La Doña: One Person as Three

By Robert Chandler Stever

"La Doa, One Person as Three" describes a wealthy woman who creates two other personalities to find a non-violent way to destroy a drug operation in a remote Guatemalan town: a sister in plain dress and her angry mental creature full of power. She inspires the people of the town to pull together to love and trust each other. At the same time her son, who is on drugs, finds a cure from a Mayan Curandero and becomes a new man.

The ancient town moves into the modern age, keeping old traditions that matter, but dropping bad habits and taboos gathered over centuries. Once a human catalyst is active, many events can unfold. This story is based on real people, too moving to forget, who created co-operatives teaching new skills to women who had lost their husbands or had been abandoned. They learned that every individual has power to be used thoughtfully.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 14, 2006
• ISBN: 9781467077194

Robert Chandler Stever

Robert Chandler Stever graduated from Swarthmore College in 1957 and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1961. He moved with his wife to Seattle for an internship. Before starting the practice of medicine, he volunteered for two years of medical care in Kratie, Cambodia, sponsored by CARE. It was a challenging time when war was heating up a few miles away in Vietnam. Two flew to Cambodia, and three returned with another in process. Magic moments. Over a lifetime, his subconscious helped record numerous very special short stories resulting in the book, Magic Moments as Paths Cross. One story told of a mountain-tribe couple hiking for two days with a dying baby boy. Arriving at 3 a.m., the startled doctor opened the front door just as the baby gasped and stopped breathing with pneumonia and severe dehydation. The mother thrust the baby into Stever’s arms, where chest compressions started his breathing again. They rushed to an emergency room across the street with no night staffing. The couple followed nonverbal instructions, holding an oxygen mask on his face and holding arms while a tiny needle searched for a tiny vein. It worked. Stable now, the couple with the baby were moved to the ward, also with no staffing till a few hours later. They learned to control the IV. With their care, the baby thrived. They went home two weeks later. As they prepared for their long hike home, the mother thrust a tiger’s claw into Stever’s palm, curled his fingers around it, and pressed his hand to his heart. It was their most valuable item for luck. He watched them begin their two-day trek home in the high mountains. She wore a handwoven sheath, and his shoulder carried tiny curare-tipped darts in a sheath and little bow, part of their dress code. Never assume the uneducated are dumb. Respect matters. One-on-one medical care practice leaves little legacy. However, one day, Stever tried to teach a TB patient not to cough on his kids. The patient didn’t understand until he looked into a microscope with a glass slide of sputum. The bacteria danced. Suddenly, the patient realized that diseases like TB and others were not caused by evil spirits, but by bacteria. Word spread across Cambodia—cover mouth when coughing. They all did. Another memorable story involved his trip to Cambodia with the first planeload of food and medicine sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee in November 1979. Pol Pot fled when the Vietnam government ordered invasion of Cambodia. Stever toured the various torture rooms and saw fifteen foot piles of bones and skulls, all neatly stacked. He heard a story from refugees returning home. He still understood some Khmer language. One told about a pregnant woman who wanted the day off from required hard labor on the rice fields. As an example, they tortured her in unprintable ways until death. That was when Stever learned that much of the torture and terrible stuff had been done by kids younger than twelve, taken from parents during the four-plus years of Pol Pot and taught to be killers. It was like shades of Lord of the Flies. Sadly, Stever also learned Pol Pot had learned from the Chinese Party of Four, who wanted to do much the same in China except the country was too vast for such terrible microcontrol. The party folded in disgrace. An interesting Chinese philosophy said the political winds blow like wind on grass then pass so the grass stands again. In 1964, Stever joined the number one top-rated health-care organization as rated by Harvard, GHC (later becoming GHP). GHC/P has huge support as a cooperative from super dedicated members. It began in the late 40s, with idealistic doctors and dedicated members all striving for the best in medical care. Stever’s e-mail is [e-mail].

Book preview

© 2009 Robert Chandler Stever. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 8/4/2009

ISBN: 978-1-4259-4266-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4670-7719-4 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

The Escape

V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf Day Two V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf

The Burial

V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf Early on Day Two V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf

V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf Day Three V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf

V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf Day Three V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf

V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf Day Three V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf

V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf Day Four V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf

V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf Day Three V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf

V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf In Libertad V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf

La Doña--One Person as Three

The Escape

Three raps on the door echoed through the room. A woman by a dressing table spun around and strode to the door. Yes, who is it?

Señora Doña Filipa, it’s the guard. You called for your maid.

She cracked the door open as far as the security chain would allow and peered out. Light from the sunlit corridor flooded the room and struck her chalk-like cheeks.

Startled, the guard stepped back. Señora Doña, you are ill.

La Doña slipped the chain off its clip, opened the door wide enough for Carmen to enter, closed the ornate door with a thud that echoed down the corridor, and clipped the chain.

Doña Filipa, what is wrong. You look awful.

La Doña’s black silk skirt rustled as she strode to her dressing table to continue applying make-up, then spoke with pursed lips while looking in the mirror. The bishop found out I know he’s an impostor, so he made my husband lock me in my quarters. Her green eyes reflected crystal lights near three mirrors and flashed back to Carmen.

A prisoner in your own house. So that’s why I wasn’t allowed in this morning. And the bishop, an impostor? That’s unthinkable. She flicked a braid of black hair over her shoulder and stared at La Doña.

That’s why it’s urgent for me to escape, Carmen. I told the guard I was feeling ill and might have one of my seizures. When I told him I must have your help, he believed me. Poor guy, like all the house staff, he’s caught between Raóul and me. They all believe I’m under guard to protect me from my seizures, so I decided to throw one so severe that I’ll look dead. Then you can rush me to the cathedral for last rites. Surprise and confusion should cover my flight.

Carmen dropped her jaw and watched La Doña mix talcum with her make-up and apply it down to her breasts.

There, how does that look?

You look dead, Señora, very dead.

Time is short, Carmen. The Impostor is tightening his grip on the town.

I don’t understand.

La Doña twisted to face Carmen. Raóul had been gambling and lost a lot of money. To make up for it, he set up a drug smuggling operation using a forgotten tunnel under the old fort that links this house with the lagoon. When the real bishop started to die, Raóul found a drug-lord to step into his place. The archbishop never checks this remote area. The cathedral and our house are a front for the gang and him. I should have told you, but didn’t want to involve you.

Oh, my God. How could he do that? That’s sinful. And the bishop’s scarred face?

Before the real bishop died, the cancer on the right side of his face got so infected, it changed his appearance. That change and the cloth he used over it became a mask. The Impostor uses the same cover.

Carmen shook her head. So the miraculous recovery the bishop had was a fake. I thought something was strange.

The real bishop was buried in a crypt under the cathedral and the Impostor stepped in, wearing the cloth over his right cheek to hide his face. That was the day they carried him through town in his chair, proclaiming a miraculous recovery. Raóul doesn’t know what else I found out.

Carmen held a hand over her mouth.

You know how close I am to Friar Stefen. He overheard the Impostor make plans to take over the town, use it to transfer drugs, dump Raóul in his own dungeon, and flee if authorities found out. That’s why the roads out of town are blocked. It’s not bandits in the hills, it’s bandits in town.

Oh, heavens. Of all the towns in this part of Guatemala, this is the most isolated. He could get away with it for a long time. No one would suspect evil in the bishop’s manse.

Or evil in the house of the Guterez family. My family has stood for fairness and justice in this town for centuries. It’s not going to change now, not if I can help it. There are already six dissenters in the dungeon including two priests. When I found out they were down there, I used an old passage under the house to visit them. They’re all alive, but who knows what he plans to do with them. Now he’s letting drugs reach kids in town to get them on his side. Felix is already a wreck.

Yes, La Doña, your son looks terrible. What can we do?

Not can, Carmen, will. When I’m ready, I’ll fake one of my seizure screams and fall on the bed. Tell the guard to get Dr. Lopez. When he arrives, explain our plan to get me out of here. He will understand. I already told him about the bishop.

Carmen frowned. Can we be convincing?

La Doña shot her a look. We must be. Ask the doctor to remove me by litter to the cathedral for last rites. Tell Juan to dress as a monk and bring Friar Stefen with him to the church so we can make plans. We must be quick. Raóul is due back soon and I heard the Impostor is having a big dinner party. He should be drunk by now. Surprise, speed, and the unexpected must be our weapons.

But what if they do bury you?

I trust Stefen. He will find a way to get me out. For now, the Impostor has been avoiding the monks because they are separate from the cathedral. He thinks they are too insular to notice, but they still have control over the monastery and the part of the cathedral with the crypts.

Carmen gasped. Your plan scares me.

I plan to return as my sister, Anita, and operate from her rooms in the far wing to dispose of the gang. Anita seems to be invisible here unless I mock a tiff between us. She applied more white make-up. I’m three people as one. My sister, my angry creature, and me. As you know, I can be both sweet and full of vinegar.

Your disguise as your sister amazes me. You look so different with your hair in a bun and no make-up. I like your sister and you better than your creature, but I guess it must exist. The maid eyed the ceiling. It is neither he nor she, but I think it has power. La Poder.

And I stay distant from everyone here. Our tiffs through closed doors were just a touch to keep us different. Lay out a bundle of her things to take with us. I’ll return as my sister with my creature as well. She paused. And, yes, hide my jewelry box in it. I’ve hidden everything of value to keep Raóul from squandering it. Give Dr. Lopez this copy of my will. It specifies that I want to be buried with my ruby pendant and diamond ring. Remember, this house is from my family to pass on to those I want to live in it. For now, Anita will own the house and can decide later if Felix is sane enough for the responsibility. Raóul can live here till he dies which should be soon by the amount he drinks.

I understand, but that’s a strange request for jewelry so beautiful. Carmen gathered clothing from a closet.

It sounds silly, but when my seizures got so bad last year that I went into death-like trances for days, I decided to wear them to the grave. Someone is bound to raid the casket and free me.

Carmen rolled her eyes and crossed herself. Heavens, you make the town sound barbaric.

La Doña nodded her head, arranged the last of her make-up on her arms, then touched Carmen. Thank you again, Carmen, for raising Juan for me. He’s a wonderful boy, not spoiled like Felix. She pursed her lips. I failed Felix as a mother, and Raóul only made him worse. I want you to bring Juan to the cathedral. It’s time I told him who his real father and mother are, then he must get out of town before someone offers him drugs or kills him.

I wanted to tell him about Stefen and you years ago. The maid touched her chin. I had no idea things were so bad in town, but you know Juan. No one could change him. He’s as solid as the great book itself.

Juan is a love, Carmen. You raised him that way. I tried not to involve you in this stuff. Now I have no choice. Besides Stefen, the doctor and you are the only ones I trust. If Stefen can help Juan escape through the monastery gardens, he could ride one of their horses to my sister’s town for help.

With all those swamps, that’s a dangerous trip. Besides, do you trust your sister? She panics over a mouse.

Yes, I know. Maria and I are so different from my invented sister Anita. We have wealth, but not the happiness of Anita. That’s why I had to create her. If we don’t do this right, we could trigger an armed battle here. The military and the police always shoot anyone in sight, guilty or not, and Stefen said the drug bandits are so heavily armed, they could blow the town up. In fact, they are wiring it now. That’s one of the reasons for haste.

Yes? You should have told me.

As I said, I didn’t want to drag you into it until I had to. The time has come. I’ll explain details later. Here’s a note for Juan describing my plan and the directions to my sister’s town up in the mountains. Are you ready for my seizure-scream?

Carmen backed against the wall and looked pale as La Doña stood by her bed and screamed until the crystal in the chandelier clinked. She messed up the four-poster bed and struck a rigid seizure posture. Her chalk make-up made her look stark against the cream satin bedspread. Carmen opened the door and yelled at the guard to get Dr. Lopez. No one else will do--understand--only he knows how to treat la Doña’s seizures.

A ray of blinding light cut through the dark room and accented La Doña, stiff and white on her satin bed. The guard stared at her with alarm, then raced down the corridor.

Quick, Señora, we could escape now.

That would solve nothing, Carmen. Now let me drop into a trance. I must be calm to be convincing. Be sure to tell the doctor the plan and bring him to the cathedral. Between all of us, we will make plans that will wreck their operation.

But how can so few of us do that? They have power.

Carmen, never underestimate the power of any person, especially an angry woman. She stiffened her body and dropped into a trance.

Carmen heard a tap on the door, then the guard spoke. El doctor está aqui. She opened the door and asked the guard to remain outside. As she did, she blurted, I think she is dead.

Inside, she led the doctor away from the locked door and told him the story. He nodded, stepped to La Doña’s side, took her pulse, and started to speak to her.

No, don’t ask her questions. It will destroy her trance. Whisper to her.

He assured Doña Filipa he understood. What you plan is risky, but it may work. He pulled brocaded curtains over a window to darken the room more. Carmen, order a litter. We must leave the house at once.

When she opened the door, the house staff had gathered. Jorge, the cook, spoke up. We should tell her son, Felix, but he won’t believe me. Come with me to tell him, Carmen. Everyone peered through the open door at her body stretched stiff on the bed. The dark room made everyone focus on her white skin. Seeing death made them stand back in respect and awe.

Yes, yes of course. She hesitated, knowing Don Raóul was due any moment and might stop the removal of his wife. Carmen peered into a patio to see the front gate, then darted along a second floor corridor that circled a patio full of tropical flowers and fountains. Jorge followed her to the opposite wing with another patio where vines of bougainvillea had all but engulfed the arches. Their shade cooled the balcony.

Jorge knocked, then pulled Carmen inside with him. Felix squinted at them, wiped vomit from his lips, and struggled to sit up. As he did, a bottle of rum crashed on the tile floor and a syringe rolled off the bed.

Felix, your mother just died from one of her seizures. Come with us.

But that can’t be. She’s too young to die. He vomited on his bed.

The cook lifted Felix to his feet, mopped his mouth, pulled his pants up, tucked his shirt in, zipped his fly, and fastened his belt. With the cook’s help, he staggered down the hall. Carmen rushed ahead and stood outside the door ringing her hands while staring at the front gate. Knowing Don Raóul’s schedule, she watched for him. He knew last rites could be said anywhere. The possible ding of the gate bell echoed in her head and made her dizzy.

In his mother’s room, Felix brushed off the cook and fell on her chest. As he did, a gush of air escaped.

Everyone gasped and stepped forward.

Dr. Lopez stepped in front of them. Yes, she is dead. Air always escapes like that after death. He rolled her stiff body onto a litter, covered her with a sheet, and asked two guards to carry her to the cathedral, a block away.

V00_1425942660_TEXT.pdf

They took her to the third chapel on the right side of the cathedral where the dead awaited last rites, slid her onto a marble slab, and covered her with an embroidered shroud. It was stiff from centuries of dust and molded with the shapes of many bodies. Gold and silver threads contrasted with black silk as it engulfed her body and draped to the floor in rigid folds. A ruby red rim on the top of the shroud accented the form of the head and shimmered in candlelight as if it had captured the energy of countless bodies. She wore her ruby necklace and the diamond ring.

One guard sneezed, then asked the doctor, Shall I call the priest now?

Yes, please do. After the guard closed the door, the doctor started to ask La Doña a question, but Carmen put her hand on his arm. She tented the dirty shroud so breathing would be easier.

Light in the chapel was dim. A small window, crusted with dirt, admitted a few rays from the setting sun. Two candles flickered on the altar. A musty smell with an acid bite like old urine hung in the room built with blocks of stone. In the corners, mildew crept up the wall. An altar with plaster angels supported the Virgin Mary covered with a blue cape. Her blood-shot eyes strained to see the heavens above. Half-burned candles with melted wax at their base lined the sides of the Baroque altar. Behind the altar, panels of cracked wood displayed prayerful saints with halos, all looking up. Wooden benches lined the walls. Dust coated every ledge, every object. A cobweb crossed the face of the Virgin like a tear.

Outside the chapel, people gathered in respect for La Doña, a woman who not only had supported townfolks, but insisted everyone be treated with respect and fairness, an uncommon attitude in other parts of Guatemala where rich and poor clashed, Latinos of Spanish origin and Mayans. Freshly picked flowers gathered in bunches by the arched door to the chapel.

The organist began to play soft music, twittering with chirps from flute-pipes. It drew curious birds into the vast space to chirp back. Light from votives danced across the great dome above the high altar. Shadows from the wings of plaster angels made them look like they were flying. Yellow light reflected from the gold-leaf altar and shimmered from blue angels, making their outstretched arms appear as if they were lifting the altar to Heaven.

Birds trapped in the cavernous building fluttered from angel to angel, anxious to escape. Townspeople glanced over their shoulders as they prayed, nervous from a tension no one understood. Wind moaned through a crack between the giant front doors, now locked until December twenty-five when the Spirit of Christ was invited to enter for his birthday. Wax dripped and sputtered, throwing a smell