Superstition

Chapter four

On the route, Ulises felt a natural clarity, a peaceful rest of mind far from all the city stimulus. There he realized that he needed to go and find his Baba granny or someone like her to help Adrian.
When he reached the town he admired the fields and the electricity posts coming from the horizon-line into it, he felt proud of himself and the community he helped build. It was a nice place with less than two thousand people and each one of them was nice and well mannered, even the drunk ones had a strong code of conduct.
But instead of going into the town he kept going a couple of kilometres of road, into the forest where hidden against a stone hillside, used to be Baba granny's house. And there it appeared out nowhere, like a mirage, the small cabin.
He left the car under a nice shadow and walked to the house, wondering how an old lady could live by herself so far from society, he said to himself that if she is still alive he should find her a place closer to him so he could take care of her.
He knocked on the door, then looked through the windows, but only saw darkness and a very modest living room. He walked around it to find a way in, on the left side of the house saw a narrow lane and following it he found an old lady working in a beautiful garden hidden from the road.
— Ulises my boy!— She yelled before he could say anything.— How have you been baby? I haven't seen you in years.
He was surprised by her, not just for being alive but so well preserved and how she could recognize him that easily.
He walked towards her and hugged her without saying anything, he felt her boney and fragile body in his arms
— It's been too long Baba, I've missed you a lot. I was wondering even if you were alive.
— Well, I'm alive and very well, but I can't say the same of you, what's wrong dear? I can sense your pain.
— It's my son, I don't know if you ever meet him. He went to study in Montevideo a year ago and I got the news a few days ago that he overdosed on something and I was wondering if you could help me figure out what happened.
— Why would I know?— She said sounding offended.— I'm not a doctor.
— I know, but I don't believe his problem is medical, I think it has to do with magic and you are an expert on the field.
— And why would I help someone who abandoned me for years?
— I'm very sorry about that, I sent you an invitation to my wedding and since you didn't come I thought that you have died. I asked about you but the only answer I got is that you didn't want to be disturbed.
— But kiddo, you know you are never a disturbance to me.
— Anyway, can you please forgive me? For my son's sake.
— I'll think about it.— She said in a childish tone.
— Hey, Baba, this place is beautiful but is too isolated, you should come closer to us, there is a spare room in my house now that Adrian is at college. I won't sleep well knowing you are here all alone.
— This place is much more populated than you could see with the naked eye, and it's not like you could sleep well anyway, I remember seeing you sweating and trembling in your dreams as a kid.
— And you always fought the nightmares away with your singing. Please, Baba, come with me and you'll be much more comfortable, I promise.
— But I have a garden to take care of here and my chickens.
— I have a garden at home that you could bring your plants to, and there is a spacious backyard perfect for a chicken coup. — He pauses and thinks— Don't make me beg you because you know I will, and you have never been able to fight against my puppy eyes.
— You are too old for that boy, but your eyes are still as blue and curious as always. Okay, I'll go with you if you help me finish the garden now.
Ulises helped the old lady to harvest the potatoes and lettuce. She invited him to some tea and while drinking he saw the modest house crowded with curiosities.
— I've missed you for real Baba, all these things on the wall bring back memories. Where are they from?
— Many things, many places. I'm a healer, everything here has emotional or symbolic value, some of them were incredibly expensive. Like this one.— She said as she picked a big drinking horn.— I trade this with a gipsy, is a Scandinavian horn, you see the runes? It used to belong to a king of the giants that tricked Thor himself. I used to have the belt of strength of Thor too. — She continued.—  But I had to sell it for the money and documents I needed to escape from Stalin's rule. Anyway, I have a lot of garbage here, but they only work when enough people believe in them, or they are like you and me.
— Why “people like us”?— Asked Ulises, putting his tea down.
— Because of our gifts, this is just garbage and bijouterie where we focus our beliefs.
— I can pack all that on the trunk of my car and bring them home If you want and I could come back later with a truck and a couple of friends for the rest of the plants and the chickens.
— That would be lovely.— She sipped her tea— Now tell me about your son, what can I do to help him?
— So you decided to help me?
— Well, I woke up today feeling generous, you shouldn't get used to it.
— Thank you very much, Baba. I'm not sure about anything, I just have this feeling, like a hunch; that there is magic involved in all of this.
— Don't you have anything to show me?— She said as she extended her skinny claw-like hands.
Ulises took it from his pocket and put it on her palm and she immediately screeched and yanked her hand away letting the pill fall on the floor.
— Holy shit that thing is cursed. It hurt like hell!— She yelled as she ran to wash her hand.— I haven't seen anything like that before, it isn't Christian or something similar, it's something primitive and non-human. Where did you get it from?
— From one of Adrian’ friends, he said it's made in Mexico or something like that.
— Oh yes, I've heard of them, the Aztec, Olmec, and Maya were fearsome tribes, with old and dangerous gods.
She took the pill with long metal forging pincers and put it on a metal cooking pot filled with water and added some grey powder with a couple of dry leaves. When the water began to boil the liquid turned yellow and spots of red lines like blood emerged from it. The red danced in the yellow; forming strange shapes and images.
Baba granny stared at the pot for long minutes in a silence that was comforting and calming to Ulises.
— Yes, this pill is cursed in many ways, there is a lot of blood and painful deaths surrounding its conception. There are some pissed off gods whose land was invaded. Can you feel it?
— I feel something aggressive.
— Yes, that's it, it's the anger of a disrespected God. No doubt this thing hit your kid like a truck on the face. This would surely kill me at my age.
— So how do I fix it? Please tell me, Baba, I'll do whatever it takes.
— I know you would dear, I don't think his body is in any danger, is his soul the one that felt the poison of the pill and ran away. If you prepare yourself and meditate, tomorrow I'll have ready a tea that will help you to take a look into the beyond and find your kid.
— Oh God, thank you Baba, I love you so much, how can I repay you?
— Well, unfortunately, I can't charge you anything, we are family.
— We are? I thought you weren't a Flyntz or anything.
— I am a long relative, my document read...— She said as she picked her purse and lifted her ID.— I am Marianne Flyntzbog, but they changed to “Mariza Flyntz”
Her name was inscribed in the document together with an old black and white picture of her, in which she looked the exact same as now, her long crooked nose, her very wrinkled face, and bright eyes.
— Goddamn Baba, have you ever being young?— Joked Ulises.
— I'm very very old, I've been called the devil's grandma; I honestly lost count of my age. I've lost so much in the motherland; my moving house, my garden, everything!. I came here with a suitcase full of garbage, some rags and my pet Leshy in a flower pot, they were the only ones who can make my blue roses flourish here.
— What is a Leshy?
— He was an old friend, long dead by now, unfortunately; I hope he had kids here, surely he did. Anyway, let's pack up; it's getting dark
Ulises hurried and picked the clothes from the drawers and the many artefacts that decorated the house.
— Baba I'll have to buy you new clothes, this is awful, you deserve better.
— I'll take your word for it.
— You better do.
Before the last lights disappeared they were both sitting in Ulises’ living room, next to a crackling fire. When the boiler whistle Ulises poured the water in a thermo and then into a mate.
— Ugh, I never liked that sewage water the Uruguayans call tea.
— Well to start, ist, not a tea, it's mate and if you don't want it we could add sugar.
— That'll be better.
He adds a disproportionate amount of sugar as he somehow started to remember her tastes; or maybe detecting them.
— Okay, now it's better.— She answered satisfied but not only for the mate.
— Come on Baba, tell me about how we could look into the beyond and find Adrian.
— To do so, you need to fast for at least a day kiddo, to clean your body. You need to empty it so you can leave it.
— Leave it where?
— Are you dumb? You said you felt a call from the beyond and your kid took a cursed drug; so his soul is somewhere in there; the other side of the veil, probably lost or worse. You are his father, you are naturally linked, so it should be instinctive for you to find your way to him there, while I take care of your body here. We mustn't rush, either lose time.
— I get it.— Said him lowering his mate and staring blindly into the fire.