Renewed

There is a theory that a huge meteor struck the central part of South America.

While it's difficult to be specific, the general location is quite large, reaching from the Pico da Neblina National Park in northern Brazil to the coastal region of Recife and Natal, across to the Bolivian Paraguayan border region, which includes a floodplain called the Pantanal.

Interesting, right? Right, yeah, I thought so... but it does help to explain where this story begins and why we were there.

My wife and I had retired, she at 65, me at 70. We were looking for something to do that would be unique, challenging, and help mankind. What we ended up doing was joining a team that was exploring the area just south of Pico da Neblina, not far from where Venezuela, Columbia, and Brazil meet, hoping to find fragments of that ancient meteor.

The region was toward the southernmost range of the Arawak Indians; they would be our guides into this very isolated part of South America. It is said that the Taíno tribes, who historically lived in the Greater Antilles and the northern Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, are related to the Arawaks. the Arawaks, who are, in turn, are related to the North American plains tribes. Although many were converted under Spanish rule, they share some of their history, myths, and religion.

At first glance, it certainly met the "unique and challenging" portion of our goal of helping mankind that remained to be seen. Don't get me wrong; they told us that our contribution could change the world, bringing opportunity and livelihood to the area's indigenous peoples, and we were all for it. It's just that the only inhabitants seemed to be biting bugs... bugs that especially loved my O- blood.

With the help of our Arawak guides, we had reached a region thought to be a prime location and set up camp. There were plenty of elevated patches; we picked one that was large enough so the tents could be set up in a circle facing inward around a makeshift fire pit. This would be our base camp.

Over the next few days, we explored and dug around a few interesting-looking rock formations. We saw some of the local wildlife and even came across a small village. We loved meeting the people and laughed together with them as we tried to communicate.

After a couple of weeks, we had some promising rock samples that seemed out of place. For instance, why would a piece of obsidian be in a flood plain? Hopefully, this would be proof or at least indicate they landed here rather than being formed in place.

We were fairly far from the base camp, exploring a new site, and came across several "casts" of what looked like something found in Pompeii. It was a crust that looked like parts of which were shaped like a small animal's limb or even head, but they were hollow and in pieces. Our guides told us they were kodibio or 'new,' but no one, even those who got along fairly well in the Arawak language, understood what that meant.

We had noticed they were typical of smaller animals. However, there was one about the size of a goat. No one in our party had ever seen anything like these; they crumbled in your hands unless great care was given when moving them.

One of the ladies had an interesting take on this and how our guide had described them. She said that Spanish historical sources asserted that the Taino Indians spoke of magic waters and a rejuvenating river that existed somewhere in the far reaches of their territory.

These rumors are thought to have reached Ponce de León, who in 1493 accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World. He hoped to find what was then called the "Fountain of Youth."

My wife made an interesting observation in that most of the animals of the area did seem younger and played more together. The scientists didn't see the connection, but I thought it was very unusual to see family groups of mostly younger animals.

It had been a long day, my wife and I wanted to set up a remote camp, while the leaders and rest of the volunteers wanted to make the 2-hour trek back to the base camp.

I asked, "Why would you go all the way back, only to return here tomorrow?".

The answers varied, but the common theme seemed to be centered around "there's wine at the base camp."

Without much thought, I suggested that my wife and I would stay on-site and see them all in the morning. They left us with a couple of tarps and some water and started back.

We could hear their goodbyes and the typical.... "Have fun," "Behave," "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," as they faded out of sight.

My wife looked at me, we smiled and started to clear a spot to set up a presentable camp. The tarps were used to make a nice-sized shelter; there were enough downed small trees to create a windbreak on three sides of our lien-too and two cots.

We collected stones to make an oblong fire pit with one side raised to reflect the heat towards our shelter. We were nearly finished when my wife saw a unique-looking stone just below the surface of the stream nearby. She bent to pick it up and cut herself. Nothing serious, just a scrape, really, on a sharp edge she missed when reaching for the stone.

I took the stone from her and put it in my pocket. Then a little washing, first aid, antibiotic cream, a bandage, and she was ready to go. Even so, I insisted she sit for a little bit while I built a nice fire and foraged for what I hoped would be a fruit and salad dinner to go along with our energy bars.

She was napping when I returned and was delighted to wake to the smell of dinner cooking on the open fire. While foraging, I came across a young South American Tapir, which is very much like a small wild boar, so I served our little feast of grilled Tapir with a side of greens and berries. We had plenty of water and an old canteen that had a large cup for a base. I used it to make jasmine tea after dinner.

We finished dinner and our tea after sundown. Abby was full but very tired; she laid down and was quickly asleep. I cleaned up and policed our campsite, used our makeshift latrine, and joined her for a restful night's sleep.

In the morning, I was able to use the same canteen pot/cup to make some coffee for her and went to wake her up; as she turned, I gasped and fell backward.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?"

I said, "Look at your hand."

She looked down and fainted.

Coming up from her bandaged hand was a grey crust, similar to the animal casings the group had found earlier. It was wrapped around her hand and forearm and had reached just below her elbow. I touched it, and it was hard, like a well-formed scab; it was clearly growing and seemed like it would be covering her arm by the end of the day.

When she came to, I tried to remove a part of it, but it was stuck firmly to her skin and painful if I pulled even a little. I applied an antibiotic creme and wrapped her arm with gauze.

"We'll have to wait for the doctor to return with the others and see what he thinks."

I didn't know what to do, so I just held her in my arms and gave her plenty of water and berries as we waited for the group to return.

We heard the group coming in mid-morning; I laid her down and ran out to speak with the doctor.

"Doctor, please come quickly; something's happened."

To his credit, he didn't waste time asking questions, he directed one of the native guides to bring his medical kit, and we ran ahead.

I explained what had happened, what I did for the cut, and how it looked in the morning. While he was examining her, the guide kept pointing and saying "kathi hiaro," which in Arawak roughly means 'moon woman.' Of course, I don't understand Arawak, other than speaking and laughing with the children, which helped me pick up a few words.

I assumed he was speaking about her hand and arm and just trying to comfort us, but he wouldn't let up and said 'bianidakabo e bistian,' which I didn't get.

The rest of the group had arrived, and an older couple of ladies we had befriended came to check on us. They immediately started speaking with the guide.

"He's saying bianidakabo e bistian, which is 10 and 9, and then kodibio, which means something we'd say was new or newly created."

"He says not to worry, we are safe. He's saying 'n ari' which sort of means 'not a conquerer or invader,' but I think he means that it's not contagious".

I said, "Well, we'll find out soon because I've been touching her and caring for it like a wound all morning."

The doctor, and tour leader, were nervous and focused on only one word...

"Did you say contagious? This stuff on her hand is contagious?"

Without waiting for a response, the tour leader was running around like a mad man...

"Oh my God, we have directors, sponsors, and the press coming to this site tomorrow to look at the formations we found, the tests came back, and while it's mostly iron, it seems to be millions of years older than earth."

We tried a few times to calm him down and let him know there was nothing to worry about, but by now, there were so many people thinking or saying it was contagious that we gave up.

There was a flurry of activity; I was paying attention to Abby and didn't really listen, but after maybe an hour, a helicopter landed nearby, and a team in hazmat gear came at us and started to work. They had Abby and me on a couple of gurneys, then wrapped us individually and then enclosed both gurneys together in a plastic wrap bubble, plugged it into some type of ventilator, and we were ready to go. Through the plastic, I saw them do the same thing to our gear.

They were on the ground for no more than 15 minutes, and we were loaded aboard the helicopter and on our way to where? I didn't know.

I looked down at our camp, and what wasn't taken was now in flames as they burned everything we touched.

The doctor told the pilot to take us to Caracas Hospital of Clinics on the north side of Caracas. It was 950 miles away, but it was the only hospital within reach that offered burn center quality sterilization with complete isolation.

The pilot was from Venezuela and, along the way, told us hospitals, schools, and other government-funded organizations had been stripped to the bone. What once was a great, oil-rich nation had been turned into a third-world nation. When he spoke, it was easy to see that it made him sad to think back on how beautiful his country once was.

We had to stop three times to refuel, and it took just about 7 hours to make the trip, but we were able to land on the roof, and Abby was rushed to an isolation unit.

I was finally able to get someone to understand that I wasn't sick and didn't have any symptoms, and we didn't believe it was contagious. I also said that I needed to be with my wife.

No one would listen; they just kept saying they needed to keep us apart and me under observation.

One of the nurses, Nurse Annie, who was closer to our age, understood that after a lifetime together, fear of being sick wouldn't and shouldn't keep us apart. She knew we had to be able to be together. So Nurse Annie would dress me up in an isolation suit and let me slip in to visit with my darling, and I'd hold her hand and talk about what to do when she got better.

I was able to sneak in to see my girl quite a few times. Each time, she was clearly a little worse, with more scabbing covering her. First the complete arm, then the shoulder, neck, and chest.

While I appreciated Nurse Annie's help, I knew we couldn't keep this up, so one night, I dug through my things and found the stone that scratched Abby. At that point, I didn't care about "catching" whatever this thing was and just wanted to be close to her until the end.

I used the sharpest edge and made a small cut on my forearm. The next day I started to show signs of what the doctors only called "The Disease." Once it was discovered that I had developed the start of scabbing on my forearm, I was permanently moved into the isolation unit with Abby.

We were happy, and it was better for everyone.

Later in the week, the doctor who was on our tour came to see us. Abby's head was almost completely covered, as were her chest and upper stomach. Mine had spread up my arm.

"It is hard to imagine, but our guides are convinced that all this is a blessing from God and not life-threatening. They keep saying she, and now you, will, as far as I can tell, be born again. I know that sounds ridiculous, but they are adamant and have even brought children forward saying these are kodibio, as you may recall means something like reborn or recreated."

"Doc, we're like two parts to one soul; I can't lose her, even if it means she'll be reborn."

"Actually, that's the other reason I'm here; I broke away as soon as I heard their plan... This coming Sunday, the government is going to separate you two and move you to separate government facilities for testing and observation. One of you will be somewhere near here; the other will go back to the states. We have filed a restraining order, but they have somehow buried that in the courts. If they are successful, you will never see each other again after this weekend."

Just then, Annie, who had helped us, walked in and said, "Over my dead body! Who do these people think they are?"

"They're our local sponsors and the United States Government, and believe me, they can do anything as long as someone feels it's in the name of National Security or the common good."

Annie laughed and said, "Common good, my ass, they want to poke and prod these poor people to see if any of the stories are true, then they'll keep it for themselves and use it for the benefit of the wealthy and privileged. Doctor, we can't let them do this."

"I agree, that's why I came. There has to be a way to keep them together and not put anyone else at risk."

"I've got it!!" Annie practically shouted.

"My son has a boat; he sometimes spends the weekends exploring Los Roques, those are the islands off the coast just north of here. There are hundreds of them, the ones that are easy to reach and have nice beaches attract all the people, but there are islands that are very tricky to get to, he told me he has been to one that looks rocky and too dangerous, but once you get past the reef, then through a narrow entrance, you're in a cave, and it's beautiful."

"That sounds amazing, but will he take us?"

"He'll take his mother!" With that, she tore off her glove and grabbed my infected hand.

I laughed and said,

"While I appreciate your spirit and courage, that won't do anything. It's not contagious."

"But you..."

"I got it from the same stone that scratched Abby. I did it to be with her and let them think it was contagious."

Annie smiled a knowing smile and said,

"In any case, you will both need medical care, and the administration was forcing me to retire anyway. You two have shown me that love is real and can be eternal; I want to help you as long as I can."

"Wow, now we just need a way out of here."

The doctor had a strange look on his face; it was somewhere between amazed and curious, then he said,

"I have an idea, but we have to act fast and need a little help. I'll be back in a few minutes."

He turned and was gone.

We talked quietly while Annie called her son,

"Corazoncito, how is my favorite son?"

"Well, as I am your only son and you only call me Corazoncito when you want something, maybe you should just get to the point, mom."

"Okay, but only because it's urgent...."

Annie went on to explain our problem, and her idea, to her son, "...you see so if you could take us out there, it would be a great help and save these nice folks, for becoming lab rats for some government agency, and help your mother at the same time."

"Mom, I'm not really sure I understand everything, but if you want a ride to my 'secret island', then I'll be happy to do it. Just tell me when you want to go, so I can get the boat ready."

"Thank you, baby, I love you and will call you back, but I'd say you should get the boat ready now."

"Okay, it will be ready to go by tonight. Bye, mom, see you soon."

"See you soon, darling."

Annie was just about to tell us what we understood from hearing her side of the conversation when the doctor returned with a Nun.

"Hello, I'm sister Maria Teresa; "please call me Mary," and she reached out touched both my wife and my crusted arms. I'm not afraid."

Annie quietly said, "Not contagious."

The doctor then introduced us to one of the maintenance men,

"This is Pedro DeSilva, but everyone calls him Peter."

Even though they all knew now we were not contagious, he, Just like the doctor and Sister Maria, symbolically touched our hands.

The doctor closed the door, so our little group of conspirators wouldn't be interrupted.

"First, yes, we know what we are doing... both Sister Maria, sorry, Mary and Peter know what's going on, and they both believe in and expect us all to become kodibio children when all is said and done."

I couldn't believe what was going on; I reminded him and everyone...

"Doc, this could all be nothing but a myth to help comfort the families that have lost a loved one."

Annie spoke up,

"Mr. Matt, I know it's not just a legend; people have been trying to find the location of the Magic Waters for centuries; but no one could pinpoint it; just every once in a while, someone would bring a child forward with incredible memories of a past life. Of course, no one could prove they weren't coached, but I have met two of them, and they had knowledge and wisdom way beyond their years."

Peter spoke and told a story of how his great aunt had come back to find him, only she was young, much younger than him. At the time, he thought it was some sort of joke, but she said and did all the little things she used to do when he was young.

He asked, and she told him a fantastic story of getting lost in the wilderness, becoming deathly ill, and passing out all alone. When she woke, she was in a tiny village. She felt great and was full of energy. She didn't know how it happened, but she had become young again.

Peter, who was now well into his 70's believed Abby had stumbled onto the "Magic Waters" and will be renewed as a younger version of herself. Hell, I guess we all did at some level, which was why they were willing to "catch" whatever Abby and I had... We all wanted a second chance at life.

Doc nodded to Sister Maria, and she told us that she had an idea of how to get us out.

So, at just about 5:00, when everyone was getting ready to have dinner, our little group reassembled in our room, and sister Maria unpacked black and white nurses Habits for all of us, yes, Peter, Doc, and me too.

When the authorities arrived to "secure" the assets, we were long gone. A review of the hospital's security system showed that only a couple of the cameras actually worked and all anyone could see were small groups of nurses and nuns leaving with everyone else during the shift change right before dinner.

Although we were giggling a bit, we stayed in character, and disguise, until we reached the boat.

"Group, this is my son Hector, we can trust him, but I think it's best if we stay out of sight until we reach the island cove."

After making quick introductions, Hector helped us with a few things we had stopped to pick up along the way, and we helped load the provisions he brought for us.

As we were finishing up, an older gentleman approached us...

"Excuse me, I am Father Alejo Rodriguez, retired, so Alejo is preferred. I couldn't help but notice what a "diverse" group of Nuns you all are...."

I spoke up, "Alejo, listen...."

He put up a hand and quietly said,

"Don't worry my son, I mean you no harm, it's just curious that your group would be with a nurse from Caracas Hospital Of Clinics, and the authorities are looking for highly contagious patients who have left the hospital without authorization."