* * *
Catalina felt Phillip place a ring on her finger. His voice sounded unsteady. "You can open your eyes now."
The diamond was so large that all she could do was gape at it.
"It's real, Catalina. Not only is it real, but it's also perfect, just like you."
She tried to speak, but no words would come. She never suspected Phillip had any romantic inclinations toward her. Now she knew why he had been acting so peculiar as of late. Had he told her how he felt years ago, she would have rushed into his arms, eager at the chance to be his wife, but not now. Marrying Phillip would be like marrying an older brother. Catalina genuinely cared for him, but the spark, the chemistry, the sexual attraction was no longer there. She owed him. Owed him a lot, and there would never be a way for her to repay him for his kindness and generosity. If he had not taken her in, she would have been living a humdrum existence in Manaus with her grandfather. Of course, she could have opted to go live with her parents in Africa, but she wasn't cut out for missionary work. Phillip had opened her eyes to a beautiful world, a world she would have never been able to fully experience. Although their relationship had been platonic, he was the only man in her life. Her initial reaction was to tell him an engagement was out of the question because she didn't love him-at least not the way he loved her. Instead, all she could say in a feeble voice was, "I can't accept this, Phillip. It's much too expensive."
"Nonsense. It looks wonderful on your finger."
She had to force the words out of her mouth. "A ring like this usually symbolizes a betrothal. Are you proposing to me?"
The involuntary muscle beneath Phillip's right eye began to quiver. "We've been together for eight years. In the beginning our age difference mattered, but that shouldn't be a problem now. I care for you, Catalina, and I want you to be my wife."
Catalina struggled to find the right words, words that he wouldn't construe as hurtful. "You're right. We have been together for quite some time. You must know I have the deepest affection for you. If you hadn't come along, my life would have been very different. If your driver hadn't run me over, I'd probably still be living with Marcelo, working as a waitress in some coffee shop in Manaus. You gave me an education. I have a career, a job I love, but marriage?" Her hands were trembling. "That's an awfully big step, Phillip. For you as well as for me. It's not a decision that should be made lightly."
"Believe me, I have given it a lot of thought. I know I'm ready, but if you'd prefer to wait, I understand. I wouldn't mind a long engagement."
Catalina saw the pleading look in his eyes. It was so out of character for him to show this vulnerability. She wanted to take the ring off her finger, but he had made it extremely difficult for her to do so. She wanted to say no, but she couldn't get the two-letter word out of her mouth. Knowing Phillip was waiting for a reply, she chose her words carefully. "Besides Marcelo and my parents, you're the only living person who cares for me. You are my one and only friend and companion. Had it not been for you, I probably would've married some dockworker in Manaus. You gave me a new life, a life I never dreamed existed. You've also provided me with an education and security I've never had. I owe you everything. The only affection you have ever shown me was a peck on the cheek. You have never given me any indication that you thought of me in romantic terms. I guess I'm just in shock."
Phillip took her hand in his. "I've wanted to tell you how I've felt for quite some time. I guess I just didn't know how to go about it."
The situation had now become awkward-for him as well as for her. "I'm not going to lie to you, Phillip. When you first took me in, I developed a big crush on you. But that was a long time ago." She knew she owed it to him to tell the truth, but the words did not come easily. "I don't love you. At least not in the way you'd want me to."
The silence between them lingered far too long. Finally, Phillip said, "I admire your honesty. I'm not really sure what love is because I've never experienced it. All I know is, you are the only person I've ever cared for. I know that without you, life would just be an empty shell, a vacuum, I wouldn't be able to endure. I need you more than you will ever know."
Phillip's words frightened Catalina. She didn't understand how he could have kept his feelings bottled up inside him for so many years. She weighed her response carefully. If she accepted his proposal, she would be compromising her chances of finding true love, but she also wondered if it would be possible to love Phillip the way she had when he had first taken her in. "If you're willing to accept me, knowing what I just told you, I'll wear the ring, but first you must make me a promise."
Catalina heard him sigh in relief. "What do you want me to do?"
"I only ask that you don't press me. Now that I know how you feel, who knows? Maybe in time I'll be able to think of you in romantic terms. If that happens, then maybe we can get married."
* * *
Phillip had mixed emotions. On the one hand, he'd been relieved that Catalina hadn't rejected him. He was also ashamed because he hadn't told her the whole truth. In a way, a long engagement would work to his advantage. Now he could take his time telling her about his problem. Phillip vowed to renew his visits with the psychiatrist. It had been a few years since any of the experts had tried to help him with his impotency. Maybe some new technique had been developed that would assist him in overcoming his fear of intercourse.
Leaving the restaurant, he decided it would be best to forgo the theater. He was emotionally drained. Catalina looked tired, too. On their flight home, he recalled that earlier she had been eager to talk about the water jar. "You had mentioned you discovered something of interest about the aryballos. Do you wish to talk about it now?"
* * *
The only thing Catalina wanted to do was go to bed. The flight to and from San Francisco had been exhausting, and Phillip's marriage proposal had added a new wrinkle to their relationship. She regretted the decision she had made the minute they had left the restaurant. She shouldn't have accepted the ring. Her exuberance to talk about the aryballos had been dampened by Phillip's proposal. The hour was late and she felt her discovery could wait until later. Besides, she wanted to re-examine the parchment to make certain she hadn't made a mistake.
"I may have made an astonishing discovery, but I need to check on a few things first. Thank you for a wonderful evening, Phillip. It's been a long day, and if you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep."
"I understand. Why don't you have breakfast with me tomorrow? The cook won't be here so maybe you could make us an omelet? You can bring the terracotta statue with you, and we can talk about the aryballos. Would ten o'clock suit you?"
Phillip's driver opened the door for her, and she headed toward her condo. No sooner had she inserted the key in the lock than the tears came. Still sobbing, she slid the ring Phillip had given her off her finger and placed it in her jewelry box. Unfortunately, that changed nothing. An agreement was an agreement, and she would keep her word. She had promised Phillip she would wear the ring as long as he didn't push her for a marriage commitment, and that's what she would do.
Catalina felt she had to talk to someone. Marcelo. She needed his advice. Much to her surprise, he was ecstatic. "I think that's wonderful. Phillip is handsome, and he is also very, very rich. You should be happy. There are millions of women out there who would like to be in your shoes."
"Then you don't think he is too old for me?"
"Nonsense. An eleven-year difference isn't that much. Your grandmother was fifteen years younger than me."
"But I don't love him."
"There are many kinds of love. I know from experience that passion does not last forever, particularly in a marriage. Think very carefully about your decision, my precious one."
CHAPTER 12
Eric woke up at the crack of dawn. When he opened the door to Chris's room, he saw that his friend was still sleeping. The rain had started again. He could hear the drops pelting the green foliage surrounding the shack he and Chris called home
. His thoughts gravitated toward last night's conversation about the Star Walkers. Since he had some time on his hands, he went online to see what other information he could find about the mythological gods. There were no direct references; however, he did find a site that referred to the Popol Vuh, an ancient Guatemalan manuscript, which mentioned a land to the east that was now a sea. Could they have meant Atlantis? The book was clear on one thing. A white race called the "fathers of the people" had come after enduring a great catastrophe. He felt it was a far stretch to conclude the Star Walkers came from Atlantis. First off, he doubted the place had ever existed. And even if it had, he didn't believe the Atlantians were the ones who had imparted their ancient knowledge to the natives, who at one time lived in the now dead cities that lay in unexplored sections of Brazil.
Eric had heard too many tales about the Star Walkers to discount their existence; a group of strange white people with symmetrical Greek features who wore black flowing robes. It had been said they once lived in the Brazilian highlands commonly referred to as Mato Grosso beyond the headwaters of the Xingu River. No one knew where they came from. They appeared as missionaries right after a horrific volcanic devastation. The chief among them was unquestionably Viracocha, the feathered serpent god. Some called him the god of thunder and the sky. Eric believed Viracocha to be one of the greatest mysteries of ancient American cultures. He was called Kukulkan by the Mayans, Quetzalcoatl by the Aztecs, and Viracocha by the Incas. One story in particular mentioned that Viracocha made several visits to Brazil. Was it possible that one of the three statues he had seen at Ingregil was that of Viracocha?
Here he was a professor of South American history yet he knew so little of Brazil's ancient past, a past he was certain had actually existed. There were numerous reports of strange pale-skinned men who came and went out of the tunnels in and around Muela Del Diablo, a mountain that had always fascinated his father. Could they have been the descendents of the Star Walkers? Or were they men of Spanish ancestry?
Eric was sure of only one thing. No one knew for certain who the precursors were to the Incas or how the Incas had come to power. They just seemed to surface out of nowhere. Although there were numerous myths that told of an ancient race who lived in the vicinity of Peru thousands of years before the Incas, no conclusive scientific evidence had been found to support the claim that a pre-Inca civilization had ever existed. As with all ancient civilizations, legends of old stone carvings and monuments spoke of gods who came from the skies; in Egypt, Mesopotamia, as well as the Americas. Although the monuments and their depictions differed, there was a commonality to the manner by which the Egyptian and South American pyramids had been constructed. No mortar was used and no two stones were alike, yet these ancient sites were built with such precision that some say it would not be possible to duplicate the structures in today's modern world.
Eric wondered who could have provided this knowledge to these primitive civilizations? Could it have been the Star Walkers? He was certain the orientation of Indian structures and the direction of roads aligned to the sun and the stars was no coincidence. The connection of ancient cities such as Ingregil to the heavens, better known as ethnocartography was an undeniable fact. However, the idea that beings from another world had come from the stars to impart upon mankind their knowledge and wisdom seemed rather far-fetched. Still, he couldn't come up with a terrestrial hypothesis.
He eventually found a link that led to Colonel Percy Fawcett, the famous adventurer who, like his father, had spent a great deal of time in the Amazon in the hope of clearing up some of Brazil's mysteries. Eric was skimming an article about Fawcett when Chris peered over his shoulder. "Are you reading about Fawcett again? You've read and reread the same articles at least a dozen times. What is it about the man that fascinates you?"
"Percy Fawcett and my father were cast from the same mold. Like my father, Fawcett was on a mission to discover Brazil's mysterious past."
"Believe it or not, I've done some research on my own about Fawcett," Chris said. "The man had a lot of nerve, that's for sure. In his lifetime, he explored sections of the Amazon that no white man had even set foot in."
Eric nodded. "If you heard of him, then you know he disappeared somewhere in the Amazon just like my father. Some say it was in the Brazilian jungle near Cuiaba. In the course of his extensive explorations, Fawcett discovered many mysterious things. He claimed he had seen strange bright lights in the ruins of dead cities, which the Indians say have been burning continuously and unattended for many generations. It is believed this eternal cold light energy was also found in ancient Roman and Egyptian tombs." Eric turned away from his computer. "You know, Chris, my father was also highly opinionated just like Fawcett. Had they lived at the same time, I'm certain they would've been good friends."
Chris pulled up a chair next to Eric. "Well, this is all fascinating stuff, but what you need to do is decide whether you are going to continue to look for your father. If you want my advice, I'd let it go."
Eric appeared not to have heard Chris. "I don't know if I've ever mentioned this to you before, but my father often told me he wanted to search for the fabled city of Akakor. Although Fawcett never mentioned Akakor by name, my father was convinced that was the city he had set out to find."
"There is something I've been meaning to ask you," Chris said. "Your father entered the Amazon without giving anyone any idea where he was going. Why would he do such a thing?"
"Probably because he wanted to avoid being ridiculed. You see, most mainstream archeologists claim Akakor never existed. But like Fawcett, my father believed the city was somewhere in Brazil. And like Fawcett, he believed the reason Akakor hadn't been found was because the jungle had encroached upon its ruins. Father claimed he spoke to an old Indian who told him the ancient city exists in the upper reaches of Mato Grosso. I think he went there to look for it. The problem is, I don't have a single tangible lead and I'm not prepared to search ten thousand square miles of jungle in the hope of finding him."
Chris glanced out the window. "It stopped raining. Want to go run? I need some exercise."
"No," Eric said. "I'm not in the mood, but don't let me stop you."
When Chris left the house, Eric shut off the computer, but his thoughts were still of his father. Like Fawcett, Jonathan Shade knew the Amazon as well as anyone. His father never entered the jungle without a sextant and a chronometer. Those two instruments would've helped him find his position in relation to longitude and latitude.
Eric hadn't wanted to admit to Chris the utter futility of the situation. How could the two of them ever hope to find his father when over the years an estimated one hundred would-be rescuers had died searching for Fawcett? The hardest part about his father's disappearance was not knowing what had become of him. Did he die from an illness he contracted in the jungle? Did a group of unfriendly natives kill him? Or did he perish in some tunnel from which he couldn't find a way out? Eric was certain of one thing. Unless someone provided unequivocal proof that his father was dead, he would continue to search for him.
CHAPTER 13
As Catalina readied for bed, she reflected on Phillip's proposal and her acceptance. His intentions had thrown her totally off guard. She feared she had made a mistake in taking the ring. It's just that he looked so vulnerable, even pathetic, waiting for her reply. Feeling obligated to Phillip was not a reason to marry him; however, now that she had given him an answer, right or wrong, she was going to stick with her decision. Knowing Phillip and the difficulty he had in showing affection, she would have to work at changing the chemistry of their relationship. She had to find a way to loosen him up. He was much too stodgy and set in his ways. She vowed to assert herself more now that he had revealed his true feelings.
She tried to imagine what it would be like being married to him. Would things really change that much? With the exception of a physical relationship, she saw nothing new on the horizon. He was such a creature of habit. To Phillip, routine and the familia
rity of his surroundings were of the utmost importance while she yearned for some excitement in her life.
Unable to sleep, Catalina picked up the aryballos and re-examined the quipu, hoping this would force Phillip and her situation out of her mind. In the cords that made up the quipu, there were ten knots in each set. She counted four sets on each string, and there were six strings. She held her breath, stunned at the amount of gold the quipu had revealed.
Finding the hoard would definitely make someone rich, very rich.
* * *
Catalina woke up surprised to discover the quipu still in her hand. She needed to get moving, knowing Phillip would be sitting in the cabana by the pool expecting her to be there at precisely ten o'clock. For the first time since she had known Phillip, Catalina felt uncomfortable at the thought of being alone with him.
The minute she entered the cabana, she realized her fears had been unfounded. Phillip was reading the Wall Street Journal as usual, drinking a cup of coffee.
She walked over and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Sorry to be late. Want me to fix us some breakfast?"
"The cook showed up a day earlier than I expected. It'll be ready in a few minutes." Phillip made the statement without bothering to lower the paper. Nothing had changed.
He was buttering his toast when she broached the subject of the aryballos. She was bursting to tell him what she had discovered. "Would you like to know what I've found out about the water jar I purchased?"