I am standing shakily in the centre of the ring of elders and priests, waiting anxiously for them to decide what my punishment will be. As if I had done anything wrong! Only to decline watching my sister die- I mean, 'Sacrificed?' Only to have not been present with the entire Aztec village,as Xoco was stabbed by one of the priests' bloody daggers? Only to have not watched as she was chained to the rock, helpless and innocent? She had only been ten years old, with so much life left to have lived! It was too unfair!
I am moved dangerously close to tears, but I will them away. Tears are a sign of weakness, and even if the whole village thinks I am guilty, they will never, ever think I am weak. That settles it.
The council is ended. One of the elders, Yynlityn, I think, stands up to deliver the sentence.
"Chantico 'Actal, you have not been present at a sacrifice. This has deeply angered the Sun. On behalf of the whole Aztec nation,your punishment is that you will spill blood in the same way your sister did."
The old man pauses and licks his lips, "Bound to the moon-rock, in seventeen sun signals." He sits down.
"Council adjourned."
I stride angrily down the trail towards my family's hatched cottage. They had painfully watched my sister being murdered, but I just couldn't face it. And now, the irony of it all, I am to die in the exact same way! I kick a stone furiously, forgetting that I wear sandals. "Ow!" My angry outburst triggers an idea in my mind. I stop to consider it, make a decision, and turn down the north-facing path instead of the south......
The trail runs along for a while, and eventually leads up to a moss-covered log cabin, nestled in a grove of thick trees. The oaks nearly block out that hateful sun I am being sacrificed to. Long reeds hang from the doorway, billowing in the slight breeze, and smoke rises out from a hole on the top of the house
I approach cautiously, but not out of fear. Zyanya is known to bite if she is interrupted during something important. Other than that, she is very friendly, and a great conversationalist. I brush aside the reeds and peek inside.
Zyanya is the healer of our Aztec village. Her house is crammed full of herbs and healing plants that are tied in bundles, and hung from the ceiling, creating a delicious aroma. A fire rises up from the middle of the room. Zyanya is sitting in front of the fire, mixing a poultice in a big clay pot.
She has black hair, bronze skin and emerald green eyes, and is wearing a simple white poncho with leather sandals.
Lucky for me, she isn't too busy.
"Come in!" Zyanya laughs when she sees me at the door, "And what does Chantico need today?"
She takes me by the arm, leads me inside, and sits down by the fire, cross-legged on the hard packed earth. I follow suit.
"I need help," I tell her honestly.
Zyanya looks me over critically with narrowed eyes. Finally she says, "Well, I don't see anything physically wrong with you! Therefore I suspect you have come with mental pains. Spill the beans, I'm listening!"
I pour out my whole story to her. She tilts her head and closes her eyes while I talk. After I finish, she stays the same way, obviously thinking hard. At last she opens her eyes and speaks. "This is hard for me to say, Chantico, but I can't help you with this." I sigh, and she continues, "but I will tell you all that I can. Ancient laws ban me from disbanding or appealing the change of the Aztecian Law, but I think that the best part of it all is that you will be sacrificed innocently on the moon-rock. All those who have been killed in a state of innocence have been transported to the nest of Tochtelea, King of the Eagles. He will give you a test, and if you pass, you will be sent to the Land of the Moon, but if you fail, Tochletea will carry you to Zyntylyn, the place where normal mortals go when they die, and you will fade away from memory. Lucky for you, I am good friends with Tochletea. I will tell him your predicament, and he will carry you to the Moon-land, where, if I'm not mistaken, he sent Xoco a few days ago! Also, I am able to roam freely in that land, so I may visit you and bring you news from earth! How does that sound?" Zyanya pauses for breath.
I am skeptical. How can she know for sure?. As I absorb her words, I feel, that something is not right. I realize what it is at once: "But isn't it not fair that I should be able to go to the Land of the Moon without passing the test? It would make me feel guilty for the rest of eternity!"
Zyanya nods slowly, smiling. " I'm glad you said that. It was supposed to be that way. So be it, and good luck, my friend!"
I lie, bound on the moonrock in a white tunic. My obsidian necklace, a present from Xoco, hangs at my throat. The whole village is watching as the chiefs play the drums while the high priest leads the ritual. I look over at Zyanya and my family in the crowd. I had bid them a painful farewell this morning. The ceremony is almost over.
One of the chiefs hands the priest the blood-soaked dagger. He holds it over my body. "Oh sun! Accept the blood of Chantico 'Actal as sacrifice!"
He plunges the knife into my heart. I gasp. The pain is beyond anything I had imagined. It is as if a burning fire is spreading over my body. I can take it no longer, it is going to consume me! All of a sudden, I feel a beautiful stillness. I open my eyes and I am surrounded by a white sky. The ground is a blank, chalky white colour; there is nothing here. Then I see the nest. It is the most gigantic one I have ever seen, maybe because it houses the largest eagle to match. It has the body of a raptor, but the head of a man, on whose hair rests a silver crown.
"Welcome Chantico 'Actal." His words seemed to grind into my heart.
"The time has come to answer the question I have set for you to pass into Moonland. The question is:
What is greater than god,
More evil than the devil,
The poor have me,
The rich need me,
And if you eat me you die."
I tremble. This is nothing like I had expected. I had come prepared for a quest or task! " May I have a hint?" I ask.
"Nothing may be said," Tochtelea spoke.
I grimace. Why, oh why had I chosen to do this? This was more of Xoco's thing to do. And if I failed, I would never see her again. Wait! My heart skips a beat. "May you please repeat the riddle?" I ask.
Tochtlelea repeats the riddle.
"Money?" I guess wildly.
"I'm sorry, but that is wrong."
"No!" I fall to my knees.
"Get on my back," he says. I obey and scramble on. We burst through the bubble of white, and I find myself flying over vast countries and oceans.
"What was the answer?" I ask over the wind.
"Nothing" Tochtelea replied.
I smack my forehead."Of course!"
As afternoon approaches, the skies grow dark. Thunder roars and lightning bursts through the sky. "What's happening?" I ask him worriedly.
Tochtelea doesn't answer, but his eyebrows furrow and he flies upwards to gain altitude.
Wind is tearing at the eagle king, and we are blown off course. All of a sudden, a flash of lightning flys straight at us. I panic, but gain control. Thinking quickly, I point my necklace straight at the oncoming flash. The obsidian, though small, refracts the light away from us. The intense heat of the lightning burns my hand. I scream and fall off Tochtelea's back...into the dark......
I open my eyes to see blue sky and fluffy clouds staring back at me. I scramble up and see a familiar person sitting on a lawn, reading a book.
"Xoco!" I cry. We both collide into a hug.
"Welcome to the land of the moon!" she shouts, arms spread wide. Then I notice Tochtlelea. He is standing with a few other people. Other than a burn mark, he seems just as I met him. He speaks:
"Chipahua. You did a brave thing up in the sky. By alighting in the Land of the Moon, the meaning is clear: you are meant to stay here. I hope you will live well for all eternity. Farewell." He spreads his wings and takes to the sky.
And so I live happily to the end of time, with Xoco to keep me company, Zyanya to bring me news, and more of my family to be sent to join us in the future. Life is good.
This is the end, but I maaaaay do some different short stories soon!
