"Balam! Where are you, Balam…?"
Hidden inside a small cave, a boy stood still as he waited for the footsteps of the one yelling to pass. The brown-skinned, thin young boy of ten years, with long shoulder-length brown straight hair, dark brown eyes, prominent cheekbones, and a slightly broad nose—normal for his small community of around 400 local residents—was holding his laughter, hidden in the foliage that covered the cave's entrance.
This was his palace and the only solace to escape the four sisters he had to avoid at times. He had two older sisters who only wished for him to do chores, and two younger ones who always seemed to find ways to anger him, from stealing his toys to taking all his candy. Today, he had enough of that and took their share for once. In his hand, he held three chocolate-covered marshmallow clown-faced lollipops that their father brought for them.
He wasn't really worried about the punishment he would receive, as it would be much later when his parents came back from work.
As the sound of yelling grew more distant, Balam decided it was time to enter and enjoy his treats. The cave he owned was actually quite spacious but narrow, so he doubted any adult could go in comfortably, but that was only the entrance. As he went further in, the walls began to widen, leaving just enough room for an adult to stand up comfortably.
The best part of his hidden lair was about twenty meters in; it had a light source, as a small hole let enough sunlight illuminate the cave's largest area. As he got closer to this central part of the dwelling, the walls strangely made a perfect circle. The ceiling was still short of being two meters high from the ground, which was perfect for the ten-year-old boy.
Balam had furnished this place with basic furniture crafted from rocks, a medium-sized table which was basically a strange round flat rock where the sunlight hit, two comfortable logs that he stole from his father's firewood, and a bed made from sticks, leaves, and old towels.
Balam decided this was a good time to rest, as his sister persistently chased him around the woods behind his home. To escape, he had to run in circles until he lost both of his annoying siblings, and this, of course, left him sweating buckets. Taking off his shirt swiftly, he threw it towards his makeshift bed with the intention of adding more padding to it. Balam took out his three delicious prizes from underneath his cheap trousers and began unwrapping one to enjoy.
It was midday, and the sun shone enough for him to see his whole abode through the sunlight that hit the white stone table. The reflected surface made the room bright enough to see the many carvings of strange symbols that adorned the wall, some he made with paint while others were there before he discovered this place.
His favorite by far were the animal drawings on the ceiling: a jaguar, a monkey, a deer, a turtle, and finally, a feathered snake whose carving went around the hole where the sun shone through. As he bit into the chocolate, he began humming an old song his mother used to sing to get them to sleep. The sweet that filled his mouth made him enjoy this moment to its fullest, his left foot swinging left and right as it balanced itself on his right knee. Finally, he got to the gummy eyes and nose, which were the best part of the candy.
With two other treats on hold, Balam sped through the rest of the first one and unwrapped the second one. Tired from being in one position, he raised himself and began walking around, cleaning some parts of his mud-covered wall. He had already cleaned parts where symbols were marked but thought that maybe there would be more interesting carvings.
"Ka'an tu'ux," Balam muttered to himself.
Looking through some of the words the wall depicted, he saw a few words he knew while wiping. Based on his mother's teachings, it should mean "open door," but it seemed some parts before this were still missing.
"A door, open door. But there is no door…" he pondered aloud.
Curiosity filled Balam's inquisitive mind as he looked around and wanted to know which door the wall was referring to. It was a good way to alleviate the boredom he felt, as his family was too poor to spend money on toys or electronics like his older sister's phone.
Thinking about this new mystery that kept him puzzled, Balam picked up his shirt to hasten the cleaning of that particular section of the wall. It seemed to have a layer of clay that covered what he thought was just another ordinary wall. The more he wiped, the more symbols appeared—some he knew, others he had either forgotten or his mother didn't teach him about. In the end, he figured he needed to know what it meant, and the only solution would be to ask his mother after she arrived from washing their clothes in a nearby lake with all the other women.
Thinking about his discovery, he couldn't stop wondering what the wall mentioned. Could there be a hidden door leading to a deeper part of the cave, and if so, could there finally be treasure, toys, money, or something interesting waiting for him?
It was then that he looked down at his hand, which held a thin plastic stick still slightly covered in chocolate, but it also showed what he had feared. During all his thinking, he had eaten both of the remaining candies.
Thinking about what he had done, an image of his mother spanking him crossed his mind. It was something that would happen later, and this, of course, caused him to tremble. The sweet that lingered in his mouth started to feel nauseating, but he held it in as he tried to decipher what some of the letters meant.
He needed to tell his mom about this discovery. Maybe then she would be a little less mad and think he was actually putting effort into studying Mayan, which his mother taught them diligently. She would always warn them to never forget who they were and where they came from, especially since the school system he and his sisters went to only taught in Spanish.
"Ka'an tu'ux ka'an, but wait, ka'an can also mean sky, right?" Balam muttered to himself.
Scratching his head to the point where his scalp hurt, Balam decided to leave all the thinking to his mother, who could probably solve the markings and the words that didn't make sense. Some other carvings mentioned names like Itzamna, which he knew was the creator, and Kukulkan, the large feathered serpent, which was probably the most obvious marking in the cave and his culture.
A sudden flicker broke his concentration as he remembered that the sky was not all that clear today. It could only mean that there was the danger of rain. It wouldn't harm him inside the cave, but it would make things difficult for his sisters, who would no doubt be looking for him if it began to rain. The thought of them finding his secret lair was not something he could permit, so he began to tidy up and went back home.
Walking through the thick leaves that covered most of the forest, Balam could probably make it back with his eyes closed. As he passed a small stream, he decided to stop by to clean his shirt as much as he could. He would already have problems with the candy and didn't need his mom to give him a fit about his shirt being dirty.
He cleaned his mouth while he was at it, as it seemed to have parts where chocolate and marshmallow had gotten stuck. The day seemed to be as hot as ever, so this also helped cool him while he finished washing himself.
"There you are!!! Ahkk," a voice suddenly resounded in front of Balam.
As he cupped his hands and filled them with water to rinse his hair, the voice, one he knew well but also one he didn't want to hear at that moment, startled him. The cupped water in his hand shot straight up, wetting the owner of the voice straight in the face.
"Balam, what the hell are you doing!!?" his younger sister shouted.
Before he could even lift his head up, something slapped the side of his head. It was not strong enough to move him but just enough to have a stinging sensation that numbed his ear.
"Hey, that hurt!" Balam protested.
"Yes, yes, and you stole my CANDY! Where is it?" she demanded.
In front of him was his younger sister by a year and the one who had chased him around the cave earlier. Like him, she had tanned skin and similar facial features, but her long braided hair instantly made things clear about who was who. Some even called her his twin when they had the same hair length. Her large almond-shaped eyes were currently portraying the anger he knew she would have.
"I dropped it in the river… help me look for it before it disappears!" Balam pleaded.
"NO!" she replied firmly.
Balam struggled to keep his laughter from spilling over as he watched his younger sister frantically move the water around, searching for her candy. She was so focused, completely unaware of his prank.
"Keep looking," he encouraged, biting his lip to stifle a chuckle.
"Where did it go? It can't just vanish!" she exclaimed, splashing water everywhere in her desperation.
Balam finally couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. "Okay, okay, I confess! I ate it!"
His sister stopped her frantic search and turned to him, her eyes blazing with fury. "You what? You're going to pay for this, Balam!"
Before she could launch her attack, Balam darted off, laughing as she chased after him through the forest, the playful chase renewing once again.