Alfonso - The life of Alfonso

The golden idol was perfectly positioned on the stone altar. Waiting several meters behind me was my travelling companion, afraid that something was going to happen. We were in an old temple in the depths of the Peruvian jungle. An ancient civilization lost and unknown to the modern world until this point. It had remained hidden for many centuries, but this changed when I found out about its existence and decided to go in search of its treasures.

It was obvious that this was a trap. If I removed the golden idol, some mechanism would activate and put our lives in danger in order to prevent us from stealing the treasure. I was sure of it, many years of studying archaeology taught me that ancient Peruvian cultures used to put such traps in all their temples. If nothing was found in Machu Picchu, it was because they had forgotten to do so or that they had not looked well enough.

The good thing is that I had it all planned. I was carrying a sandbag with me; smart as I am, I had foreseen this scenario and was going to replace the golden idol with the sandbag to equalize the weight and not activate any defence mechanism. I was absolutely sure of it thanks to my studies. It was common for ancient Peruvians to make traps that operated on the weight of a treasure, and anyone unfortunate enough not to take precautions would suffer certain death.

My partner had worked up a cold sweat from the nerves. His eyes were bulging like an owl’s and he was twitching his fingers as if he wanted to touch the treasure from a distance. I prepared myself to perform the replacement operation. That was it! What a result! Nothing happened!

All of a sudden, the stone altar sank a few inches; the expression on my partner’s face changed from pure euphoria to sheer terror and the temple around us began to crumble in front of our eyes. If we didn’t do anything immediately, we would be buried alive.

We ran quickly towards the exit of the temple, miraculously avoiding both the arrows that shot out of the walls and the abysses that opened up by our feet, from the earthquake. Without a shadow of a doubt, my ancestors’ (on my father’s side) defence mechanisms showed great ingenuity. My partner was a few meters ahead of me, he carried with him my whip, my precious whip that had accompanied me on so many adventures. Then we got separated by one of the crevasses that had opened up and I could not go any further. The only way out was if he threw my whip towards me so I could use it, as only I could get myself out of that situation. But instead, my partner asked me to give him the idol first. I had a slight suspicion about his intentions, but I had no choice, so with a near perfect curve I threw the idol and it landed in his hands. As expected, my trust was betrayed and he abandoned me to my doom, leaving the whip lying on the ground. But not before muttering a “goodbye sir” – the son of a bitch!

Thanks to my athletic skills, I was able to make a feline leap across the rift, gripping a rotten branch about to break but strong enough to support my weight for just few seconds, to finally climb up and save myself from certain death at the bottom of such a drop, where I’m positive the ancient Peruvians would have placed sharp stakes ready to stab my fallen body.

I retrieved my whip, but then I saw I was not out of danger yet. A huge stone door was closing in front of my eyes. With a plasticity worthy of an Olympic athlete, I was able to squeeze under the door with only 40cm remaining before it closed.

I still had a long way to go to reach the exit. What would be the next traps in that part of the temple? Fortunately for me, these traps had already been activated by my partner, who evidently did not study archaeology like I did and could not anticipate the arrows. At least ten of them had pierced his body and from the expression on his face, you could see the total surprise when acknowledging the violent means to his death. At his feet was the golden idol, bingo! That’s ‘karma’ for you, mother fucker! May others mourn your death, but I won’t be one of them.

I quickly took the idol and started running with all my might on the last leg of this perilous journey, when all of a sudden, an enormous stone sphere appeared above me, ready to either crush me or, in case I managed to avoid it, to seal the final door of the temple, which would leave me trapped inside forever. The only option was obvious, I had to run past the sphere and reach the exit first. It was a race between life and death. And I have always won my races. I ran with all my might, the stone gnawing at my heels until in a last effort I threw myself forward through a thick spider web and fell rolling down the hill while the round stone continued its way on the other side. I made it!

But there was one final threat. Some of the members of this mysterious Peruvian tribe started to approach me threateningly with their spears and arrows. They were alive! The golden idol was their legacy and their ancestral tradition was to protect this treasure at all costs. I had little way to escape this situation, but surely …

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The alarm on my phone is an effective alarm clock, albeit rather abrupt. I am between waking and sleeping, moving slowly between the two worlds I have a little headache; I think I had too many drinks last night at the office party. I open my eyes gingerly, the white ceiling of my bedroom looms above me. My vision gradually gets used to the mountain daylight, a clean, yellow light that cheers the soul. From the outside, arrives the dry smells of the Peruvian mountains and the sounds of a new day beginning.

What was I dreaming of? It’s funny how when we wake up, we have vivid memories of our dreams, but it only takes a few minutes for them to disappear and be replaced with real memories and other fantasies from the past. I think I dreamed of that old movie from 1981 again, I think it was called something like “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, an adventure film with Indiana Jones as its protagonist, an intrepid archaeologist who was not afraid to risk his life in search of adventures and lost treasures. I have to admit that when I chose archaeology, I imagined that my daily life would be something like this, but the reality is very different and much more tedious.

After five years of studies, I got my first job in an archaeological complex. Nothing is further from the adventures of Indiana Jones. My day to day consists of being a tourist guide in the centre during the peak season. For the rest of the year, I analyse and investigate archaeological remains found decades ago by other people. Nothing spectacular, but at least I have a roof over my head and I can live how I want. I can enjoy clean air and above all, I don’t lose sight of my ultimate goal:

Sign up for the Martian Exploration Program.

After the discovery of the ruins on Mars, the exploration program was reactivated. Specialists in archaeology and other sciences are being sought in a meticulous selection process to be part of reconnaissance missions to the Red Planet. This year, the first mission came out after more than 25 years. Unfortunately, not having the minimum experience required to apply, I was unable to register for the recruitment process. I have only been working for a year since graduating. But it’s only a matter of time and patience to finally sign up for the next mission, which I hope won’t be in another 25 years.

At the moment, I’m trying to enjoy this stage of my life, which although it’s not how I would have imagined, is not that bad either. Still, I really like being here and enjoying mother nature and the mountains. The view from my room is incredible; the luscious mountains, the cerulean sky and the cotton clouds are like a living painting I live in.

I am in the Choquequirao archaeological centre, at 3,103 meters above sea level in the foothills of the ancient Salcantay snow-capped mountain, in the Cordillera of the Peruvian Andes.

Year: 2067

Choquequirao, a Quechua word which means “cradle of gold”, is an ancient citadel built around the year 1536. Similar in architecture to its sister, Machu Picchu, together they constitute the main tourist attraction of Peru, linked to the culture of the Incas.

The Choquequirao archaeological complex became known back in 2011, following restoration work aimed at opening it up to mass tourism. At that time, the only way to access the site was on foot from one of the points near the citadel. Currently, there are still walking tours, but there is also a cable car that means you can reach the entrance of the archaeological site in just a few minutes.

I live in the same centre together with a team of archaeologists. We are dedicated to maintaining the site, conducting research, and welcoming tourists. Very far from my dreams of adventure, I am just a public official of the Ministry of Culture who is ready to start a new week. Hello Monday, I’m already late for the weekly meeting. I’m in a hurry when one of my archaeologist colleagues, Carlos, accosts me.

Alfonso! How’s it going? I think someone had a good time last night, hey? Look at your face …
Look who’s talking, you’re late too! Who’s idea was it to meet up on a Sunday anyway? – I replied.
Let me remind you that it was only a lunch … no one forced us to extend it ‘til the early hours… But it’s impossible to avoid listening to your Martian stories and theories with a few cold beers, it’s all your fault! Hahaha!
Yeah, haha, you’re probably right, well let’s talk later because this meeting is about to start and we are the last ones to get here.

Of course, Carlos and I were the last to enter the weekly coordination meeting. As soon as I walked into the meeting room, I looked around for Karla. There she was, beautiful as always and she looked back at me with a knowing smile. We had not been able to meet yesterday as planned in the end, since I, inebriated, had decided that I would rather tell my stories and theories about trips to Mars with my mates than spend a passionate night with Karla.

It is obvious to anyone and everyone that Mars is a subject that really fascinates me. But I must admit, I think I went too far this time. There was very little opportunity for Karla and I to see each other. The rules of behaviour between employees in the workplace are very clear, and as the public officials that we are, we must respect them to avoid being sanctioned and risking losing our jobs.

Karla has a boyfriend in Lima, but it seems their relationship is not going so well. Obviously, I’m just a play-thing for her, but that doesn’t bother me. After all, it does me good from time to time to feel useful and have some fun at the same time. I haven’t been in another relationship of any kind for several years; I have dedicated myself to my professional career and to achieve my goals. My personal life has always been on the back burner. My vision of life goes beyond being a simple human-being who lives his life like everyone else. I want to achieve my goal of going to Mars and leave my mark on history.

Humans are nothing more than actors in a large play that we call Life. I don’t want to be like the other actors, I want to break the script of the play, converse with the audience, meet the playwright and see what lies beyond this theatre called Planet Earth.

Peru and the world changed a lot in the first half of the 21st century. The temperature of the planet increased by 0.5°C and if the trend continues, by the end of the century the temperature will have risen a full 1.5ºC in total compared to the end of the last century. The origin of climate change continues to be a topic of discussion at a political level, in order to gain votes in electoral campaigns, but for the scientific community the matter is crystal clear. The cycles of the planet and its move around the sun are one of the main causes of the different climatic changes in the history of the Earth. But since Homo Sapiens set foot on the planet, its effect on the climate is noticeable, raising temperatures without having to wait for the arrival of natural cycles. All this due to the emission of greenhouse gases that started in the industrial age.

Although, there have been many initiatives to try to mitigate these effects, such as renewable energies and electric cars, due to the lack of political action in many countries, these technologies have been slow to be implemented, which led to the planet’s temperature rising by those 0.5°C.

In Peru, the consequences of this global warming have been devastating due to the lack of water supply from the melting of some of the main glaciers in the mountain range, a source of water for the capital and other large cities in the country. This led to an unprecedented migration from Lima to other cities in Peru in 2055. Lima has dwindled from 9 million inhabitants at the beginning of the century, to 6 million today. It was in that year that I moved with my mother to Cuzco, the place where I lived until a year ago and then came to Choquequirao.

So, the week went by. Between analysing archaeological relics, keeping an eye on the news about the mission to Mars and my night-time encounters with Karla.

You seem a bit distracted Alfonso – Karla told me – is something wrong? Are you thinking of Mars again? Or is it me?
No, it’s nothing… – Karla knew me well – well, you know, today is the arrival of the mission to Mars, I would give anything to be there and see the Red Planet with my own eyes. I am looking forward to the press conference that Bluelife will give as soon as the ship’s landing is confirmed.
Alfonso – she looks at me tenderly – you don’t owe me any explanations, I was just wondering if there was something wrong…
No, I’m fine – I seemed to feel a deeper interest in me from her part, was she seeing me with different eyes? – and you, are you okay? you’re looking at me weirdly.
Alfonso, Alfonso… sometimes it seems like you’re not even here at all, as you’re off daydreaming elsewhere, and that you don’t really realise what’s going on here, but I guess that’s your charm …
I’m not sure what you’re trying to say – I replied, genuinely confused.
Shut up and kiss me, Alfonso – Karla moved closer to me and I could feel her breasts pressing against my body. She pushed me against the wall of the room and kissed me passionately.

This time, Karla seemed to want to give me something other more than her body. I had gotten used to appreciating her cinnamon-coloured curves and her full lips, within the unspoken limits that we had imposed on ourselves. We were just a man and a woman leading a pleasant, none-committed relationship, enjoying the sexual mechanics of our bodies. We knew what we were doing and we loved doing it.

But this time it was different, Karla looked at me as if she wanted to enter my soul, her perfect movements and pleasure techniques were slowly transforming into passionate caresses, both tender and exciting. The speed of the act was slowing down and I could feel her heart pounding and her breath close to my face. Her gaze became warm and her lips sweet, her perfect curves merged with my body and we did not part until we felt that we left this world for a moment and returned alive, tired and happy.

Karla fell in love with me.

And she made me feel the same about her.

This is the first time that something like this has happened to me. It feels good and I don’t want to stop touching Karla. All my life I have avoided actively looking for love, but how was I to know that when my guards were down, that love would find me instead.

We’ve only known each other for a year, but I feel like I’ve known you all my life – Karla said looking at me with her sweet, glittering eyes. Her naked body next to mine is a painting that I would like to see from above. It feels amazing anyway. With regards to what she has just told me, I would like to echo her sentiments, but I don’t want to lie to her. Nor do I want to hurt her. Human relationships are so complicated!
I also feel a connection with you – clever answer! no need for any kind of time-scale that might force me to lie. I just started feeling something for her few minutes ago …
Do you believe in fate, Alfonso?
I’m not so sure… Do you? – I asked, a bit puzzled.
Well, I don’t really believe in it, but lately I’ve been wondering. I never told you the reason why I came to work here… It was my boyfriend’s idea actually…
Oh really? – I asked intrigued.
Like I told you, Miguel and I have been having issues for a while, even before I came here. He’s my first boyfriend and we have been together since I was 16. Time is a big test… and I think that we were both reaching a point of exhaustion with each other. It’s sad to say because many think that love is an eternal magic … but the truth is that, like everything, it has an expiration date. The date might vary between couples, but everything has an end…
And how did Miguel suggest that you come here?
Well, during one of our arguments, Miguel went angry to a bar. He got drunk like he did every time we had a fight and when he got home, he got assaulted, they stole all his stuff and left him lying in the middle of the street.
That’s absolutely horrific! I responded, without understanding when this story was going to explain why Karla came into my arms.
From what he told me, while he was lying on the ground, a piece of paper, blew towards him and landed on his face. It was a piece of paper from a newspaper where a job was advertised for the archaeological centre of Choquequirao…
I see… – I answered believing I knew where the story was going …
At that time, from what he told me, he felt that a message had come from heaven. He is a believer. The drunkenness passed instantly and he literally ran back home.
Well, I’d say getting drunk doesn’t sound very Catholic of him… – I replied without criticism, but with a little smile. I’m not a believer, I consider myself agnostic. I respect the faith of others, but I do not believe that the mysteries of the Universe can be explained with one or more books full of content with a lot of imagination, written thousands of years ago.
Well, that’s not the point, Alfonso – Karla answered me with a mischievous look – when Miguel returned home around 4am, screaming like a madman, he said this to me: Karla! I love you, but this just isn’t working right now. Look what I found, you’re looking for a job for when you finish university, and you could not find anything. Look at this, check out this ad! Apply for it, go there, I’m sure they will accept you because you’re the best. Be happy, I know you are passionate about your career. I will wait for you here. We need this time apart to realise that we really love each other…
Interesting – I answered astonished – but that means, technically you don’t have a boyfriend… Do you?
“Technically” she pauses… you have a really funny way of speaking… you are so logical sometimes… but that’s precisely what made me… – Karla stopped talking as if she wanted to say nothing more or avoid saying the word that was at the tip of her tongue.
… that made you, what? – I insisted gently. I guessed the word that she avoided saying, but wanted her to say it.
Alfonso, I think you know what I meant, but we’re just starting… I want to be careful…
What are we starting Karla? – I ask innocently, looking into her eyes as I place myself on top of her – What it comes down to is, are you actually cheating on him or are you not cheating on him? I think this poor Miguel deserves to have an answer from you… – I say to her, smiling mischievously.
I am faithful to myself and to my happiness… and would you be faithful to a woman or would you cheat on her with a trip to Mars?
Well… – I honestly had no idea how to answer that and Karla realised it.
Alfonso… you’re like a robot that needs to process information before giving an answer, you know what? Don’t worry about answering my question. I’m an idiot to say this maybe, but I won’t let a trip to Mars come between the two of us. I would go with you. After all, they need archaeologists to understand the origin of these ruins and, nothing personal, but I am better than you…
Are you being serious? – I asked surprised. I didn’t expect to hear something like that from her. Karla really knows what words to say to me to ignite my love for her. And she has succeeded – I’m not sure about that Karla, I don’t think you’re better than me to be honest!

For the first time in my life, I think I feel what they call love. When I heard people talk about finding a ‘life partner’, I didn’t understand what they meant. Today I understood Karla crossed my path; I don’t know if it’s fate or something else entirely. The truth is that she is here with me and I’m happy and I want to feel this way forever.

In Paris, Bluelife began the press conference to announce the arrival of the mission to Mars. Man has finally touched Martian soil.

Soon I will go there too and I won’t be alone.

I can’t imagine going to Mars without her.