My partner and I decided to run away to Guatemala. We did not know exactly where, we just knew we had to run away. It had been a near miss that last week of September in 1989, so we could not afford to stay.
-"But we do not know anybody over there" She said.
-"It is going to be okay. You'll see." I replied.
-"What about the application? It's about time we received an answer" she asked again.
-"We can't worry about that right now" I told her kissing her hands.
We boarded an overnight bus to Guatemala City and slept almost all the way, if it was not for the noise of the street vendors at the border, that woke us up, offering all kinds of fruits, snacks and drinks. We arrived early in the morning and after sipping a tasteless cup of coffee, and scouting the overcrowded streets, we opted to take another bus which would take us to the province; away from the multitudes, and to a safer place.
-"Where should we go?" my partner asked, scratching her head.
-"I don't know" I said cleaning my eyes with my knuckles.
"Anywhere, I guess, Panajachel maybe or Antigua"
-"Xela" she exclaimed with a vivid voice.
-"Xela? Xelaju?" I murmured.
-"Yes! I always wanted to go there. People say it is a beautiful place" She answered with excitement in her eyes.
I have to admit that was one of the best decisions we made because we were not prepared to encounter such a beautiful spot on earth.
After getting off of a colorful bus we set foot in a town in which we knew absolute nothing, and nobody.
-"And now what" I said.
Something that I always admired and loved from my partner was her ability to get out of situations like that. She had an extraordinary sense of survival that combined with common sense and guts, help her to make the most out of precarious situations.
-"Let's look for a Kingdom Hall" she told me while looking at my face, that at that moment, I am sure looked more puzzled than surprised.
-"Wait a minute" I said. "We are not members of that " club " ".
-"But my mother is!" She replied. "And you know how she always tried to make us members and talked from her elbows about it.I know the lingo well enough to pass for one of them."
-"What about me?" I asked.
-"We'll tell them you are a student of the bible and that you are in the process to become one of them."
It was clear to me after exploring not so many other options, that was a brilliant idea. Sure enough, we showed up to one of their buildings claiming to be a part of them. I have to tell you those people received us like they knew us forever.
Their kindness and help went beyond my expectations. We were invited to stay in one of their houses, as guests, while we remained in town.
That first night my partner didn't sleep well. She kept waking up in the middle of the night, trembling, reliving the nightmare that she had experienced only days before.
"It's okay, it's okay!" I whispered in her ears while I squeezed her tight in my arms.
Images from that fateful day when everybody lay dead, bodies ripped in pieces by the powerful gunshots from the hungry automatic guns, so hot, that the soldiers could barely hold on to them. She had survived only because the old man who owned that house was hugging her when the soldiers found them both, and he told them she was his daughter.
The next several weeks we spent breathing clean air, growing vegetables in huge backyards, learning some "Mam" and "Quechua" from the locals who didn't speak "castilla" as they call the Spanish language, visiting all the small towns around Lake Quezaltenango which are named after the twelve apostles, going to the hot spring houses that were in a small town called San Juan Ostuncalco, and in between all that going to all kinds of people speaking to them about God.
I have never felt so at peace with myself since I was living in that wonderful place.
So much simple heartiness about life! So rustic, and hence, so pure and uncomplicated.
We fell completely in love with our new home, and decided to stay and live there forever. But we had to come back first and make some arrangements.
We said goodbye to all our new friends, swearing that we would be back in a few days.
Sure enough our relatives were so relieved when they saw us, because they didn't know where we were exactly other than in Guatemala.
The sister of my partner gave her a piece of paper which she read. She lifted her eyes towards me, and without saying a word, she passed me the paper.
It was a telegram that read among other lines:
"Come to the airport next Thursday. Your flight is leaving at 7:30 a.m."
THE END
