The Mistery of Belicena Villca impatience in others , he constantly interrupted to ask for details and , after he got what he wished , he encouraged me to continue in an authoritative tone that I had never heard him use before .
The case of Belicena Villca had completely captured his interest but , upon learning of the existence of the letter , he seemed to go mad . I took it out in that moment from the briefcase and I had to make an effort to keep him from snatching it out of my hands : it was my intention to allow him to read it , not in that moment but later , when I would have finished recounting the events . So I showed it to him , and continued with the narration without being disturbed by the anxiety of my uncle , who was obviously struggling to wait to read it . I explained , in general lines , the objective of that posthumous letter , without entering in details about the incredible history of the House of Tharsis , mentioning only the millennial persecution that it had suffered from the Golen-Druids : I spoke of Bera and Birsha and my conviction that They were the real murderers of Belicena Villca . At that point it looked as if Uncle Kurt ' s eyes were going to pop out of their orbits ; however , his lips remained sealed in surprise . Finally , I told him about the translation that Professor Ramírez made of the legend “ ada aes sidhe draoi mac hwch ” and his later allusions to the Golen-Druids , which confirmed in my opinion the veracity , if not all , of much of the content of the letter . Here the enchantment was cut off and Uncle Kurt , jumping to his feet , yelled : – Yes Arturo ! The Druids ! I was waiting for Them the night you arrived ! After 35 years I perceived the unmistakable sign of their presence and knew that in any moment I would be attacked , although I did not know why they had waited so long , why did they reappear now . And now I know : because you were coming to me , bearer of the Greatest Secret !
It was a roar that came out of his throat as he uttered these phrases in German , being immediately answered by two long howls from the mastiffs one floor below and outside the house . I couldn ' t help but be amazed because Uncle Kurt had always spoken in Spanish since my German language proficiency is bad as a result of my parents ' decision to educate me " completely Argentinian " to the point that not even among them did they use this language .
It also didn ' t escape me that , no matter how loud he had screamed , the dogs couldn ' t have heard him . How then , had they answered him ?
I was now looking with “ different eyes ” at Uncle Kurt , whom I had considered until the moment , a person , like so many others , tortured by the memory of the days of the war , but otherwise completely normal .
I was slowly realizing that there was something else : Uncle Kurt had a secret knowledge that weighed heavily on his conscience , fueled now by my story .
Uncle Kurt must have been about sixty-two years old , but he impressed for looking ten years younger . High to the point of exaggeration --I calculated him a meter ninety-- he was burly , of athletic build , and you could see that he kept himself in shape . His hair , which must have been black , was gray , cut very short ; the eyes light blue , bushy eyebrows , thin-lipped mouth with thick mustache and firm chin , completed his description . Perhaps one detail was the scar that furrowed his left cheek , highlighted by the blushing red of his cheeks , a sign of health for his age . He liked to dress simply but sportily and I always saw him wearing thick suede boots . In short , he was an impressive man ; even more so at that time in which sparks seemed to come out from his eyes . He spent a few minutes walking in circles all over the room , with his hands behind him , in which he had the letter of Belicena Villca that I just had given him .
I was respectfully silent although intrigued by this reaction . We had spent several hours talking as it quickly got dark outside . The room was in gloom when old Juana came in and she turned on the light .
– Jesus , Don Cerino , how is it that you are in the dark ? Dinner is ready . I will immediately bring Mr . Arturo his --the old woman smiled as usual before leaving .
This interruption calmed Uncle Kurt who was still walking around thoughtful . He stopped at the feet of my bed with the hands resting on the back and , in correct Castilian he said :
– Neffe ( 1 ), I think you have brought me an answer that I have waited for decades . If it ' s like that , I ' ll be able to die in peace when it ' s all over – he said mysteriously – but , tell me , what exactly brought you to me ? How did you think of coming to see me ?
– I wanted to find out why the SS had to collect all the documentation on the Druids , --I replied-- . When I thought about it , it came to my memory that night thirty-five years ago when you gave me the Iron Cross . It was an intuition , because immediately , without apparent reason I was struck by the assurance that you would know how to respond to those questions . Then I learned from Mom that you had been an officer of the SS . ... And here I am .
( 1 ) Neffe : nephew , in German .
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