Lost and never found

   What was once deemed to be the center of all known civilization, the epitome of culture and grandiosity, fell in one day. The rain did the rest and the jungle became the one to truly make the city a myth. Where people one traded, lived and loved, an entanglement of branches and leaves now existed. Animals now thrived were ancient philosophers had posed the most interesting questions and had also attempted to answer them. Fish swam up the streets that people had once used daily, not even noticing them.

 The cataclysm was so abrupt and effective, that no one else in the entire world ever knew about that city. And even those who had once visited now thought they could have been mistaken. Maybe they had been somewhere else and not there, not the city of myth. Forgotten, its walls and stone sculptures fell to the ground and were promptly consumed by the jungle. After a while, only the strongest pillars and rocks where still there, but it would have been very difficult to prove a city had stood there.

 The indigenous peoples that inhabited the jungle preserved the ideas behind the city, but they were so entrenched after years and years, that they really couldn’t say what was theirs and what had been borrowed from those people in the past. Maybe it was their ways of hunting or maybe they had inherited all of their cosmology from those ancient humans. Their villages were much smaller and their people did not have the same kind of vision of their world, but it would have been very sad if nothing had remained.

 Explorers had come every so often, thinking they would be to unwrap the mystery and reveal to the world some magnificent new discovery. However, they only had ancient writing and stories to navigate the jungle with, and that wasn’t nearly enough. They would often get lost and then be found starving to death, or the jungle and its animals would defend their existence against them with the maximum sentence. Bodies were known to be seen floating down the river, sometimes only parts of them.

 However, some of those explorers were able to find bits and pieces that made the possibility of the city being rediscovered a reality. The first one to find something was a foreigner that had no intention to become an explorer but did nevertheless. He was eleven years old and had been visiting the area with his parents, on a river cruise. The boy fell in the rapids, were the boats had difficulties navigating, and he was found to be alive only a few kilometers down the river. The most fascinating thing was the object he was holding when rescued from a lonely rock on one side of the river.

 At first glance, it was a long object, kind of white but also yellowish, with holes on one side and a larger hole on one end. Clearly, it was some kind of musical instrument resembling a flute. However, when the kid’s parents checked the object, they realized it wasn’t made out of wood or something similar. The flute was made with bone. Of course, the parents were disgusted by that and thought instantly that it was something belonging to one of the tribes living in the vicinity.

 When they reached civilization, they left the object in a museum. There, it was proven to be a musical instrument but not one used by the indigenous peoples. It was too advanced for them and too refined for their tastes, which were much simpler. The flute the kid had discovered had been carefully carved and its holes had been drilled with a magnificent precision. The discovery was a revolution, because it was something found on an area that had no relation to such craftsmanship.

 The museum officials asked the kid’s parents to interview the boy before they left for their country. He told them that he had found the flute by accident, when kicking and tossing and turning after he had fallen of the boat. He said that he had felt the object just after falling, so among the rapids. The kid grabbed thinking it could help him hold on to something, but the flute was freed from the bottom of the river and then floated with the boy until boat reached the rock where they were found.

 The kid was then interviewed by several news outlets of the country, as the flute had become a very interesting subject for them. Yet, people from other places seemed to be a little bit doubtful of the whole thing. Granted, no real tests had been done to the flute and the kid’s story could be a very elaborate lie. For all that they knew, the parents could have been liars trying to get some attention out of the whole thing. The fact that they were actors in Hollywood didn’t really help their case at all.

 But the museum continued its research, trying not to pay attention to the barrage of critics and doubts everyone was pouring in. They tested the object with carbon and were able to prove the flute was much older than any of the objects used by any of the tribes living in the jungle. Even the ones that lived deep inside it all could not have been the creators of such a piece. The bone was then analyzed and it didn’t really surprise anyone when it was revealed it was actually a human bone. It was a humerus, to be more precise. Someone had used it to create music, entertainment.

 Now, that discovery really traveled the globe. Of course, other people in the world had created musical instruments from bones too but this was such an interesting story that it was just too much not to exploit it. Everyone in the planet was talking about the flute made out of human bone that a kid had discovered deep in a secluded jungle. It was an interesting thing to hear about and speculations started to pop up from every single corner. Everyone had just become an expert.

Some thought that it was maybe not an ancient piece of history but some prank. Others thought it had been made by the lone survivor of some doomed expedition. Some even proposed the theory that aliens, beings from some unknown world, could have been the creators of the object. And all of those were some of the most common ideas that people had, with the one about the aliens being the most repeated one in social media and all over the Internet. People loved to have a mystery in their hands.

 Meanwhile, the experts kept on working. They soon discovered something even more mysterious, that they couldn’t just corroborate: the bone had been proven to be one from a Caucasian man, an actual man from the Caucasus region. That place was thousands and thousands of kilometers away and, somehow, and ancient bone from that region had been discovered in a jungle with holes to make music with. It did make any sense but it was what it was, and they checked their results several times.

 They even lend the object to other museums and scientists, also inviting them to visit the flute and sharing knowledge. But after the last discovery, they had nothing. They even sent explorer to the area where the kid had found the flute in order to comb the area. It was a very difficult job and also dangerous, but they did it and spent several months there. Nothing came out of it. Only people affected by spider and snake venom, attacks by eels and confrontations with very angry indigenous peoples.

 They would never know how a young kid, a girl, had once owned that flute. She had used it to entertain herself. When the cataclysm came, and they all had to abandon their city, the girl took the flute with her but sadly dropped it in the river, hundreds of kilometers away from the place where it was found.

 The flute was made from the bone of a man they had brought into the city as a slave. He had been shown around, like an animal, for people to see what existed beyond their borders. The man eventually died and his caretaker, the girl’s father, took one of his bones from the funeral pyre for himself.

Lemonade

   Every single person that knew me wondered why I had chosen such a name for my dog. I always told them I didn’t really choose the name. Instead, he had been the one to choose it. I remember very well. I had been walking for a long time and was really hungry but didn’t know my surroundings at all. I had been living in that city for almost a year but the part of town I was in was not very well known to me. To be honest, it wasn’t one of those popular tourist destinations. It was one of those places people go very randomly or that locals know but no one else. I considered myself more of a local back then.

 I was lost and hungry and started to wander the streets trying to look for anything in order to calm my stomach. I found a closed supermarket and a closed restaurant and then I realized I had become lost in the worst day possible for the place I was in: Sunday. Nothing opened on Sunday, nothing at all. Maybe a couple of little supermarkets down in the tourist area but in that neighborhood I had so stupidly stepped in, there was nothing at all on such a day.

 How did I forget that? I have no idea. But the truth was I grew more and more desperate as the minutes passed. To make things worse, the clouds in the sky were staring to move and the sun, shiny and big as it looked, started to shine strongly above me. The temperature rose steadily until I had to walk back to a park I had seen before in order to sit down on a park bench beneath a tree, where I could at least try to make a plan or think of something to do in that case.

 It was then when I met him. He just came up to me out of nowhere and I swear I never saw anyone around us in that moment. He was a very short dog, the kind that had a lot of fur and tiny legs and paws and also a very small head. His fur was a combination of orange and white and I could easily notice he hadn’t been bathed in quite a while. He just sidled up to me and sat on the floor, also avoiding the sunlight.

 At first, I didn’t much for him. He was just a dog in a park, nothing too uncommon up to that point. It was when I stood up and walked to were I thought I had seen a metro station when things got really interesting. I did find the station and, luckily, I had one last trip in my metro card. It would help me go back home and eat around there or something.

 It wasn’t until I was inside the train and sat down (not many people on Sunday), that I noticed the dog had followed me and sat just below the seats in front of me, as a way for me to notice him. I realized that from the first moment I saw him there, putting his small him on his paws, waiting for the train to arrive to its destination. 

 After thirty minutes, I was back where I knew where everything was and where I could trust I could find some nice food. I was so eager to eat that, again, I forgot about the dog. I climbed the stairs to the street as fast as I could and started looking around me as if I was hunting some rare type of animal.

 Sure enough, I found a place were they did a very attractive fried chicken with French fries. It was perfect for my hunger, as my belly growled more and more loudly. Even people around me in the train could hear it complain. It was very embarrassing and I didn’t acknowledge any of it, instead playing the “I have no idea what’s happening” card.  I sat on a table in front of the restaurant and asked for a lemonade to have with my beverage, as I was really thirsty too.

 As I waited for my chicken, I noticed that part of town was as dead as the rest of it. There were a couple of business open but the amount of people in them was very sad. People were apparently very tied to their traditions and refused to change them for nothing, even if it could benefit them somehow. I could never get used to that as those are not my traditions but I think it’s interesting how people are sometimes. They keep amazing me.

 The other creature that amazed me was that damn dog from the park. As I was wondering about people of that city, I noticed something was under the other chair by the table. As I looked down, I saw it lying down exactly as I had done in the train. Just then, the waiter came with my lemonade and my lunch/dinner. I was so hungry I forgot about the dog in two seconds, digging in mercilessly.

 When I was halfway through my meal, I realized the dog had crawled out of under the chair and had decided to sit down by me watching me eat. Clearly it was the sign that meant, “Feed me”. At first, I really thought I wouldn’t give him a single piece of chicken. Not only because I was very hungry but also because the dog’s insistence on following me was very bothering. Besides, there was also the fact that I had no idea who the owner of the animal was and if it was a good thing for me to give him some chicken.

 Finally, I decided to give him a little piece of chicken. I threw it just in front of him but, to my surprise, that damn dog didn’t seem to care for chicken. I did the same thing with half a French fry and nothing; he just didn’t seem to care about any of it. Then why was he following me and staring at me as I ate? What the hell was wrong with him?

 Suddenly, the creature did something I wasn’t expected and that confused me even further: it got up on its to back legs and put the other two on my thigh, looking at me with his small black eyes. I was absolutely confused. He was begging or apparently that was the case but I had already given him food and he didn’t care for that. So what did he want it?

 I decided to keep eating my meal. I would finish it and just go home. I had no time or desire to be guessing a dog’s needs or wishes. I had never really had a pet at home, except the rabbit that had died five days after my father had brought it for my sibling and me. Besides that, my relationship with animals had been very rare. Maybe when I visited my friends who had dogs or cats, that was really my only interaction with other species. Besides that, nothing.

 The dog did the thigh thing a couple times more but I didn’t even acknowledge it. I finished the chicken, which was delicious, and ate the last couple of fries with some mustard, which was my favorite. I called the waiter in order to ask for the check and I just exhaled in a very content manner as I had fulfilled my wish for the afternoon. Thankfully, the sun was beginning to be covered by clouds again so I did not have to worry about sweating all the way home.

 When I reached for my glass of lemonade to finish it, the dog went crazy. Not inly he touched my thigh again, he started jumping up and down as if he was doing some kind of show. I took a look around me and realized there was no one else watching besides me, no one to testify to how crazy that damn dog was.

 It took me a while to realize that the key to his response had been the lemonade. So, feeling curious, I poured some of it in small saucer that the waiter had left on the next table and just put it in front of the dog. Sure enough, the little creature drank the lemonade in a couple of seconds. I was so entertained by watching him drink such a thing, that I poured twice more, give him the last of my beverage.

After I paid, I thought the dog would stay there but, for some reason, he kept following me.  I had no idea why I did it but I let it happen. I didn’t try to scare him of or anything and when we got to my building, I let him pass inside.

 He has been living with me for a year now. His name is Lemonade. And I have to say he’s one funny dog. Not only because of how I met him but because he seems to know things I haven’t even realized yet. Somehow, he’s more human than you, me and all others.

The earring

   The wedding was over and now Christina had to supervise the removal of every single table and fork from the premises. The castle was a very special place to do such celebrations but they always asked for the place to be cleaned thoroughly after each party. It was very late and everyone was not very eager to clean anything but it had to be done. Christina supervised the men and women and checked every room where people may have wandered off to in order to see if it needed cleaning or if thee was something left behind. She found a scarf in a bathroom and even a high heel stuck in the grass in the garden. Another employee found a tie on a tree and a baby bottle beneath one of the tables. But the most beautiful thing Christina found was on a fountain in the garden.

 The water seemed tainted with something but she ignored that and just grabbed the earring that lay there, beyond the surface. The design was very simple but beautiful: an orchid made of metal with a center formed by a large purple precious stone. Christina saw every detail on the earring and realized she had never seen such a beautiful thing worn by anyone in the past. She decided to keep it and look for the owner herself. Maybe that way she could be able to ask where the earring was made so she could herself a pair. When everyone was done cleaning and leaving the place as if nothing had happened there, they were allowed to leave. It was almost four in the morning and everyone just wanted to get home and sleep for as long as they were able to.

 Christina wanted that too. She entered her car, sat down and pulled out the earring from her pocket to put it in her purse. But when she did that, she pricked her finger with the tip of the earring, which fell beneath her seat. Somehow, that had made her feel a little dizzy and her head felt big, like if it was a balloon or something. Christina inhaled deeply many times until she thought she was able to drive. She opened and closed her eyes, turned on the engine and drove in the night. But the truth was she couldn’t see much. She knew she was tired but not as much as she know felt. The car slid off the road a few times but she was able to control it but she knew that couldn’t be done for long.

 On a long curve, she finally succumbed to what she was feeling and let go of the car which when out off the road and into a tree. The airbag was the thing that killed her. The police discovered the car hours later and several members of the staff of the party said that they had seen her drive off after the cleaning was over but really no one knew about the earring. A detective assigned to the case, just in a routine way, discovered the piece of jewelry beneath the scene and he too fell in love with its shape and beauty, so he grabbed it for himself, even if it was evidence from the case. He took it home at night and left it in the kitchen counter.

 In the morning, it was already too late. Her youngest daughter had touched it out of curiosity and pricked herself too. Like Christina, she started to feel groggy. They were able to take her to a hospital but she was slipping away until she died. The doctor couldn’t give a proper explanation, as the child appeared to be falling asleep to very deep slumber but then died. The parents were crushed and stayed home to do the paperwork but they had forgotten about Marta, their housekeeper. She had keys to come in to do her work, so she did. As she mopped the floors, she found the earring and found it to be just marvelous. She had the idea to get it praised and maybe get some money out if it. She had never seen any of the women of the house wearing it, so it shouldn’t be an issue.

   However, Marta lost the earring on the bus. Fortunately, it fell off her pocket and just rolled under a seat, where it wouldn’t be found for some days until a driver checking his transport found it. He took it home, as they had all done. He told his wife it would be a nice pin to wear, in order to give his attire a little bit of class. His wife found a piece to put in his husband’s jacket and she was successful enough, she didn’t even prick a finger. And the jewel looked simply beautiful against the blue suit he had to use for work. He used his jacket like that for many years, been praised by many people when going in the bus.

 Those kind words made his life very happy. But one day, as it was destined to happen, the safety piece his wife had put behind the earring fell silently when he was driving. It was the same day a car crossed his path incorrectly, so he when he stepped on the brakes, he leaned forward violently and pricked his chest with the earring. The crash was blamed for his death. His body was transferred to a morgue, where they would fix him to look perfect. But a young mortician named Lidia fell in love with his pin and took it for herself. When he was buried, his wife thought he was wearing the pin, looking handsome as always but he wasn’t. The pin had a new owner, one that did something the other didn’t.

 Lidia had gotten several piercings and tattoos and she knew what was right. She got home and there she cleaned the earring carefully, avoiding pricking her fingers or damaging in any way the integrity of the piece. Weirdly enough, once she started cleaning the piece the pointy end started to turn purple, just like the jewel it had there. Lidia found this to be very strange so she decided to grab a small plastic bag, put the earring there and go to a friend that worked in a lab. Maybe he would be able to explain what was wrong with it because it was obvious she couldn’t put it on her ears. Maybe it had an infection or some other kind of disease and it wouldn’t be surprising if it had been on a dead man’s suit.

 Larry, Lidia’s “scientific” friend, worked as an assistant in a pharmaceutical company where he worked with various compounds and many advanced machines. When he was able to take the earring to the lab where he worked, he noticed something strange. He asked Lidia if he could damage the piece a bit, specially the tip and she agreed. She wasn’t going to wear it, so no one cared. Larry broke the tip of the earring and a soft purple dust tainted a small plate he had beneath. He had the dust checked and the machines couldn’t tell him exactly what it was but he was able to know what was, chemically, in there. So he did some of reverse science and discovered the dust was some kind of poison.

 But it wasn’t just poison. The earring, apparently, had been dipped into it and then left alone until the metal, and even the jewel, had absorbed the poison. But who would want to do something like that? It was a very complicated way to poison someone but Larry then realized that, looking at the compounds of the poison, it would be unlikely for medical scientists to even know they were dealing with something like that, mainly because the poison seemed to disappear from anywhere in a few hours. Larry told Lidia that maybe a lot of people had been killed by it and no one would ever know as the poison was untraceable and only they knew about its existence and about the earring.

 But then envy made its appearance in the form of a rival to Larry, who just happened to be very good at his job and had found many ways to make the pharmaceutical company win even more money. So this person, this enemy if you will, discovered the ring and thought that if Larry was working with it, it was because it meant something important. So he grabbed it and took him for himself. He took it home and checked it there with a microscope he had but he found nothing and he wouldn’t because the poison was not made to be found. In time, he pricked himself with it, enraged because he couldn’t find something to steal from his rival. His father found his body the next day.

 After that episode, no one really knew what had happened to the earring. Larry always thought he had just lost it but Lidia knew him very well and she knew he wouldn’t just loose something. More deaths happened but, as the people before Lidia, no one was curious or careful enough to handle it. They all thought that the beauty of the piece meant it was made to be worn, to be shown to the world and to be an icon of status and recognition. But it wasn’t. It was just a way to lure the people, the large crowds that believed that beauty was as simple as they were. They didn’t understand that beauty can also be lethal and should always be handled with the uttermost respect and curiosity.