Portrait of Words: Treasure Hunt

Time again for Portrait of Words, in which we're given a stack of photos every two weeks, to weave into an original story.

I love seeing how the same photos can produce so many different and wonderful tales every second week: just click that link to see for yourself. Thanks Dr. John and Thom, for hosting!

Sarah asked what Eli what he wanted for his birthday.

"Nothing," he said. "I'm taking the day off work, and all I want is to enjoy the peace and quiet."

"...And....?"

He shrugged. "And, that's it."

She wondered. She asked a few more times, then tried guessing. She asked his Dad and his friends, and they all called him to ask. Through it all he insisted that what all he wanted was a quiet day off work.

Finally, when she interrupted the football match on tv to ask if he wanted tickets to the championship, he told her what he really wanted.

"A Kampulli Stone," he said. "I've wanted to see one almost all my life. They were blessed over a millennium ago by a Mayan priest and are said to hold the secret to eternal life, but they're miles off any road in southern Mexico, and with my bad leg I could never go myself. But I always thought if I could just hold one, then I could really believe in other worlds, and in magic, and wonderful faraway places, and every day it would bring a touch of wonder in my life, and I'd be happy."

The next morning, as soon as he'd left for work, Sarah packed a small bag and her Visa card, drove to the airport, and boarded a flight to Mexico.

From the airport she found a bus going to Kampulli, and climbed aboard.

Thirteen long carsick hours later, the road ended, and she asked the bus driver the way. He pointed, and off she went into the jungle, immediately regretting the whole trip as she swatted mosquitoes and worried about getting lost. But when she thought of Eli's face when she brought back a Kampulli stone, it kept her going.

She walked all day and finally arrived in a tiny village, exhausted and filthy. But, wonder of wonders, the temple was before her, and more beautiful than she'd imagined possible. She walked in—and was immediately pulled out by an elderly woman.

"You can't walk into our cathedral like that!" she said. "Come home with me and have a bath, some supper, and we'll come back for the evening service."

So Sarah did, and met the old lady's family, who didn't look all that pleased about having company. When it came time to go, Sarah had to admit she wasn't there for cathedral services.

"I thought it was the Kampulli temple," she said.

"No," the old woman said. "The old temple was built on top of the mountain."

Sarah sighed, and thought about giving up. But then, once again, she imagined Eli's face when he saw his stone and heard about her adventures to get it, and that gave her strength to face the mountain. She spent the night with the family, and before dawn she set off.

She climbed all day and the sun was beginning to set when she reached the top and saw the open doorway of a large building before her.

But---this was an ancient Mayan temple?

"Excuse me," she said to a forklift driver outside the door, "I came looking for the temple of Kampulli?"

"The temple? It fell down years ago; this observatory was built on top of the ruins. Everything that could be saved was sent to the museum in Mexico City."

Sarah couldn't imagine Eli's face now.

"Do you have a phone?" she said.

A few minutes later she was sobbing out the whole long tale, long distance to her husband, who told her not to worry and to come on back home, and if she left right now she'd arrive just in time for his birthday, and since she'd gone through so much, he'd take her for a weekend away to the beach and they'd celebrate his birthday with a big steak dinner.

"You're not mad?" she sobbed. "All the money I've had to spend, and I've been gone for days already, and it's all for nothing, you really don't mind?"

"Of course not," he said. "You're wonderful to go through all that for me. Just hurry home."

"Ok," she said, and wiped her tears. "If all goes well I can be home by Friday."

Eli hung up the phone, went back to the sofa, shut his eyes, and enjoyed some more of his birthday peace and quiet, until Friday.

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(Don't forget to visit Portrait of Words for more stories with these photographs, and stop back there tomorrow to check out the next challenge!)