This power was revered as divine and regarded with awe. People lived with the awareness that their prosperity depended on the balance between sea, desert, and land. Rituals took place outdoors and were characterized by respect.
With a bright flash, the lightning finally breaks free from its hiding place. It glides through the clouds once more, searching for a new target. Then it strikes precisely where parched fields desperately need water. The sky opens, and the first heavy rain falls to earth.
In the mountain village, Pachamama wasn't a distant word, but a feeling that could be experienced every day. The wind swept across the fields as if checking to see if everything was alright, and beneath it all lay Pachamama, holding the paths steady so that no one would slip.
A child's room looked similar after a long day. Building blocks were scattered everywhere. Books were tucked under a blanket. A pen rolled somewhere it was guaranteed to disappear later. Peace and quiet were hard to come by, even if the body was tired, because the mind was looking everywhere at once.
In the Andes, there are nights that seem as if someone has quietly rearranged the world. The wind knows its paths, sounds stay closer to the ground, and even dogs don't bark out of habit, but only when truly necessary.
The children asked first. Children have a knack for this, as if they had a compass inside them. "When will it be light again?" they asked. No one answered. The adults just looked at the edge of the mountains, where the sun usually appears, as if it had a fixed schedule.
Stepping onto the threshold suddenly felt difficult, for outside, fog was gathering. A mist crept down the hillside like a large, gray hand. A shout echoed through the village, first one, then many. Fear grew, swift as fire in dry grass.
