Total Consciousness

Chapter-6: Midnight Rum

On the last day of October, a month after the mountain stampede in Madera, Luz and Nanda camped at the edge of a small lake in the Valle de La Sauceda. Old willow and spruce trees lined the small lake, casting safe shadows along the water’s edge.

     The setting sun kissed the horizon and bulged, sending a multitude of warm colors into the cool resting sky of Durango. Cotton pink and orange clouds exhaled to a thin spread as they rushed away in the darkening night.

     At the peak of twilight, the sun smeared intense yellows, blues and violets across the sky, and gradually winked away. Distant stars blinked into life one after another. While the black fluttering clouds continued in a south-southeast direction.  

     The campfire kept the cool air at bay while Nanda prepared dinner. She stirred a pot of boiling water, and drifted in her thoughts, wondering on occasion of the dark shadows all around.

     Luz walked in front of the campfire, pulling Nanda out of her thoughts. She looked up from her bubbling water and followed his steps with a curious stare. He approached her horse under the leaning willow tree; and worked on easing its anxiety. She shook her head and thought, what in the world is he?

     Nanda still stirred with a mixture of conflicting emotions after four unbelievable weeks with Luz. She felt: fear and elation; curiosity and disgust; and at times empty desire and wet lust. Though, for the most part, she preferred to focus on being grateful to be alive; and grateful to be with such an entertaining, powerful and mysterious man.

     Strange to admit, at times, she felt proud and blessed to be with Luz. His company filled her with certainty over the world. Never had she known a man to elicit so much respect and command in others. Men, and all other types of animals, usually gave them a wide berth. Though, on rare occasions, when a few men challenged Luz or disrespected her, Nanda knew it would be handled with immediate care. And he did. Most charming of all, he never angered or lost hold of his emotions. Always calm, always in control.

     Still, seeing Luz at work shocked and sickened her, and, to her surprise, on occasion wet her appetite. She marveled each time Luz gave the arrogant men his full attention—easily ripping them to shreds if the moment required it. Or, on rare treats, he allowed Cana to play catch with the foolish men that tried to run away.

     “Hmm, he’s much too strong,” said Nanda. She shook her head with a lost look on her face. Steam licked her hand as she finished stirring her boiling pot of drinking water. “Too strong.” She continued to stare at Luz as she banged the rim of her pot a few times and worked on settling her heart.

     Luz inspected his new sapphire vicuña coat, and his matching blue vest. Satisfied with the quality of workmanship, he placed it and his new vest away in the black satchel over Nanda’s horse.

     Slowly, Luz reached out with a red apple for the horse to eat. He patted the anxious beast and eased its worries away with smooth caresses. The jittery horse whinnied and chomped on his treat, while Luz continued to settle its nerves some more.

     “I haven’t seen him in over a week,” said Nanda. “Where did you say he went?”

     “Cana needed some time alone—to take care of a personal matter. He preferred I say nothing to you about it.”

     Nanda laughed and brushed a few sweat beads from under her chin. She adjusted her squatting position near the campfire and giggled. 

     “I’m starting to like him,” said Nanda, “just a little more each day. Will he make it back in time for your fight … with that man, in Jalisco?” She covered up her boiling drinking water and moved the pot to the right side, off the fire. In its place, she secured a thick black pan over the burning mesquite wood.

     More fluttering from above caught her attention. Nanda glanced up for a quick second and returned to her pan. She added butter, brown sugar, salt, pepper and two cans of cooked red beans into the pan.

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Thank you

     I appreciate your time in reading this blog post. Next Saturday I will upload the next part of Chapter Six: Midnight Rum, from my novel, Luz Upon The World.

     If you have an interest in learning more about my writing, my philosophy of metaphysics, or my self-development books, you are welcome to explore my website, totalconsciousnesses.com on WordPress. Or, if you prefer, you can spend some time on my Substack, totalfreewill.substack.com

     Also, I currently have nine independently published books on Amazon. Feel free to visit my Amazon Author Page. My top recommendations are: Luz Upon the World; How Does Writer’s Block Work?; How Does Free-Will Work?; and How Does Studying Work?

     Overall, I hope the free posts that I upload to this website may provide some positive value in your life.

     Thanks again for your time.