The Mistery of Belicena Villca
– Don Cerino ? He will come right away ; – answered the old woman – as soon as I tell him that you have already recovered .
She approached the door on my right --the other led to a bathroom as I later learned-- but before leaving she turned and said :
– Stay still Señorcito that soon I will bring you a soup and a tiger nut milk --she smiled -- you will see how soon you regain your strength .
As the days went by I began to recover and fifteen days later I would go down to the dining room and take walks in the park next to the house .
Another fifteen days later the cast was removed and , only thirty-five days after arriving in Santa María , I was able to leave for Tafí del Valle in amazing circumstances that I will narrate later .
At the beginning I wrote several times to my parents , lying over an alleged archaeological research in the Pucará de Loma Rica to reassure them for my prolonged absence . I also spoke on the phone with Dr . Cortez in order to request an extension of fifteen days to my vacations that expired in those days , but he only agreed to it when I informed him that I had suffered an accident .
Things were getting difficult as I hadn ' t yet begun to figure out the whereabouts of Belicena Villca ' s son and my vacations were coming to an end . However , upon leaving Santa María , morale was high and I had more faith than ever . To this had contributed the lengthy conferences I held with my extraordinary relative . But let ' s go back to those days of convalescence , when Uncle Kurt started the account of his fantastic life .
Chapter II
As I am a doctor , already in the first days of convalescence , I understood that this would be long , so , having enough time available , I saw no reason not to tell Uncle Kurt about my adventure . I never experienced the wish to share my affairs with anyone nor have I had confidants . But now it was different . Since the day of the earthquake , I had regretted not knowing anyone in who to trust ; someone " spiritual " enough not to make fun of the events that occurred around the death of Belicena Villca . But also that had the necessary freedom to be able to assume a knowledge that entailed such grave dangers .
At one point I thought about going to Professor Ramírez , but then I was ashamed of this selfish idea that could endanger the life and mind of this exemplary man dedicated to his chairs and his family .
I was annoyed since then because I felt that I was starting to handle ideas that are too " big ", too inhuman , that could make me go crazy if I did not share them . And behold , suddenly a man of my blood resurrects from the past whom I never dreamed of knowing . A solitary man like Me ; of action . An experienced man and of an age in which he is not afraid for life because death begins to emerge as a reality . Yes --I thought decided-- I would entrust everything to Uncle Kurt . At first we talked about trivial matters because we both avoided telling our secrets ; I did not reveal the reason for my visit and he was silent about the brutal attack of the bull mastiffs and his blow . I told him about my studies and also from my parents ; he explained to me the techniques to obtain a good arrope ( syrup ) of prickly pear fruit .
This is how we were gaining trust in each other , until one day , of the last that I was in bed , I told him :
– Uncle Kurt , I wish you could hand me the briefcase I brought with me . It stayed in the car the night I arrived .
To my surprise Uncle Kurt opened one of the closet doors and pulled out of a compartment the briefcase that , apparently , had been there all the time . I opened it and extracted the letter of Belicena Villca and some notes that I had taken when I spoke with Professor Ramírez .
– I ' m going to explain you the reason for my visit , --I said trying to transmit the importance that the matter deserved to me-- . It ' s a fantastic and incredible story and I seriously think that only to you I dare to tell without reservations or fear .
Uncle Kurt raised his eyebrows , keenly interested in something that , at least to me , seemed extremely serious . My words and the tone that I used , created the appropriate climate for it .
It was three in the afternoon of any given day , we had both had lunch and the serene tranquility that reigned in that lost farm invited to dialogue and confidence . We had all the time in the world at our disposal to take advantage of it as we pleased .
I began to narrate the known events and , if there was any doubt I harbored as for the credibility Uncle Kurt would give it , it soon faded . Visibly disturbed by some passages and won over by
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