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Water Snake
The following morning I went down to the river again to bathe. I had to be fairly quick this day, because we were to visit Mamas sister in a nearby village. I was trying to hurry, but the river in the morning was so beautiful. I had found a patch of sunlight, which had escaped the shadow of the almighty trees surrounding. I noticed a couple of the young children peering at me from behind a nearby rock, so I was glad I had worn my bathing suit. Many white butterflies fluttered around the peak of a rock. There was the odd yellow butterfly also joining in this light, swirling dance as the beams of sunlight momentarily caught glimpses of their delicate wings. I allowed the flow of the river to rinse my body and slightly reluctantly made my way back up the rocky path to the village.
By this time I had begun to pick up a small amount of Spanish, I could understand parts if people spoke slowly to me. Mama had given me a herb for the larvae in my legs.
"Sarsaparilla", Mama explained " is a herb of the snake. It moves through your body and kills all the parasites."
He held the herb in his hand and closed his eyes, while whispering in a prayer-like fashion. I wasn’t sure at the time what he was doing, but he asked for my full name before he prayed and told me he needed to ask the guardian of the herb to help me. He then said, "You have given some of your blood to the mountain and so have paid for your medicine. Sarsaparilla is very expensive, though blood is rich in value to the mountain, the guardian has agreed to help you." The next day, I found only remnant of the lumps on my legs.
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