Ahau

The sun was finally down and the stars glitter in the sky like lights on a Christmas tree. The shamans of the village of Copan gathered in the tower of the temple. Copan was once a great Maya city-state until it fell due to famine and floods. But the people still kept their beliefs about the Gods of their ancestors and, in secret, practiced their religion in the old ways.
“Look, that’s unusual,” said one shaman looking up in the sky.
“I see,” said another. The tower was very dark. It was so dark that they could not see each other’s faces so no one knew how many shamans there were.
“Venus should not be there. This is impossible.”
“We can’t ignore it. It must be some sort of sign,”
“It is. Venus is a symbol of war, but in this case, it shows peace. Pure peace,”
“Not just Venus, the stars are out of order too! It is a sign. The last time this sign was seen was over 2,000 years ago. When a king was born,”
“Jesus?”
“No, a different type of king. Not one to save people or a child of God. This sign symbolizes a gift from the Gods, a person to bring the old ways back and bring balance to our people and our brethren,”
“Head Shaman, can you understand this sign?” The shamans stood in darkness for a moment while the Head Shaman was thinking.
“Yes, a child shall be born on the first day of Ahau according to the Tzolk’in calendar. On that day, our prayers will be answered and this child will be like no other Maya king,”


I heard it again! It was faint, but it sounded so sweet and soft. Was it a bell? Maybe a jingle? I could not tell. But it was not the first time I heard it.
I opened my eyes to gaze at the rill in front of me. I sat there quietly, as I was taught, to listen to nature but now all I heard was silence. I got up and took off my sneakers to put my feet in the water. Before I knew it the water was up to my ankles. I looked down into the rill and saw tiny fish. They were so tiny that they looked smaller than worms.
“I’m about to get in trouble,” I whispered to the fish.
“Ahau! Get out of that water! It’s filled with bacteria. Come on! Before you get sick or something!” yelled Shaman Lamat. I got out of the water and slipped my feet back into my sneakers. It felt wet, cold, and squishy but I was used to it. I followed Shaman Lamat back to the temple for more training.
“Stand there,” said Shaman Lamat as we enter the training room. It was a circular room with five chairs, one for each shaman, and in the middle was a small circle to stand in. It was believed that over 2,000 years ago this was how people were judged to become Mayan shamans.
Shaman Lamat was holding a book. The cover had no drawing or picture; the shamans told me that it was a book filled only with pictures. Pictures that I could only guess at. My task was to identify the picture on each page as the book was held up with the cover closed.
“Ready?” I nodded. “Go,”
“Horse, leaf, crab, car, cup, pyramid, disc, ball, bike, foot, brown, pen, wallet, box, bag, hat, house, coffee, pencil, calendar, sun, clown, paper, pizza, book, bear, bridge, guitar, sneakers,”
“Stop. A perfect score in thirty seconds. Again,” she said. I had to do this exercise over and over again for at least an hour. Just to guess random pictures in order and I usually got a perfect score. But after awhile, I got so tired that I felt as if my head would explode or like I lifted a 200-pound rock. I could feel myself getting dizzy and ready to pass out at any moment.
“Again!” boomed Shaman Lamat.
“That’s enough,” said a voice. I dropped to my knees, buried in sweat, and I looked up to see Shaman B’en.
“She’s about to past out. We are not supposed to work her this hard,” he said to Shaman Lamat. Shaman Lamat and Shaman B’en often disagreed on how to train me and I was glad that Shaman B’en always won the arguments.
“She worked you hard today. I’ll make you some tea and then you need to rest,”

“Ahau!” I heard a voice say, but when I turned around no one was there. It said my name again! But nothing. It was too dark to see. I couldn’t see where I was. Who kept calling my name? I started to shake and tears began running down my face. Who was calling my name? I smelled something, something I should know. Smoke, a fire! “Behind you!” Fire!

“Ahau! Ahau!” I woke up to see Shaman B’en next to my bed. I was bathed in sweat, my bed was soak, and I was shaking so hard my teeth chattered.
“Calm down, child. Calm down. It was only a dream,” Shaman B’en told me.
“It felt so real,” I told him.
“I know. I know. It was just a bad dream. Everyone gets them now and then.” After sitting awake in bed for a while I felt all my strength come back to me.
“Your fever is gone. Feel any better?”
“Totally!” I jumped out of my bed, put my shoes on, ran out of my bedroom, and out the door of the temple.
I loved running in the jungle. I felt free smelling the fresh air and thought I could out run a jaguar or a coyote. I could hear the birds singing in the trees and the howling monkeys making their strange, eerie noise. After running so hard I slowed down when I got near the rill.
The rill felt so peaceful and calm. I could sit there and focus in meditation for the rest of my life. I sat in front of the rill again; ready to close my eyes, instead I heard that voice.
“Stand up,” it said and I did what I was told.
“Control the water,” I couldn’t tell where the sound was coming from. Was it coming from my mind? Was it that voice in the back of everyone’s head? I thought it was coming from my mind, but then I thought it was coming in the wind.
“Might as well try,” I told myself. I put my arms in the air to stretch and then I put my arms out and moved them back and forth, pretending I could command the water.

Nothing was happening. Just as I was about to stop I noticed a little wave. It came towards me!
“No way!” I exclaimed. I looked around to make sure no one was looking and tried again. That was when I first discovered my powers; I could control the movement of the water.
As days went on and turned to weeks, and week to months, my powers became more powerful and much easier to control. It wasn’t just water I could control. I could move objects with my mind such as rocks, books, and even myself! But moving myself was difficult since I was so heavy and I couldn’t yet move a boulder. I decided to keep this power to myself and only practiced in secret. In the training sessions, the shamans started to notice a great improvement in my work.
“Wake up!” commanded that voice. I hadn’t heard that voice since the day I moved the water, which was two years ago. I sat straight up in my bed. It was still dark outside and everyone was asleep.
“It’s just my imagination,” I thought and lay back down in my bed.
“Up!” said the voice even louder.
“Where do you want me to go?” I asked.
“Jungle,” it said softer.
It was hard to see in the jungle and I had to carry an old flashlight just to find my way around. The voice told me to the rill where I always practiced in secret.
“Ahau,” said the voice.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Are you the one? We shall find out,” A gust of wind circled around me and I put my arms up over my eyes. I screamed but even I couldn’t hear my scream. Then everything died down. I put my arms down and looked around. Nothing had changed but my flashlight wouldn’t go on. Then I smelled something. Smoke? I turned around to see fire in the distant coming from the village!
I ran towards the village but by the time I arrived everything was in flames! I was too shocked to move or even say a word. There was no one around. I didn’t see any other human. I started running through the village, trying to find survivors but no one answered me. Then I came across a sign with a warning on it, “DO NOT HAVE ANY OTHER GODS BEFORE ME!!!”
I ran more, but everywhere I turned there was fire. I tried bending the fire and taking control of it, but it was so hot. This element was very hard and difficult to control.
“No, I don’t want to die,” I thought. The smoke got high in the air above my head. I couldn’t see the sky, just smoke. I coughed and then passed out from exhaustion.
I woke up to the mist of the morning and the feeling of cold, damp dirt on the ground where I laid. I stood up and rubbed my eyes. What I thought was a dream was not a dream at all. Those who believed in one God had burned the village to the ground. I realized I was alone in the world and my home and everyone I cared about was now gone.
“The life of an Ahau is not easy,” said the voice. I turned around to see a man. This man was dressed like a Maya king from 2,000 years ago.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“You will find out when the time is right. This is your first test as an Ahau.” The spirit took off his necklace and put it around my neck.
“This road will be difficult, but many have successfully taken it before you. Do you know what ‘Ahau’ means in Maya?”
“King”
“Yes, though you are the Ahau of this city-state you have much more to learn about your powers and yourself. I have already said too much, you must now find the answers on your own,”
“Wait!” I exclaimed but the spirit was already gone. The necklace still remained around my neck. It looked like a normal rock, but I felt as if this rock was somewhat different. I took the pebble or rock or whatever it was and shook it. It was the sound of a chime.