When Raul gave the bit of jade to Lenette, he said, “This is from Palenque. It will watch over you.” He then looked at me, put his finger to my heart, and said, “you have very important things to do, and Lenette must take care of you.”
I didn’t know then, but when we returned from Mexico, an entirely different life awaited us—A new career working with professionals and entrepreneurs and a world of tremendous challenges.
Lenette wore the piece of jade around her neck, which had an extraordinary effect on those who saw it. Wherever we went, villagers, when they came close to her, all stepped back, not in fear but in awe. The tiny jade signified to the local Mayans that Lenette was a very important person. The jade was a message they all understood, but we did not, so Lenette decided to take off the necklace when we traveled among the locals.
A side story: When we tried to buy food from the food stands in the villages, we rarely paid for what we asked for. Whatever we chose was always met with smiles, a wave of the hands, and “No charge” in Spanish. We tried to pay but to no avail. We thoroughly enjoyed each moment of these experiences.
It was about 10 at night when we arrived in Palenque. The town was entirely dark except for a single light bulb shining in a store window, which turned out to be the bar in town. Having no other choice, we parked and went in.
It was empty, except for one man who invited us to sit. “Moises will be here shortly,” he said in Spanish.
How does anyone make up a story like this??—I’m not! Sy
