Mo'

The rafters of the modest home groaned softly, almost in perfect harmony with the groans of the woman pulling on the shawl hanging from them. Her black hair was damp, sticking to her neck and shoulders due to the perspiration oozing from every pore. Her small frame awkwardly cradled a full-term pregnancy belly that ballooned out as she squatted in the hammock, bracing herself for the next contraction and pushing as hard as she could. She squeezed so tightly that her normally smooth face was suddenly marred by wrinkles as her facial muscles contracted with the rest of her body, her efforts fruitless.

The Aj ilonel (Healer) instructed her to lay back in the hammock for a quick rest. The Healer was an elderly woman who had arrived in the early hours of the dawn to assist in the birth, but now the night was as black as a jaguar’s fur, and the baby had yet to exit the womb. This difficult labor was to expected, it was the woman’s first child. There was also no husband to assist her as she squatted in the hammock, no air from the father to aid the infant out.

Hours later when the mist from the jungle hung heavy around the home, the Healer felt a presence. She peeked out of the window, the light from the fire was barely enough to reflect on the green eyes of a b’aalam (black jaguar). The jaguar grunted along with the crescendo of feral screams emanating from the home. With a violent surge of blood that watered the ground, the infant made her way into the world. She let out a soft, pitiful cry, as her mother faded into Xibalba (The Underworld) to join her father. The infant cried as if she knew that she was alone in the world. The grunts of the jaguar faded away as it prowled back into the jungle.

The Healer looked at the infant in pity. Only a few seconds old and already an orphan. It would be a kindness, she thought, to send her along to her parents. A pure soul was a perfect candidate for a sacrifice to the gods. Her eyes landed on the blood-soaked figurine of Ixchel (jaguar goddess of medicine and midwifery) located beneath the hammock. It had been placed there to help ease the labor, and yet the labor had been one of the most difficult she had ever attended. However, the jaguar itself had been present when the infant had been born, something she had never witnessed before. Perhaps this was the goddess marking the baby girl as a future midwife and healer. She was getting on in age to tend to an infant, but the Healer decided to take the orphaned girl in so that one day she could make her an apprentice. She put out the fire, and then bundled up the infant as she walked out into the mist.

The girl was named Akna. Her years of infancy quickly faded away, and soon she was a child of small frame and pensive obsidian eyes. Akna was quiet, preferring to observe everything around her. This quality made her a quick learner. From a young age the Healer was able to start teaching her the ancient ways of medicine. She started with the identification of the medicinal plants. Akna learned them all quickly and soon was foraging the jungle for them on her own.

The jungle would always welcome Akna on her trips for plants. Despite her young age, she was not afraid of being alone, away from the babble of civilization. When the iq’ (wind) would blow, she would close her eyes and listen to the music it made as it caressed the leaves of each tree, the soothing sound would course through her body and would give her moments of joy. It was during one of those moments when she first heard them. The wind carrying their screams. She ran towards the sound, and stopped when she saw a black jaguar with a small scarlet mo’ (macaw) in its mouth. The screams came from the top branches, where the rest of the macaws watched in horror as one of their own was taken by the jaws of the jaguar that crunched down on each bone.

Everything grew still as the jaguar caught Akna in its gaze. The green feline eyes paralyzing her senses. The din of the jungle was drowned out by her own heartbeat thudding in her chest. It felt like an eternity to her but within a few seconds the jaguar flicked its tail, turned, and bound into the depths of the jungle, releasing her. The sounds of the macaws screaming crashed down on her from the jungle canopy. She did not understand why, but she screamed with them for someone she could not remember.

Akna stood on the edge of the tz’onot (cenote), the rays of the sun filtered by the green canopy of the jungle were caressing the surface of the deep blue water, making it shimmer in an inviting way. She remembered the Healer teaching her about the jaguar gods, how they ruled Xibalba (The Underworld) and how all the departed souls would go to this mysterious place. The entrance was said to be in the underwater caverns below the circular sinkholes. She dangled one small leg over the lip of the entrance, throwing a small rock into the water in the process. The splash echoed back at her and the rock sunk quickly out of sight. If she could only reach the entrance to the underworld, maybe she could ask the jaguar gods to let the small macaw come back with her, and maybe she could even meet these strangers that pulled at her heartstrings. As she dangled the other leg over the lip, a rustle of wings and a flash of scarlet plumage landed on a branch above her head.

“Na’b’ej” (mother) crooned the bird repeatedly. The word she had whimpered through her tears earlier. “Rab’in?” (daughter) she replied hesitantly. The bird liked the new word and repeated it back to her. “Daughter, daughter, daughter”. The child smiled and withdrew her legs from the sinkhole as the macaw took flight. It was like chasing a scarlet sun through the trees, back to the rest of the birds who were singing the word “daughter” as they danced among the branches, waving their colorful feathers.

Akna was now entering womanhood, but she still visited her macaw family in the jungle every day. As soon as she would enter their area, she could hear the calls of “daughter” ringing through the canopy. Lounging under her favorite tree she would observe them chattering with each other, preening their feathers, and obliterating the shells of nuts with their tough, curved beaks. Her favorite thing was watching them soar through the green canopy like bright fire, imagining that she could one day fly alongside them.

The stone steps of the pyramid were steep, but she climbed with confidence towards the temple at the pinnacle. The Healer had sent her to pray in her stead, as she had difficulty navigating the steps at her advanced age. Akna didn’t mind though; from the temple she could see above the canopy of the jungle to admire the last golden streaks of sunlight burning through the pink and purple clouds. The night sky would slowly take over in shades of indigo and midnight blue, the stars appearing gradually, until they were a twinkling blanket of ancient wisdom and secrets.

Akna brewed the ancient peyote tea, typically reserved for shamans, but as she was the disciple of one of the oldest and most respected healers, she had access. She observed the sparkling stars swimming in the inky ocean of the heavens. Some would dart across in quick flashes as if trying to signal a code. She began to feel weightless, as if she too was swimming among the stars, but then she saw she wasn’t swimming, she was flying on the back of a macaw. His scarlet and blue plumage left a fiery sunset in his wake as he plunged over the horizon.

The macaw was chasing the sun across the ocean, as her toes skimmed the surface of the water she looked down into the depths. She could see her city and its people below the surface of the waves. The rays of the sun shone down on what looked like rows of bright stars riding on immense four-legged beasts that were thundering towards the pyramid in the center of the city. Suddenly, the day was gone, replaced by darkness. The only source of light was a silver moon which opened its eyes to reveal a cool green feline stare. She could feel the jaguars gaze paralyze her, like it had so many years before. The macaw disappeared from under her and she began to fall into those green eyes. Wind rushed around her as she fell, until she splashed into the green-blue waters of the sinkhole. The deeper she sank, the darker the waters became, she could see the canopy of the jungle through the circular opening, receding farther and farther away. Akna looked down at her naked body, it was covered in angry red blisters, she began to panic and struggle against the crushing weight of the water. She reached out and felt a hand sinking alongside her, it was then that she realized she wasn’t alone. Countless others were sinking with her, covered in the same mysterious malady that she had never seen before.

When the water became pitch black, she felt herself come out of her trance. Disturbed, she made her way down the pyramid to find her mentor and share her vision. The old healer felt uneasy as her young disciple relayed what she had seen. Such was her worry that the next day she decided to climb the steps of the pyramid herself to pray for some clarity in the bizarre vision. Akna helped her up the steps, until they finally reached the top just as the sun was directly overhead. Akna looked out over the jungle, the intense rays of the sun beating down were reflecting off of a curious line that was moving within the jungle. Like glinting stars. Akna gasped as she pointed them out to the Healer. In the distance, the macaws began to scream.