Available to be published
Part 4
Part 3
Part 2
The next morning, at dawn, he loaded some
equipment onto his car and, with great sadness, moved away from the
company for which he had worked for several years. He had hoped for
a different future. Having to leave it—so suddenly fired, gave him a
sense of frustration. A board of directors and some opposing
opinions were enough to make he lose his job.
The next day he arrived near Mescalero. Once again he went up to the mountains like in Navajo. But this was not a subway road, it was large, well maintained and quite busy even though no car stopped at the village but continued further down to the plain. He went through two casinos until he reached the village where he left by taking the old road. Following the address, he crossed the country and, many miles further, entered a dirt road until he reached a small hill. He stopped in a large parking lot where the road ended in front of a recently restored, iron horse building, with a large porch. On the other side, in a secondary entrance, shaded and almost hidden, there was another smaller porch.
Benjamin came down and headed to the edge of the parking lot looking at the view of the plain. It was fascinating.
“Who could have had the idea of building a brewery up here?” he asked himself as he got out of the car to check the building.
On the door it was a note with a writing, “For information, please contact Nantan.” It also provided the address and indication to get to him. He took the car back and went back to the village.
“Are you Benjamin?” asked Nantan. “Welcome to the Apache Mescalero Reserve.”
His face was consecrated by the sun with wrinkles similar to the delta of a river near the sea. The funny smile showed the lack of most teeth. He put his hand on Benjamin’s shoulder. “The news about you have also come to us here. We are glad to have you with us.”
He lay silently for a moment then gouged out his eyes by placing his hand on his forehead. “Damn me. I was forgetting. I have a note for you here.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, laid it out in an attempt to remove the folds, and gave it to Benjamin. It was a message from Yiska.
“Dear brother, after talking to your boss, I understood how difficult it was now for you. Each member of our family must receive aid in such cases. The chief Apache tribe, our friend, have agreed to give you a building now in disuse. Our technicians arranged it by putting the old brewery inside. There are many casinos in that area and other customers willing to buy the beer you produced. There are no restrictions on alcohol in the Mescalero territory and, from here, we could not produce it for them.
“You can stay in that house, produce and sell as long as you need to. There is no limit. If you accept, tell it to Nantan who will give you the keys and any help you need.
“You are always in my thoughts, dear brother.”
Benjamin was surprised by that letter. He looked back at Nantan who, with a funny attitude, was waiting for his answer.
Benjamin nodded agreeing.
“I am pleased with the decision. When you need any kind of help, you can come knocking on my door. We will only come up to you in case of extreme need. Don’t worry, no one will disturb the solitude you need.”
Benjamin could not understand the last sentence, he did not know he needed solitude. But everything around him had the edge of weirdness. Nantan handed him the keys, got in his car and together they went to his new home. When they arrived in the parking lot, he made him visit the facilities and equipment. In the end he looked intensely into Benjamin’s eyes.
“My friend Yiska was right to call you an enigma. It’s a great honor for us to have you here.” Said that, he went out into the courtyard with the intention of returning to the country. Benjamin took the car to accompany him but Nantan politely refused.
“Don’t worry, my legs work fine. Nothing is more pleasant to walk our paths.” He entered the forest on the opposite side of the road and soon disappeared from his sight.
The next day he arrived near Mescalero. Once again he went up to the mountains like in Navajo. But this was not a subway road, it was large, well maintained and quite busy even though no car stopped at the village but continued further down to the plain. He went through two casinos until he reached the village where he left by taking the old road. Following the address, he crossed the country and, many miles further, entered a dirt road until he reached a small hill. He stopped in a large parking lot where the road ended in front of a recently restored, iron horse building, with a large porch. On the other side, in a secondary entrance, shaded and almost hidden, there was another smaller porch.
Benjamin came down and headed to the edge of the parking lot looking at the view of the plain. It was fascinating.
“Who could have had the idea of building a brewery up here?” he asked himself as he got out of the car to check the building.
On the door it was a note with a writing, “For information, please contact Nantan.” It also provided the address and indication to get to him. He took the car back and went back to the village.
“Are you Benjamin?” asked Nantan. “Welcome to the Apache Mescalero Reserve.”
His face was consecrated by the sun with wrinkles similar to the delta of a river near the sea. The funny smile showed the lack of most teeth. He put his hand on Benjamin’s shoulder. “The news about you have also come to us here. We are glad to have you with us.”
He lay silently for a moment then gouged out his eyes by placing his hand on his forehead. “Damn me. I was forgetting. I have a note for you here.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, laid it out in an attempt to remove the folds, and gave it to Benjamin. It was a message from Yiska.
“Dear brother, after talking to your boss, I understood how difficult it was now for you. Each member of our family must receive aid in such cases. The chief Apache tribe, our friend, have agreed to give you a building now in disuse. Our technicians arranged it by putting the old brewery inside. There are many casinos in that area and other customers willing to buy the beer you produced. There are no restrictions on alcohol in the Mescalero territory and, from here, we could not produce it for them.
“You can stay in that house, produce and sell as long as you need to. There is no limit. If you accept, tell it to Nantan who will give you the keys and any help you need.
“You are always in my thoughts, dear brother.”
Benjamin was surprised by that letter. He looked back at Nantan who, with a funny attitude, was waiting for his answer.
Benjamin nodded agreeing.
“I am pleased with the decision. When you need any kind of help, you can come knocking on my door. We will only come up to you in case of extreme need. Don’t worry, no one will disturb the solitude you need.”
Benjamin could not understand the last sentence, he did not know he needed solitude. But everything around him had the edge of weirdness. Nantan handed him the keys, got in his car and together they went to his new home. When they arrived in the parking lot, he made him visit the facilities and equipment. In the end he looked intensely into Benjamin’s eyes.
“My friend Yiska was right to call you an enigma. It’s a great honor for us to have you here.” Said that, he went out into the courtyard with the intention of returning to the country. Benjamin took the car to accompany him but Nantan politely refused.
“Don’t worry, my legs work fine. Nothing is more pleasant to walk our paths.” He entered the forest on the opposite side of the road and soon disappeared from his sight.
Mescalero - Incipit
Touch of Happiness
Part 1
Fairy Tales
Poems
Novels
Touch of Happiness
