The Mistery of Belicena Villca FIRST BOOK “ The Missing Person from Tafí del Valle ”
Chapter I
I met Belicena Villca when she was interned in the Neuropsychiatric Hospital “ Dr . Javier Patrón Isla ” in the city of Salta , with a diagnosis of irreversible senile dementia . Being a doctor in pavilion " B ", for the incurable sick , I ’ ve had to pay attention to the aforementioned patient for a long year , in which I applied all the resources that psychiatric science and my extensive experience in the profession gave me to try , in vain , her recovery . As will be seen later , her story was written by herself while she remained in that sad confinement . She dedicated all the available time to that purpose , which was a lot , since the medical board had authorized her to write “ since such activity resulted in evident therapeutic results on the mood of the patient ”. However , no one knew what her writings were referring to and if they revealed any logical coherence , information that would have been useful in order to confirm or correct the adverse diagnosis . Two reasons prevented knowing the content of her manuscripts : the first , and main , was that the patient wrote in quechua santiagueño , a language that is only spoken in her home region ; secretly , so it seems , Belicena Villca translated the writings into Spanish a few days before dying ; the second reason was the homicidal zeal she put to avoid the reading of the texts , which ended , one day , in a violent incident with a nurse who dared to lay eyes on one of its pages . But , since what mattered was to maintain her calm , and the writing contributed to entertain her in that state , they opted not to contradict her maniac desires and they allowed her to hide the writings in a briefcase from which she never separated . However , part of her story was related to me by herself , during her convalescence , either through long monologues psychoanalisis frequently carried her to , in the days in which some mental stability allowed this therapy , or involuntarily , when the narcosis treatment plunged her into a heavy slumber in which , however , oral activity never diminished . Naturally , it wasn ’ t possible to give credit to her statements , not only due to her ill condition , but for the tenor of them , which were incredible and hallucinative : it would never qualify , with greater justice , as the story of a madman .
Belicena Villca ' s alienated situation will surely discourage readers about the veracity of the events narrated . It is understandable then that just a year ago I myself would have done everything possible to prevent the disclosure of a material that prudence , and professional ethics , advise keep in the reserved areas of the Clinical History and the Personal File .
But , lo and behold , the sudden death of Belicena Villca came to upset this rational point of view and led me to think that History records the passage of venerable figures by the cells of famous shrinks . I remembered Nietzsche , Ezra Pound , Antonin Artaud , the chess player Morphy , the mathematician Cantor , and many others . I reasoned that those famous people presented characteristics of acute schizophrenia , like my patient , which means that consciousness becomes fragmented but not dissolved , and may eventually occur states of temporary lucidity where the behavior is more or less normal . I told myself that if Cantor elaborated the brilliant theory of transfinite numbers in the madhouse , and if Nietzsche during his ten years of boarding school could quote Homer , Empedocles , and almost any classical , by heart , and in ancient Greek , it was possible , to an infinitely lesser extent , that Belicena Villca ' s story was partly true . Sure , this seemingly inconsistent syllogism will surprise the reader ; But I thought all this quickly , very quickly : because Belicena Villca had been murdered .
Chapter II
That unpleasant event disturbed the impeccable progress of the Hospital , plunging us all into a state of indescribable discomfort and anguish . Especially affected was our Director , the eminent Dr . Cortez , who feared that the scandal would tarnish the name of the illustrious local hero that the Hospital carries , a fact that , according to his clear logic , would influence the checks that the powerful family of the deceased sent monthly . I will not tire the reader with details because this case was highly commented on by the press and , if you want to , you can consult the newspaper " El Heraldo " de Salta , in the editions of the week which runs from January 7 to 15 , 1980 , where you will find all the information . I will only remember here the essentials , since the development of this veridical case requires considering the strange circumstances in which the crime occurred and the mystery that surrounded it ; ... and that still persists , because the Police did not manage to clarify it and worthy
9