful girl in the world.
I was aware that I had been in this place for a long time.
Many corn seasons went by. However, I was not sure if the
corn period lasted three months or one year.
Everyday after work White Flower showed me a new area in this
fascinating place. This time she was going to show me the
"Golden River." We walked about two miles, and then we entered
a lower valley that she said was the Golden River. The river
was painted golden by the sun. As we got closer to the river,
the reflection of the sun faded away. The river was calm;
the water was clean. I thought of myself as being an explorer
who had discovered a virgin land never seen before by the
white man's eyes.
What amazed me the most was the bottom of the river which
had little shiny spots in it. I picked up a handful of sand
from the river's bank. The sand had shiny spots throughout
it. When I asked White Flower what the shiny spots were, she
said that it was gold. For a few seconds I remained quiet.
I wanted to scream out the words, "I'm rich!" White Flower
looked into my eyes and said, "the look in your eyes scares
me." I felt ashamed. How could this metal cause such a reaction
in me?
Gold has no value for these people and maybe I thought that
was the reason why they were so happy. I apologized to White
Flower and explained how valuable gold was in the outside
world. I also mentioned that I had had a stronger reaction
when I first had met her than when we found the gold. She
hugged me, and we kissed for the first time. It was starting
to get dark, and we decided to get back to the village.
When we got back, everyone was sitting around the campfire.
White Flower and I joined in the circle. This time the stories
that were told related to the greed, and the moral of the
stories showed how avarice destroys peoples' lives. It was
a little strange that the subject was greed. I felt as if
they were trying to tell me something.
It was late, and everyone started to walk to their respective
teepees. I walked White Flower to her place. We hugged and
kissed goodnight. As I walked away from her, I felt sad. Even
though my teepee was only about one hundred feet away from
hers, it felt as if they were thousands of miles apart.
While laying in bed, I felt so happy that White Flower had
the same feeling I had for her. I also started thinking about
my mother. I wished one day she could meet White Flower. For
the first time, I really started to miss my family. I started
to wonder if they were well. I knew that sooner or later I
had to go back home.
The days went by and the more I got to know White Flower,
the more I loved her and this beautiful place that never ceased
to amaze me. On one of our daily walks, White Flower said
she wanted to show me a place that only few people had seen.
She said that it was a cave, but she would not tell me anything
more. We were holding hands as we walked toward the cave.
After walking a couple of miles, she told me that this was
the place. I did not see anything. However, just behind a
bunch of trees, I saw the entrance. It was not dark because
there was a hole in the ceiling of the cave that was letting
the sunlight come through. It looked like a car sunroof.
What I saw was hard to describe. It looked like a discotheque
with reflections of different colors. The ground was bumpy.
I picked up one of the stones on the ground. The reflection
from the stones blinded me. The stone was the size of a golfball.
I realized that it was either a piece of glass or a diamond.
I walked around and picked up another one that was red in
color. I asked White Flower what that stone was. She said
it was a ruby. I was very excited and said to myself that
there are so many things I could get with it. However, the
happiness of being in this place and being with White Flower
were more fulfilling than the riches of the whole world.
Even though I was so happy, I knew that sooner or later I
had to go back home and look for my family. I was not quite
sure how much time I had spent in this place that I called
paradise. I did not perceive any changes among the people.
Everyone looked the same as when I got here.
I had a painful decision to leave this beautiful place, but
I knew that I was going to be back.. I knew if I left, I could
not leave completely. Somehow I was going to come back. My
goal was to bring my family here. I needed to convince them.
The whole week the only two things that I thought about were
that I had to go back because I owed it to my family and the
other was that I did not want to be away from White Flower.
One morning as I was preparing to go to work, I decided that
I was going to go back home the next day. On my way to the
cornfield, I looked at my surroundings. I was still enchanted
with this place. I was also enchanted with White Flower. I
was so much in love. I was so very much in love with her.
That evening when I came back, she was waiting for me as she
always did. I hugged her real hard, I wished that my chest
could open up and have her walk inside. I did not want to
tell her that I was leaving. However, I could not hide it
from her any longer. As I told her what I was going to do
the next day, tears came out of her eyes. When I saw her crying,
I could not stop the tears as they rolled down out of my eyes.
I told her that I had no choice but to go back. I also told
her that she was welcome to come with me, but she said she
could not. I asked her why? But she said, "I do not know why,
but I cannot go with you." I told her that I would be away
more than two days. She replied, "what would happen if you
are not able to find your way back?" I told her that I could
not live without her and not to worry that I would find my
way back. She kissed me. We started to walk towards the caves
where I had seen the precious stones. I thought that it would
be a good idea to bring some of these precious stones to my
family. White Flower was not reluctant to my idea, but she
said that her father might not like it. We wrapped the stones
up inside a handkerchief and hid them in the bushes. I was
going to pick them up on my way to the city the next day.
She made me promise not to tell the outside world about where
I found the gems. She was afraid that people from the outside
world would come and destroy the place. I kissed her and told
her not to worry.
We went back to the tribe. Everyone was around the fire. I
told them about my trip home the next day. White Flower's
father said that there was a chance that I would not find
my way back. Also, he asked me not to tell anyone about the
place. I told him he had my word of honor, and no matter what
happened, I would find my way back. As the night came down,
everyone started heading to bed. I kissed and hugged White
Flower as she headed toward her teepee.
As I laid in bed, I pictured her candor and sweetness and
that made me smile. It was a smile of happiness. Many times
I said to myself how lucky I am to have found White Flower
and this place. Unfortunately, my family was not here, which
made me sad. I was really sad about leaving White Flower and
this wonderful place. Even though it was for only two days.
The next morning the tribes people were waiting to say goodbye.
I said goodbye to everyone, and I hugged and kissed White
Flower. Without looking back, I headed towards the city.
I picked up the handkerchief and continued the journey. I
started climbing to the entrance of the tunnel. I finally
got to the tunnel. As I entered it, a feeling of anxiety overcame
me. After being in such a beautiful place, I did not feel
like going back to a world that was the opposite; where greed,
selfishness, and jealousy were idolized. I walked and walked
towards the other side of the tunnel. As I approached the
end of it, it started to get darker because the entrance was
closed.
Finally when I got within three feet from the entrance, the
rock blocking the entrance opened up by itself. I smelled
the change in the air. The air was no longer fresh. I could
smell the pollution.
Far away I saw the city and a thick cloud of smog hung over
it. When I was a few feet away from the entrance, the big
rock moved again to close it. As it closed, exasperation and
sadness embodied my mind.
I picked up a small stone and with it, I scratched the big
rock to mark where the entrance was. I was leaving paradise
but I knew I was going to go back. I started to climb down
the mountain which was rocky. I tripped and lost my balance.
As I tried to regain my balance, I let the handkerchief come
lose. I saw the precious stones run out of it. I knew I was
never going to find them because of the steepness of the mountain.
To find them would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
I was not upset about the fact that I had lost what in the
outside world would be considered a fortune. I knew right
there that I was a different person.
The city looked a little different. Somehow it looked as though
the buildings had gotten taller. As I walked towards my house,
I had a strange feeling that I was in a different place. There
were big trees that I did not remember before I left.
I was getting closer to my street. I recognized the number
of the street. Number 25. However, the houses were different.
I finally came to the house number that I knew so well. Number
415! The number was right, but instead of a one family home,
a four story building had replaced it. I could not comprehend
what was going on. I was not lost, I knew the area too well
to get disoriented.
Across the street from where I was, I saw an old man in a
wheelchair. I decided to ask if I was in the wrong place.
The old man looked in his seventies. I asked if there was
any other address nearby here with the same number of 415
West 25 Street. He said no. I went on and asked if by any
chance he knew a family named Pataky. He said, "let me see,"
and closed his eyes.
He continued on, "well, many years ago the Pataky family lived
across the street, but they all died. As a matter of fact,
I used to be a friend of the youngest brother. His name was
Morris. I think he went mountain climbing many years ago and
never came back. Everyone believes he was killed and nobody
ever found his body. If my memory doesn't fail me, he did
look a little bit like you."
At this moment my blood was rushing through my body. I didn't
know what to do. I didn't know what to say. I just ran. I
just walked away from there, faster and faster, and then I
was running. I was headed towards the mountain. I ran and
ran, but somehow my energy kept decreasing. I was feeling
exhausted. I started climbing the mountain. I looked where
I had left the marks and the shiny rock that would open the
door. I looked and couldn't see it anywhere and then I saw
my hands. I saw my hands get all wrinkled. I looked at my
body and saw I was getting old. I could see the big changes
in my body. I started getting weaker and weaker. I kept screaming
the name, White Flower. I started crawling, still calling
White Flower. I just laid there. As my body got older, hunching
up, all of a sudden I just closed my eyes and everything turned
dark.
Copyright © by Morris Pataky.
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