Subj: The Letter, Part 10
Date: 7/25/01 6:57:30 PM Central Daylight Time
From: R J Jamison

Once Barnabas and Julia arrived in Brazil, they were met by a man called Helio. He escorted them to a small plane which they both boarded with some hesitation. It was old, scared and without any amenities. “Professor Stokes says come, come.” Helio hurried them onto the prop plane.

“Where is it you are taking us?” Barnabas yelled over the engines as they prepared for takeoff.

“Into the interior, to Kamayura.” Helio checked their buckles and motioned to the pilot to take off.

“How sick is the girl, Hallie?” Julia asked.

“Girl? No girl is sick. The girl is in Brasilia with Professor Stoke’s friends. She is not out there.”

Barnabas and Julia exchanged confused looks, why had Eliot called them so far from home if it were not for Hallie. Julia’s eyes flashed with understanding, it was Eliot. Eliot needed them. She hoped they arrived soon enough. As she leaned forward to ask more questions, Helio waived her off with great irritation. “No more questions.”

The plane traveled for two hours and finally settled on a landing pad that only the pilot could make out. A clearing in the midst of a lush, green canopy of forest near a river snaking through the green was barely visible. The rough landing caused both Julia and Barnabas to cover their mouths and hope to keep down what little food remained in their stomachs. After the plane finally stopped, several people surrounded it. Barnabas noted their dark, naked, painted bodies. The people surrounding the plane were all male. Helio, motioning for his passengers to wait, stepped down off the plane first and spoke with a man who carried a tall spear. His hair was painted red and his body covered in black paint. They spoke in an unusual language that Barnabas could not identify. After speaking for several moments, he called out to Barnabas. “You, Mr. Collins, you first.” Barnabas ducked low to exit the plane and stepped down to the ground. The young men surrounded him and touched his cane, coat and ring. The children chatted amiably and pointed things out to the elder men. “Mr. Collins, these people are not going to completely understand how Dr. Hoffman can be a shaman and be a woman. You need to show her great deference when she gets off the plane. It will make it easier for them to understand.”

Barnabas looked back at Julia who peered out at them expectantly. “How shall I do that?”

“We will both bow on our knees as she gets off the plane. And whenever you are being watched, always show deference to her. Do not look her directly in the eyes.”

“You’re certain this will ease her introduction here?” Barnabas had met South American Indians before, back in the 1700s. He was amazed to see, nearly two hundred years later, that such a culture still remained, and almost untouched by everything that had seemed to change the United States.

“It is all we can do. A lot will depend on if she can do what the Professor wants.”

“And what is that?” Barnabas looked about for Eliot or some sign of his presence. The huts that he could see off in the distance were round with thatched roofs. They were set away from the river but near enough that he spied women transporting water to fires near the huts.

“Dr. Hoffman!” Helio ran to the steps of the plane and spoke to her directly. Barnabas could not hear his words or directives. “Mr. Collins, she is going to come out. Kneel here next to me.” Barnabas noted that Julia had donned sunglasses and was slowly moving toward the door. Barnabas knelt beside Helio and bowed his head as directed. He noted that Helio hummed in a particular pattern.

“Shall I do that?” Barnabas asked.

Helio shook his head. “No” he mouthed while still humming.

Julia descended the steps and stood at the bottom. Barnabas noticed her fidgeting while the local boys circled her without touching as they had Barnabas. “What do I do now?” She asked under her breath.

“When Takuma, the ‘people-leader’, taps you with the feathers, we can then act normally and find the Professor.”

“So I just stand here until he does that?” Julia kept a stern look on her face.

“Yes, do not smile until after he taps you.” Helio cautioned.

Julia stood while the children opened a pathway to allow several men to come nearer. Four different men stood for several minutes at a turn and gazed at Julia, they each walked around her and one pinched her in several places. “This is humiliating.” Julia said under her breath after the fifth pinch.

“If he touches you again, slap his hand.” Helio advised. As he said it, Julia felt another pinch and quickly slapped the hand that offended her. At the slap, all the men and boys, gasped and then laughed. After the murmuring died down, the tallest man approached. He took a bundle of several feathers and tapped Julia lightly on the shoulder. “That is it!” Helio jumped up and began gathering Barnabas and Julia’s luggage from the plane. The men walked off and the children milled around the plane.

“That is all?” Barnabas noted Helio’s nonchalant return to duty. Barnabas moved to stand by Julia. She looked up at him.

“If being here wasn’t so important, I would’ve enjoyed that, especially you bowing to me.”

“I think you enjoyed it even with the serious overtones.” Barnabas took his suitcase from Helio and they then followed him into the village. As they walked into and through the villages, eyes following their every move, Barnabas noted the women were all engaged in cooking or caring for small children. He noted some women gathering wood and hauling water. He and Julia followed Helio along the muddy roads just within reach of the Amazon forest. It was poised any
moment to overtake the cleared space and reclaim it. They approached the largest hut which was situated away from the center of the community. Outside it sat two young boys. One jumped up and ran inside. Soon Eliot Stokes came through the door. His face was covered by a cloth which he removed when outside the hut. His face brightened when he saw Barnabas and Julia. He waited for them to approach.

“Julia, I knew you would come. Barnabas.” Eliot did not extend his hand. And made a motion indicating that he may be unclean.

“Eliot, why did you call me? Helio said that Hallie is alright, we were scared to death.” Julia chided him.

“I am sorry, Helio could only remember so many words for the telegram. Julia, please come inside with me.” Julia made to follow him in the hut. “Do you have a surgical mask, I believe the illness may be contagious and airborne.” Julia reached back for her medical bag which Helio handed to her. She retrieved a mask.

“Barnabas you stay here,” She instructed him and then followed Eliot into the hut. Within the darkness, she could see a woman tending a prone figure. She could smell the illness in the room even through the mask. The stale air reeked of illness, internal rotting, sweat and sour breath. She heard Eliot say a few words of the Indian language and the woman disappeared from the hut.

“Julia, I asked you here to help this man. He is a great shaman to the Kamayur and Urubu-Kaapor which is another tribe with a village near here. He has been struck by an illness they do not know how to treat and he is too ill to advise them.”

Julia waited for her eyes to adjust to the light level of the hut. “But Eliot, to call me all the way from the States, there are surely doctors here who could handle this.” Julia turned her head as she heard the shaman cough.

“Yes, I could have done that but it is not what he wanted.” Eliot said quietly.

“Eliot, sometimes I really do not understand you.” Julia shook her head and approached the patient. She slowly lowered herself to her knees and began removing some items from her medical bag. “Eliot, I need more light, my eyes aren’t adjusting.” She listened as Eliot moved about the small space behind her. He moved to the other side of the patient and lowered a crude lamp down to the shaman’s face. Julia turned to begin her examination and gasped. “Taylor!”

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