Chapter 7: The Return to the Valley

Saturday, 23 March 2019

In the morning, a pale face looked at me in the mirror. Was I the man with the dark circles under his eyes, unshaven and almost white as chalk? When I tried to brush my teeth, a yellowish liquid poured from my stomach into the sink. Everything was spinning around in front of me. It finally dawned on me that I was seriously ill.

I had to skip breakfast. I only managed to swallow a dry flatbread and a strong coffee. I struggled to get my two camping bags, a box of computer equipment and the two satellite receivers into the car. I had to hold on tight when I went upstairs to the reception.

The porter was very kind and offered to take me to a doctor. But all I wanted was to get back to my loved ones as soon as possible. When I asked for a construction company to build a road, he told me to hire some men in San Huano. It would be much more practical and cheaper.

He looked at me worriedly as I was about to stumble, but his admonition did not reach my consciousness. Determined, I checked out and drove my new Toyota in the direction of my beloved. The navigation system showed me a huge arch as the first way to San Huano. This was the last place I had found on Google Maps. It was only 158 kilometres to San Huano, but four hours and 15 minutes drive to our mine. It was astonishing that the disused mine was picked up by the sat nav.

I had to throw up on the way. The temporarily easy ascent and descent was not so good for my weakened body. After almost three hours, I parked my car in the small town, which I had found on the map. Apart from a petrol station that only sold diesel and a small mini market, there were no shops in the whole area. Nevertheless, I managed to buy two 20-litre cans of diesel and filled up my car again. Cola, biscuits, and bananas were supposed to stop my nausea and diarrhoea, but just after the town I had to visit another bush. The air was getting scarce too. The sat nav told me I was 3,140 metres above sea level when I crossed the highest point of the route. It was then when I remembered that I had forgotten to ask in San Huano for some workers to clear our road. It was annoying, but I didn’t want to go back.

Finally, I reached the small mountain village. With my four-wheel drive, I was able to drive over rough terrain to the first stone house. Some people greeted me in a friendly but reserved manner. I gave everyone a can of coke from my car and asked if anyone could speak English. Not a chance. One woman whose age was hard to tell from her sunburned face only spoke a little Spanish. I sat down on a stone bench at a weathered table. Two other villagers hurried over. My visit must have been quite a sensation. Satisfied, they sat down next to me. I told them to keep their distance because I was ill. We could not communicate at all. Unfortunately, my request to have the road to the valley cleared by some helpers was not understood by no means.

A woman had gone into the house and a short time later brought me a steaming pot of bitter tea. So, she understood that I had a stomach-ache. I drank the tea gratefully. We exchanged a few gestures. Then I said two magic words: “Luca” and “Diego”, the two boys who had been with us for over a month. The woman who had brought me the tea looked at me in bewilderment. She was trying to ask me out in a completely foreign language. I didn’t understand a word. That’s when I got my mobile out of the car. I had recently taken pictures of the boys at Esther’s birthday party.

The woman was thrilled to see her boys. She ran to every villager and showed them the photo, but soon the phone screen went black. She handed it back to me. I motioned for her to sit across from me. Then I scrolled through the photos. There were three photos of her boys, always smiling and joking or dancing with the girls. She looked at me in disbelief. She was almost crushed by those standing behind her. Then I pointed in the direction of our valley and got the map tablet. We quickly found the mountain village and our valley. People just couldn’t believe that strangers lived there. I also showed them photos of Luisa, Carmen, Olivia, Leonie, and Alejandra. Some knew Leonie, but everyone knew Alejandra. She had to be from this village.

The mother of the two boys jumped on my neck and pushed me like crazy. She was no longer interested in my illness. When I indicated that I wanted to continue with the car, she used gestures to show that she wanted to go with me. After I made it clear to the Spanish-speaking woman with gestures and by breaking the wheel that everything was overgrown and that we would have to walk a long way, she restrained herself but talked madly to a younger man. Eventually he agreed to accompany me to the valley. A travelling companion was not inconvenient for me in my situation. We shook hands, his name was Enzo, packed a few things into a backpack and off we went to the car.

We honked and waved as we drove off. According to the navigator, it was 98 kilometres to the mine, almost 100 kilometres to our valley. I found it unbelievable that the GPS had covered the road at all.

Progress was slow. After about twenty kilometres the road was buried. We struggled for more than an hour to roll the debris into the ravine next to the road. Fortunately, I had bought a spade, pickaxe, and crowbar in Trujillo, as I had suspected something like this. I had to sit down several times, exhausted. My head was going crazy. We were still quite high up in the Andes, but it was certainly not just the altitude that was to blame.

Eventually the road was cleared enough for my 4x4 to drive over the remains. We took a few sips from the water bottles I had brought. Carefully we drove on. My Landcruiser made it through the next two places with boulders, but a few kilometres further on a whole section of the road was washed away. I was about to give up, but my companion Enzo climbed into the depression, hid a clay pipe that had been washed away and piled stones in such a way that the clay pipe could absorb the water from the small stream, which was only a trickle at the time, and pass it under the road. Then we piled almost a metre of stones on top of it, so that we could hopefully drive over it safely. And we did.

The next fifteen kilometres were no problem for my new car, despite a few rocks. Then the first bushes, shrubs, and cacti appeared on the road. With brutal force we managed to cover almost five kilometres. From time to time, we had to break off a few thin trunks. Soon there were trees with trunks up to ten centimetres wide. The end of the line. According to my navigation, there were still 42 kilometres away from the valley. We had a long walk ahead of us. Almost thirty kilometres had been cleared of bushes, and for another kilometre the path was almost finished. I dared to walk, even though I was already running a fever. I had to gather my strength. There was no alternative.

Enzo took the heavy rucksack after I had rearranged it. It now contained the satellite phone and other essentials. I packed the rest of the money, including the $40,000, into my small rucksack, which was still covered by a polo shirt, along with some documents and maps from the car. I made sure to take three bottles of water and a couple of cans of coke for each person. We had secured the wheels of the car with rocks and camouflaged the car with some branches so that it was not so easy to see from the air.

We meandered through the increasingly dense vegetation. It was extremely tiring for me. Soon I wasn’t able to climb over the embankments like Enzo to avoid the dense trees and dangerous cacti. Finally, I sent Enzo on ahead. I indicated the sawing of the trees and said the magic words “Luca and Diego” again. Enzo nodded and trotted off, hopefully returning with the two boys. I needed help. Someone had to clear the way for me.

Soon I fell asleep and dozed for a few hours in a fever, as if half asleep. Shortly after sunrise I heard chainsaws and other loud noises in the distance. Someone was coming to my rescue. A new courage took hold of me, even though I felt nauseous.

Somehow my body sank back into a twilight state. I awoke in the middle of the night. My body was spilling fluids in both directions. It was quiet in the valley. My rescuers were probably taking a break. The chainsaw batteries also needed recharging. Unfortunately, I only had water with me. The coke cans were in Enzo’s rucksack.

In the early morning, it was just getting light, and the sawing started again in the distance. We hadn’t got much closer. I woke up and managed to get maybe a hundred metres further, but then the new energy was gone.

Suddenly, there was a rustle and a crash in the undergrowth in front of me. Two figures ran towards me. My “Stay away from me. I’m sick.” was no use. Sula and Babette jumped at me. I struggled to keep them from picking me up. They had a hacksaw, a machete, and a hatchet, and they chopped or sawed off branches along the way to make it easier for me to move forward. Soon the girls were ahead of me again. It was hard for me to follow them, but as time went on, we got closer to the sound of the chainsaw. Sula tried to help me, but I resisted. I told her to stay away from me.

My fever had risen. I was glowing. Sometimes I couldn’t see. I must have caught it from the sick children in Ashmanton. Nevertheless, I managed to make my way forward again and again with difficulty. Then I collapsed. My strength was gone.

I was not consciously aware of what happened next. At some point I woke up half lying down in our air-tired cart. They had put me in and driven me over hill and dale towards home. I recognised Lenya and Priya pulling the cart. Enzo huffed and puffed behind me, pushing the cart or slowing it down. Luca was running ahead, pushing smaller obstacles out of the way.

When I came to, I was at the steps of the Palazzo. I climbed the few steps with massive help. Again, I lost consciousness. Later I realised I was in the hospital room, naked, covered with a sheet. Esther made me cool foot wraps. My arm was on a drip.

Esther ran out when she saw my eyes open. Ramona immediately stood by my bed. I just said, “Be careful – paratyphoid”. I just saw Ramona nod and then I lost consciousness again. I can only tell you all this because Ramona and some girls told me later. I don’t really remember anything else about that time.

When I woke up, I felt much better. Ramona was happy that I could talk a little. I started by asking what day it was. Four days and four nights had passed since I left the hotel. I remembered one night alone in the woods. The following three nights I had apparently spent in the hospital room with a high fever.

Esther came and spooned some chicken soup into my mouth. I tried to smile at her in gratitude. The broth ran down my chin. Now Esther smiled and dabbed at me. Somehow, I felt ashamed to be so helpless, but on the other hand, her care did me good. I had been very fortunate in the way that everyone here, adults and youngsters, had fitted into our community. Everyone has achieved great things. At the moment I was particularly benefiting from Esther and Ramona, but all of them had contributed to my salvation.

The next day I felt so good that I tried to get up, but I was too weak. Esther was back and helped me to go to the toilet for the first time. How did that happen before? Ramona told me later, “Your Esther is an angel. How she has always looked after you, been there for you, unique. She took care of you, washed you, and got rid of all traces of contamination”.

Even now she helped me up from the toilet, cleaned it thoroughly, and sprayed it with disinfectant. Then she helped me wash my hands, disinfected them too and led me to the bed. Only then did I realise I was naked. Esther took everything for granted. She straightened my headboard a little and gave me some unsweetened tea to drink. She had noticed my insecurity and brought me a pair of panties. She laughed. “You weren’t so shy when you were making babies.” But she understood that it was a completely different situation for me now.

I had only one goal, to get back on my feet as quickly as possible and not to be a burden to anyone. Three days later, Ramona interrupted my planning, which had just begun. She asked me how I was and how I felt. I was really feeling much better. She and Esther helped me into the wheelchair I had been using.

“I’ve just come back from a trip,” the doctor beamed at me. When I reached the stairs, I couldn’t trust my eyes. My, or rather our, new Landcruiser was parked in the forecourt. Unbelievable! How had they done it?

“How did you manage to do that?” I asked in amazement.

“I told you, I just came back from a trip. On by foot, back by car”. What a great woman I had next to me.

“Enzo, Luca, and Diego cleared the way. Daja, Kira, Sula, and Babette also helped. And Diego had brought some men and young people from the mountain village to help.”

The three Peruvians stood around the car in admiration. Babette and Sula were cleaning off some dirt. I waved to the three of them and shouted my familiar Spanish words of thanks. Ramona told me that they had gone with Sula and Babette to the men who had spent the night outside and uncovered the last pieces.

Together with Ramona, I reflected on the miracles of life. If Enzo hadn’t accompanied me, I probably wouldn’t be alive today. It is not only chance that determines fate, but also good relationships. The people in the mountain village soon became very nice to me because I was nice to them, but without knowing about the rescue of Luca and Diego, their mother would certainly not have asked Enzo to accompany me. Obviously the mountain people had seen how badly I was feeling and wanted to help, but it was the photos of the two boys from the village, their visible happiness with us, that made the difference.

Two days later I was a little better. Unfortunately, Esther also had a fever, but it was not as bad as mine because Ramona had given her the necessary treatment right away. After a few days, the lovely Hungarian was back to her helpful, hardworking self.

Enzo, despite being so close to me, had not got anything off me yet. He had a stronger nature than we Europeans. The next day he told me he wanted to go back to his wife and children. It was more than two days’ march. Luisa, who had already translated the request, asked him on my behalf to wait another day. Then I would drive him back. Of course, I also wanted to check out the road to the mountain village. Enzo seemed very pleased with my offer and stoically accepted my thanks for his help. Luisa found this completely normal; his help was the most natural thing in the world.

In the excitement of the last few days, we had forgotten to check if my dear little assistant Sula had a new life in her too. Our partnership had been interrupted by the Kuklina attack. Ramona and Sula came to see me smiling as I looked after the sick Esther. Ramona turned ironic again. “You were unlucky. - Even though you were only together for a short time, it worked out again. You are impossible, Michael.”

But I barely heard that because Sula was hugging me and her mouth was thanking me. “But we’ll come back for a week, Michael, won’t we?”

“Gladly, when we have time and I am really well again, dear Su.”

“And don’t scold me, Esther, or you, Doctor. I want to make up the whole fortnight of love.” Sula looked sternly at her friend. We giggled like a tiny group who had invented something.

“Let’s see if we get a chance,” I said to my black treasure, caressing her tenderly. Sula was a young woman’s dream. Shortly after that, we spent another ten nights making love, until the well-known tiredness forced Sula to give up. But they were wonderful evenings and nights, and I wouldn’t want to miss a minute of them.

In the afternoon Carmen, Olivia, and Alejandra came to see me. We kept our distance but were very happy to see each other again. Olivia told me in tears that she had been crying for two days because she had heard rumours that our helicopter had crashed or that I had run out of dust. After a few questions, I finally discovered the source of the rumours. Miguel and his wife had spread them around the village. Everyone would have been very upset if I had not returned. So, my idea of flying to our valley in the small plane was worth more than gold.

Eventually, I realised there was a bigger conflict. Olivia had given the rumourmonger Miguel a good slap in the face when he announced that I had made off with all the gold. Since then, the old man had refused all work.

Olivia could tell by the way I looked at her that she had done everything right. Carmen, who, as village leader, was also angry with the young Peruvian, had seen my nod of approval and my thumbs up. She looked at me excitedly. I told her that Olivia didn’t need to apologise. “If Miguel does not return to work tomorrow, he will have to leave the village with his wife. I’ll take him to the mountain village with Enzo tomorrow.”

“You can’t do that,” Carmen shouted at me.

“Yes, I can. I’ve been with Miguel and his wife for a long time. This valley is my property and everything in it, and I decide who can live here and who cannot.”

Carmen looked at me in disbelief.

“Rus transferred the property to me by deed and then wanted to kill me. That would have allowed him to rule here indefinitely and remain completely anonymous. But since I am alive, the valley is now mine”.

I happened to have my old mobile phone with me. I showed her the extract from the land register in my name. She, like the others, did not know. Obviously, she wanted to use the initiative to improve her position as village leader with the Indios. She was a newcomer, hardly recognised by the elders, and her Quechua was very simple.

Olivia smiled at me. Alejandra had actually been angry with her granddaughter at first. She had told her grandchild that in Peru you should respect the elders, but of course her grandmother had kept to her granddaughter.

Fortunately, no one in the village knew that I respected, even admired, this brave little Peruvian woman. How she had endured sexual abuse, how bravely she had carried away the child of a rapist. She was a strong nature, the greatest treasure of all the inhabitants of the valley. Instinctively she had done the right thing, I thought. She simply had a sense of right and wrong, of good and evil.

I called after the interpreter, “Carmen, don’t be angry with me. Be angry with Miguel! If the plane had not worked, it would have meant more than a week of chaos and despair for many of you here. I expect Miguel to apologise.”

Olivia had told her grandmother everything I had said to Carmen. She looked at me doubtfully. My authority in the village would be extremely limited if I did not go through with the apology, Ramona just meant. But there was no need, I was sure of that.

Perhaps an hour later, Miguel and his wife arrived, contrite and remorseful. Carmen had come to translate. They had to wait. I called Ramona, Luisa, Alejandra, and Olivia. Then Miguel was allowed to begin. He was truly sorry and asked for forgiveness. He wanted to be here. For the first time in his long life, he and his wife were happy, not hungry, and wanted to work even better for the community in the future. His wife had started the rumour in the village after they had both mistakenly assumed the events.

I accepted the apology and explained to all those present that such a rumour could poison the life of our community, possibly even destroy it. As a punishment, I decided that the two old people would not have the next three Sundays off, but would have to tidy up the neglected gardens around the guesthouse. Miguel was to plough another piece of land behind the guesthouse and plant a new potato field. In the meantime, Babette and Sula, Priya and Lenya had joined in.

“I would like to announce something else. It is of the utmost importance. We must expect another attack from the boss of the red-haired devil, Kuklina. We will have to prepare ourselves even better.”

Everyone looked at me fearfully, and some whispered to each other.

“Don’t be afraid. We will be well prepared. Is everything OK?”

Some nodded uncertainly, but only Sula said firmly, “You should just come. I’ll clear everyone up.”

She acted as if she had a submachine gun at the ready. Smiling, I stroked her hair. “Unfortunately, this will not be a piece of cake, certainly much harder than with the men and the Kuklina.”

Suddenly, without thinking, the most important thing came out, “An important change is coming for us too. In about six weeks we will have eleven more little girls here.”

A chatter of voices began. As the excitement grew, I explained that I had found the second group of girls destined for Ashmanton in the most miserable conditions. “The girls are small, dirty, malnourished, and many are sick. The smallest weighed just over twenty kilos at the age of twelve. I took the children in. They will be fed properly. A doctor will look after them. They get English lessons from a nice student. They all speak completely different languages, even different languages from our girls here. Only one, I think, speaks Russian.”

The women looked at me in horror. “Don’t you want that?” I misinterpreted their looks. “Fortunately, fate spared you. You could have been in the second group as well.”

I showed photos of the group, of the Inka’s skinny arms and legs, and the naked Theres from behind, looking almost like a kindergarten child. Lenya cried, then Babette. No, they were moved and horrified by the girls’ fate. The quintessence of a thousand words was that they wanted to do everything they could to help the girls regain their strength and feel at home with us.

Ramona looked at me worriedly. “Our medicine and medical equipment will definitely not last much longer.”

I just said, “No problem. We can order everything by phone or Internet and pick it up later in Trujillo”.