Chapter 2: Fighting with Strangers

The sun finally came out on the first Tuesday in February. The meadows and paths were slowly drying out. Our valley had come back to life after far too much rain. The classes originally planned could be cancelled. There was work to be done everywhere. Our four village workers helped clear the beds and fields of washed-up soil. New seedlings were planted. Domestic animals needed to be cleaned and cared for. Fahsai and Zarina also worked in the palace garden, freshening up the beds and sports fields. Ananda swept the paths and later planned to clean the access road to the container store. Priya, Lenya, and Esther kept the guesthouse clean. Only Cara stayed in the Palazzo and cooked lunch on her own. Our cook Luisa wanted to help in the kitchen, but our doctor forbade her. She was told to take it easy for a day or two after giving birth.

Together with my assistants, I investigated the rock falls to the west of the cemetery, which had woken us up several times over the past few nights. We had already pointed out the beauty of nature as we approached. The flowers and blossoms were opening. The birds were chirping. The green of the trees and bushes glowed in every colour imaginable. We watched beautiful green and yellow hummingbirds dancing around the flowers, begging for food. Only the parrots were a nuisance. They were loud and cheeky. When they flew straight at us and then pulled up just in front of us, we flinched in fright. They were obviously breeding, even though the summer was drawing to a close. I still had no idea what the breeding cycle of wild birds was like.

Babette and Sula excitedly examined all the fallen rocks after Sula discovered a shiny vein of gold in one of the large boulders. But there was nothing more to find. We cleared the track to the cemetery of larger stones and removed deeper puddles in the tracks of the ox carts.

Shortly before noon, the siren went off in the village, but quickly stopped. Two shots echoed through the valley, then there was silence. There must be some danger in the village. Pumas? An attack? Who had fired?

Babette stopped, startled, and looked at me questioningly. Sula asked only briefly, “Should I get the weapons from the camp or from the Casa?”

Unfortunately, I had ignored all the dangers and had only one pistol in my rucksack. We had lived alone and undisturbed in the valley for two and a half years. How could strangers get to us?

Sula ran to the main road and took the buggy to the Casa. Babette and I hurried along the path to the village. Soon we heard screams and cries for help. The villagers were running in different directions in fear. Another shot rang out. There was panic. Screams came from the direction of the mine entrance. We ducked and crawled through the undergrowth. Babette whispered to me, “It’s Kira, she’s screaming.”

Suddenly we saw the unbelievable. Two armed men, probably Indios, had grabbed Kira and Isabella. Kira’s clothes were torn off and seconds later a rapist was on top of her. Isabella was dragged by her hair behind another man with a rifle on his back. Before I knew it, Babette was screaming and running to help the girls. Isabella was pushed to the ground and the stranger pointed his rifle at Babette. I jumped up and fired two shots with the pistol. The man jerked the gun around and shot at me. I was too far away to aim with the pistol, it was just a distraction. His shots also missed. The stranger knocked Babette to the ground with a punch. I heard the men shouting at each other. While the rapist dragged Kira to a place out of my sight, apparently to continue raping her, the second man tried to cover him behind a pile of wood.

I cautiously crept closer to get within reasonable shooting distance. Suddenly a shot rang out, I heard glass breaking and Sula screaming. He must have hit our buggy with his rifle. Sula fired a short shot in the air and ran through the undergrowth in my direction. Now both men were in position with their rifles. Kira was relieved of her desecration for the time being, but we were in for a tough fight.

Sula approached me, panting. I saw one of the men taking aim at the bushes Sula had moved. My shout of “Cover!” and the aimed shot came almost simultaneously, but Sula had thrown herself down just in time. She crawled cautiously towards me. She was carrying a submachine gun and a hunting rifle. Unfortunately, she had lost the extra magazines and the cartridges for reloading.

We split up. Sula crawled towards the mine entrance with the East German Kalashnikow, while I crept towards the village with the hunting rifle. Babette groaned and tried to stand up. One of the attackers raised his rifle and lost cover. His head was easy prey for my gun. Without scruples, but trembling slightly, I said to myself, “Just one more,” and crept closer.

“Stay down, Babette,” Sula shouted. The man fired in her direction, and I was able to cross a narrow clearing. Sula had regained her footing and held the enemy down with two short bursts.

Suddenly, someone with a gun fired at the attacker from the direction of the village. When he realised that he was almost surrounded by armed men, he grabbed Babette and put his gun to her head. We were helpless, as we didn’t want to endanger our dear comrade. Suddenly Kira appeared, naked and holding a stone, running towards her rapist, and screaming like a madwoman. By the time the man turned to face his victim, it was too late. Babette let herself fall. My hunting rifle and Sula’s submachine gun hit him almost simultaneously. He collapsed to the ground. But we couldn’t stop Kira from hitting him several times with a large stone. She was mad, even though he was already dead. When the other man with the head wound began to groan, Kira ran towards him to take out her fury on him as well, but Babette and Isabella stopped her.

I quickly ran to the three girls who were in danger of dying, to hug them. On my way to them, I tried to grab the gun from the badly wounded man. But it was stuck to his shoulder by the strap, so I fell and rolled him over like a doll. When I finally got the gun, Isabella and Babette helped me up. I gave them a quick hug but had to get to Kira. She was in complete shock, shaking, and sobbing on my chest. Isabella rushed over and stroked Kira. Sula comforted Babette, who was staggering slightly.

Mayari and Daja ran out of the village. Mayari had the gun in her hand, so she had fired. With all the suffering around me and my adrenaline pumping, I whispered to Kira and Isabella, “What great women you are. Thank you.” That’s when Kira’s hug tightened, a good sign.

It was crazy. The day before yesterday we had celebrated Kira’s pregnancy, today she was defiled and soiled. As far as I knew, Indios rarely had AIDS, but they did have sexually transmitted diseases. The marks of rape were also visible on Kira’s thighs. I quickly wiped them off with my T-shirt. Sula called to me and pointed to Babette, who was staggering in a daze. She must have had a concussion from the blow. Isabella and Mayari looked after Kira while I rushed to find my assistant. I carried Babette to the road, but Sula shouted to me that the golf cart had been destroyed. She immediately ran to the Palazzo to get the other buggy. Olivia came towards us, as did Alejandra. Then I heard shouting from the road. Were there more attackers?

A smaller boy called for Alejandra and waved. Finally, I saw two little boys with mules coming down carefully. Olivia called out to me that they were children from the mountain village. I had already laid Babette carefully on the grass and aimed my rifle in the direction of the callers. I only had one shot left, but fortunately the danger was over. The boys ran up to Alejandra, crying and hugging her. Although the tension was gone, I realised that I was panting and trembling with excitement.

I rushed over to our overturned buggy. With Mayari’s help I tried to get it upright. The two boys lent a determined hand and we managed to get the buggy back on its wheels. The windscreen was shot, completely opaque, and the right front wheel was blocked by the dented bodywork. From the driver’s seat I kicked out the shattered windscreen with both feet. The shards flew through the air, but you could see again. With the help of a branch, we bent the wheel free. The engine started again and there was only a slight grinding noise as we drove off. As I lifted Babette into the back seat, I saw the two boys staring at the naked Kira. Mayari saw this too and stood protectively in front of her. At that moment Olivia called to the boys in Quechua, her native language, and led them into the guesthouse. Isabella and Daja tied the four mules to trees.

Mayari sat down next to me and took Kira on her lap. The Haitian girl was finally crying hard. I knew from my time in the military that crying was the best way to deal with shock. So, despite the complicated situation, I was a little happy inside about the tears. We quickly overtook Alejandra with her granddaughter and the two boys. Carmen came up to us, asking questions, but there was no time to lose. Olivia would tell her what had happened. We reached the camp almost at the same time as Sula.

Ramona was hardly able to help us. She had been having physical problems for two days. Perhaps she was also worried about her son Martin, who had a fever and could hardly sleep. But our doctor, holding her sick child in her arms, gave Esther some advice. While we put Babette on the hospital bed, Kira was given a sedative injection. Esther was now a real pro at acting as a doctor. She held the syringe up to the light and let out a drop while Priya prepared the upper arm. Ramona told Priya to get some clothes for Kira immediately. The little girl was visibly cold, but Esther washed her first, rinsing her vagina and disinfecting her abdomen as best she could.

Babette had a huge lump above her cheekbone. Hopefully, nothing was broken. But she was smiling again with her disfigured face. I gently dabbed her face. At that moment, Esther took over the further care.

I quickly told Ramona what had happened. Our doctor wasn’t able to treat a bullet in the head, even if the man was still alive. Nevertheless, I should take him to the infirmary. They should at least relieve his pain. Survival seemed almost impossible.

With a submachine gun slung over my shoulder, a camera, and a first-aid kit in my hand, I took the two-seater buggy and trailer and headed for the village. When Sula tried to come with me, I noticed she had a lisp and a bleeding wound hidden under her thick hair. She could not walk straight. When she came to me, she staggered into my arms. Obviously, the adrenaline that had helped her perform so well recently was gone. Terrified, I carried her to the other ward.

Sula had suddenly fainted. Ramona looked at the wound. “I’m sorry, it’s either a very serious head contusion or a skull fracture. I’ll have to examine her first. How did this happen?”

Surely, my assistant had hurt herself so badly when she fell with the cart. I was beginning to despair at what two stupid, evil men had done to us. But Ramona asked me to go with Priya to see the injured man.

I quickly looked back at the other two sick people. Kira was staring at the ceiling but breathing calmly. Babette smiled at me a little tightly and asked who else I had brought in for treatment.

“I’ll tell you later, Babette. I need to see the seriously injured man.”

“Is it Sula? She staggered when she was with me.”

I could only nod. “Everything will be fine, Babette. Don’t worry.” I fought my tears with all my will. I tenderly kissed her forehead and stroked her shoulder.

“Thank you for saving my life, my love. He was just about to shoot me.”

“Thank you, dear Babette, for being so brave. You helped save Kira. We make a good team.”

She gave me a pained smile. She wasn’t feeling well yet. I could feel that clearly.

Before I started to cry, I hurried to the door, gave Babette a quick wave and closed the door behind me. Deeply moved, I leaned against the wall and had to wipe away my first tears. Priya saw me, came over and hugged me. “Everything’s going to be all right,” she whispered to me.

I stroked her hair gratefully. “Our paradise took its first damage today.”

“No.” Priya said firmly. “We have successfully defended our paradise. And we will do so again and again if necessary. We have grown stronger, believe me. Perhaps we are unbeatable.”

She took me by the hand, and we drove towards the village in the buggy. The seriously injured man was dead. Carmen and Djamila were standing with him. I quickly took the necessary photos for a possible ‘police report’, photographed his weapon and the area surrounding the rape and Kira’s scattered and torn clothes.

It was difficult to photograph the second dead body. Kira had caused terrible damage with the stone. Fortunately, I found a hat belonging to one of the two men and put the headgear on him so that you could only see the bullet hole, but not the shattered skullcap.

Then I took Carmen to the mules. The two old men from the village left quickly. I called them back. They wouldn’t listen, so I fired once in the air. When they raised their hands in shock, I had to laugh because their trousers slipped to the ground. They had searched the mules, and their pockets were full of gold nuggets. They had to put them back in the saddlebags. As I looked into their eyes, I knew that wasn’t all. You could see that Miguel still had a guilty conscience. Carmen had to translate my threat: “Everything and now”.

Miguel pulled two more nuggets out of his pockets and Alonso another, almost shiny gold, weighing more than a kilo. The old men went back to their huts.

Carmen told me excitedly that she knew the last person to die. He had worked as an assistant for the family where she had been brutally exploited as a child. The evil man had tried to rape the then young Carmen, had been beaten by the master of the house and was never allowed to be seen at the Miller’s again. Coincidences do happen in life, almost unbelievably.

The two women led the four mules to the house. Djamila had to make sure that none of the golden rocks, which was worthless to us at the moment, disappeared. It belonged to the people in the mountains or to us in the valley. Alejandra and Olivia sat in the TV room watching the two boys eat greedily. The boys were quite ravenous but stopped chewing immediately in shock when I entered. They were clearly afraid of me. I calmly gave Olivia a proper kiss and Alejandra a kiss on the forehead. I motioned for the boys to continue eating. They were perhaps nine and eleven years old, I guessed.

Then Olivia told them what she had learned from the children. The prospectors had forced Luca and Diego’s parents to lend them the two boys and two mules for what they called an expedition. They guaranteed the parents a healthy return of the boys and good pay. For about three months, the prospectors and the boys roamed the mountains until they finally found gold. They would have no trouble leading me to the place. It was very close. The children showed me their reward, a small block of gold. Each of the boys had used a hammer and stones to shape it from a lump of the precious metal so that it would fit easily into their pockets.

The treasure hunters had come to our valley to cross the bridge to Ashmanton. They said they could sell gold there illegally. The gold diggers had promised the boys that they would supposedly send them back to the mountain village with their two mules. I found that hard to believe, because all four animals were carrying far too much of the gold they had found and the men’s belongings.

Luca and Diego’s parents were distant relatives of Alejandra’s. Luca, the older of the two, remembered Alejandra when she visited her relatives in the village years ago. I was surprised to learn that the older one was already thirteen and the younger one eleven. I was interested to know who owned the mules. We could certainly make good use of them. One belonged to the children’s parents; a mare was from a neighbouring family. Gael and Daro, the two Indios, had two mules with them when they came to the mountain village, Olivia translated Luca’s explanation for me.

I immediately decided that the two mules belonged to the gold prospectors and were owed to our valley as compensation for the damage and injuries we had suffered. Olivia drew my attention to the fact that these two were mules, which is rare. The mother here is a donkey mare and the father a horse, whereas in the traditional mule, a horse mare would carry the child of a donkey stallion. The mules would rarely be able to reproduce among themselves but would almost always be the result of a mating between a donkey and a horse.

One question had been on my mind all the time. Would the boys find their way back to their mountain village? Luca answered in the affirmative. I rejoiced. This could be our salvation. I hugged our Peruvian interpreter with joy. She groaned. I had put too much pressure on her pregnant belly. She only had two weeks to go.

The boys helped me lead the mules into the garden of the palazzo. Their arrival was a sensation for our young ladies. Cara, Priya, Zarina, and Fahsai looked at the boys with interest, less at the mules. Mayari, Daja, and Isabella had already seen them, but remained rooted to the spot. The boys were unsettled and looked to me for help. They were uncomfortable with the teenagers’ interest. When Lenya and Ananda came around the corner from the terrace, Luca and Diego almost hid behind me. It was almost like the first day in August 2016 when Cara and Priya had hidden behind Luisa when I came into the palazzo.

“This is Luca, this is Diego. They’re our guests for a few days. Please be nice to them. They are very shy, maybe even scared of you because you look so different from their girls in the village.”

Luisa came running and hugged the little ones. Luisa knew them, but she hadn’t seen them for a few years. However, the boys couldn’t remember her and looked at our cook with questioning looks.