The man-catcher Part 2 of 2 ...A parade of fiendish faces came at me
Maya lured me to a maze where she could exact her revenge.
According to my watch, six hours had passed and there was still no sign of her. I spent the time vainly wandering in circles until I was exhausted and sore.
The sun was now high in the sky and beat down mercilessly. My throat was parched and dry.
There was no place to shelter from the relentless sun in all its fury and I was starting to come unhinged.
I began hallucinating, seeing the sun as Maya's malevolent face laughing at me. I felt trapped the way a bee must feel caught in a glass jar and at the mercy of cruel tormentors.
I imagined enormous bloated faces peering in at me as if distorted by the glass walls of a bell jar.
A parade of phantasmagoric images came at me, each more hideous than the next, and shutting my eyes only made the visions stronger.
I screamed out to the unyielding blue vault over me, but there was no help—I was trapped in a desolate furnace of affliction with my tongue swollen and lips blistered.
Suddenly, I felt dizzy and blacked out.
I was shocked awake by an icy wave of cold water breaking over me.
Dazed and bleary eyed, I saw Maya standing before me, a water bucket in her hands, laughing.
“You were thirsty and hot, Theo—so I brought you a bucket of water.”
“Please Maya,” I croaked, “Let me have a drink of water.”
“But I dumped a whole bucket on you. Men are so ungrateful.”
“Please Maya,” I pleaded.
“Are you sorry for dumping me, Theo?”
“Yes,” I rasped huskily. “I’m sorry.”
She eyed me narrowly as if weighing my sincerity. The sun was at its zenith and everything was blinding white.
“Very well,” she said at length, “Cup your hands.”
Shaking with anticipation, I managed to cup my hands together and hold them out toward her. She turned the bucket over and a small trickle of water spilt over my palms and I greedily licked it up.
It was barely enough to moisten my lips.
My tormentor peered into the bucket and then looked back at me. “Oh dear, it’s all gone.”
I uttered a low groan and watched her turn on her heel and begin to walk away.
“Wait,” I cried out. “For the love of God, Maya—please have mercy on me.”
She ignored my outburst and said sweetly, “You know, labyrinths trap evil spirits, Theo—you might consider that.”
I groaned again in frustration.
“Did you know,” she continued brightly, “ that many of the great cathedrals of Europe have maze patterns on their floors? Penitents crawl on their hands and knees following twisting paths as a penance to expiate their sins.”
“Is that what you want, Maya,” I rasped, “do you want me to come crawling to you on my hands and knees?”
“That would be a start, Theo. But you will have to do much more than that, Silly. You’ll have to prove yourself worthy.”
“Worthy of what—of you?”
“Worthy,” she sniffed, and left in a huff.
“Come back, Maya,” I cried, but she turned a corner and was gone.
I was left abandoned without water or reprieve from the sun.
It seemed an eternity before the sun began to decline and the cedars about me were able to offer some shade.
I was incredibly weak and found it difficult to sit up.
I heard a rustling noise and Maya emerged from a leafy corridor dressed in a skimpy bikini and carrying an ice bucket filled with water.
“Sleeping again?” she said crossly, “Am I going to have to dump this water over your head again?”
“Oh no, please,” I croaked, extending a faltering hand as if to hold her back.
She had begun to swing the bucket toward me, but stopped part way. I watched as the water sloshed in the bucket like a wave slapping a dock, and felt a few precious drops spill on my face.
I wiped at them with my fingers and rubbed the liquid over my lips.
She stood towering over me, arms akimbo, silhouetted by the setting sun.
“Don’t stare,” she whispered, and then added seductively, “although I can’t blame you, I suppose. Men are so weak.”
She took a long drink from the ice water and smiled as I groaned in desperation.
“I know what you want—you want those long, icy kisses that never seem to end, don’t you, Theo?”
I nodded to appease her.
She took another few sips then bent down and pressed her mouth to mine, allowing me to drink the water from her cold lips.
She sat back on the ground and stared at me. Her face was now in shadows and I could see her mouth and eyes as dark patches in the gloom.
“Do you want me to satisfy you, Theo—is that what you want?”
I nodded mutely.
She took another deep draught of ice water and then brought her mouth again to mine. I hungrily plundered her lips.
She repeated the process a third time and then abruptly pushed me away angrily. “Less passion, and more affection!” she stormed, slapping my cheek and then throwing the water in my face.
“Men—you can never be trusted to show some control.”
She stood up and picked up the ice bucket.
“Please, don’t leave, Maya—please!”
She shook her head slowly. “Yes, I know you want me, Theo—but you’ve been a naughty boy and now you’re going to have to spend the night out here alone.”
“No, don’t leave, Ari, “ I groaned.
“I’ll be back tomorrow, Theo, and we’ll see then if you’ve learned your lesson. But I should warn you I’m not due back home for several days. I think by then you’ll be a changed man. Your head has been spinning like a weather vane, but I’m going to see that you face the front again!”
And with that she was gone. I lay flat out on the ground looking up at the deepening sky above and seeing the first few stars.
I knew if I stayed out all night I’d end up shivering in the cold unable to sleep. If I were going to solve the puzzle of the maze, I’d have to try before the sun completely set.
I was thinking more clearly now that I had a small amount of water and mercifully, the blinding sun was behind the trees. I tried to remain calm and think logically.
I knew every maze had a solution summed up in an easy to remember mnemonic device. For instance, the key to the famous Hampton Court maze was summed up in the phrase, “Left, right, right, left, left, left, left.” If one followed that pattern of turnings he’d easily find his way out.
But what could be the clue to this maze? Obviously, the answer lay in the mind of its clever creator, Basil Hawthorne. If I knew the man, I’d have some insight. But the bare facts I knew were that he rose through the ranks in the British army going from drill sergeant to colonel, before retiring and pursuing a career as an illusionist.
Not very much to go on, but on the other hand, there were no massive details to digest.
What did the bare bones of his life suggest? Suddenly, it hit me—he was an army drill sergeant in charge of directing men to march—and what directions did he give them? It was incredibly simple and obvious—why, he would bark out the command, “Left, right. Left, right”
I had difficulty standing, let alone walking, but by following my simple “left, right” formula and pushing myself, I found the way back to the green door.
Once outside, I had a choice whether to confront Maya or leave, but in my weakened state I decided my best option was to drive to the nearest hotel where I could find water, food and rest.
I found a Day’s Inn and spent two days and nights recovering from my ordeal.
When I was recovered enough to make the long drive home, I considered whether or not to return and check on Maya—after all, I was sure her uncle had never been there at all and she was marooned in the country.
But the more I thought about it, I decided not to return. She had my cell phone, and assuming she could get a signal, she could call for help.
Besides, I could phone one of her girlfriends and have her check on her—that would be better than enduring a three hour ride with Maya sitting rigidly erect in the seat beside me, fiercely defiant and seething like a dark smoldering fire.
It wasn’t until three months later that that I finally saw the monster again. It was at the symphony. I saw her from a distance accompanied by her uncle Basil and another grim-faced young man. When her gaze met mine, she instantly turned away.
I looked for her afterwards, but she was gone.
Last I heard she married that young man and went to live in the Cotswolds in England, no doubt in some rural estate.
But Maya's metamorphosis into a spider accomplished something—the horrific ordeal changed and deepened me.
Suffering does that—it’s a refining fire that purges away the dross—provided of course you’re able to outlast the flames.
https://goo.gl/images/s1fP6l, https://goo.gl/images/j8EMfv,
https://goo.gl/images/bFkaqs
I gather that the Editor was not too happy with the lack of an interview with her aMAZEing Uncle Basil ? That often misquoted Shakespearean theme " Hell hath no fury ...." seems to have struck with full force! I would also assume he would catch Hell from his Fiance' for being missing with his ex ,for so long ? Deadlier than the male ( to quote the Walker Brothers) Another Great Read.
thanks awgbibb - nice pun LOL!! - yes, a woman's evil always 'amazes' men, but curiously not so much with me--and I really like women as people. Maybe I have an insight into their darker souls, or maybe I've just driven them crazy enough to see it more often than most men :)
A vivid, vivacious, and voluptuous vixen vilifying her vapid victim through her venomous vicissitude. I enjoyed the vendetta, John. :)
ha ha...you left out vicious, but the other descriptors and vampiric enough lol
Lol. Perfect