The Lost Steps

While bathing with Rosario in a sunlit pool, the narrator decides to abandon his previous life and fully immerse himself in the lifestyle of Santa Monica de los Venados. He shares this decision with Rosario, who supports him unconditionally, although he feels she doesn’t understand how momentous this decision is for him.

The narrator reads a section from Yannes’s copy of The Odyssey, noting that he finds it selfish for Ulysses to pull his men away from paradise just to return home.

As the narrator assists in the construction of the church, he contemplates the origins of music and his previous academic theories. He consciously decides to abandon his intellectual speculations in favor of actively participating in the creation of a new existence in the jungle.

While preparing the church, the narrator accidentally uncovers objects he was supposed to deliver for his mission, including a funerary urn and musical instruments. He feels guilty as he recognizes his debt to the Curator, who financed his journey. Rosario innocently plays one of the instruments, causing the narrator to push her harshly and hurt her feelings. He confides in Rosario about his dilemma, and she suggests sending the items to Puerto Anunciacion for delivery to the museum, offering a resolution to his moral conflict.

The narrator and Fray Pedro explore a plateau with ancient rock carvings that suggest a flood myth similar to the story of Noah’s Ark. They discuss myths and the connection between human civilization and nature, highlighted by the vibrant birdlife of the region. Fray Pedro shares a story from the Popol-Vuh about objects rebelling against humans, emphasizing the dangers of technology. They discover a crater with ancient, untouched vegetation. Lastly, Fray Pedro points out a hostile region where no missionary has returned, and the narrator comments about the futility of going to such places, offending Fray Pedro.

The Adelantado, almost naked due to the heat, conducts a meeting to legislate for the good of the community, with Fray Pedro; the Headman of the Indigenous people; and Marcos, the Adelantado’s son and Keeper of the Garden, present. They address policy issues including proposed hunting restrictions to prevent the extinction of local deer and public works to prevent flooding during the rainy season. Marcos expresses irritation with Fray Pedro about the onion bed’s location, stating that the crop will wash away with the floods, but Fray Pedro insists that this location was wisely chosen.

The meeting results in a law prohibiting the hunting of female deer and fawns except in emergencies. The narrator contemplates the Adelantado’s leadership skills and disciplinary measures. Currently, punishments for crimes have been limited to temporary isolation from the community, However, more severe consequences seem possible. The focus then turns to the narrator’s personal growth and realization, highlighting his choice to stop overthinking and instead embrace the experience of living in Santa Monica de los Venados.

For two days, it rains nonstop, causing discomfort and damage in Santa Monica de los Venados. The downpour makes it difficult to find a dry place to sleep, with everyone having to move their hammocks around to avoid leaks. The flood of mud inside homes upsets Rosario, who refuses to let the narrator touch her.

The rain damages the church, leading to a dispute between Fray Pedro and the Adelantado about the urgency of its completion. Fray Pedro insists that completing the church is more important than protecting food, but the Adelantado disagrees.

Amidst the ongoing rain, the narrator experiences a moment of clarity similar to an opium-induced state he once had. He conceives a musical piece, a Threnody, which he plans to work on at dawn, inspired by the natural order and chaos around him. This narrator is inspired by the desire to create simple yet meaningful melodies that stem from spoken words, like a chant.

He draws inspiration from ancient musical traditions and seeks to explore the untapped potential of ecclesiastical modes. His experience in the jungle, particularly witnessing an authentic threnody performed by Indigenous people over a corpse, influences him further. This inspires him to capture the essence of their genuine expression of grief, which he begins sketching in a notebook borrowed from the Adelantado.

The downpour continues to disrupt the community, but the narrator focuses on creating his Threnody, drawing inspiration from The Odyssey. Amidst the communal efforts to mitigate the damage, the narrator is engrossed in his work, almost oblivious to the chaos around him.

Rosario attempts to reach the narrator, becoming concerned about his state of mind, but the narrator ignores her.

The narrator outlines his plan in detail. A passage from The Odyssey, which invokes the dead, provides the thematic substance. The narrator simplifies the passage and focuses on the episode of summoning the spirits, his composition gradually evolving from spoken word to melody with instrumental support.

After being reprimanded by the Adelantado for using notebooks intended for official records to write music, the narrator feels misunderstood. The Adelantado, unfamiliar with the concept of composing music through writing, suggests the narrator use Marcos’s guitar instead.

Fray Pedro questions the narrator about his sexual relationship with Rosario and pressures him to marry her in a church ceremony. The narrator becomes defensive, mocking the idea of marriage sanctified by the church. The narrator is afraid that Fray Pedro’s insistence might put him in a difficult position. He may have to either confess his bigamous situation or participate in a charade that goes against his newfound values.

Escaping these pressures, the narrator immerses himself in composing his score but is running out of paper. Rosario misconstrues his writing as correspondence, prompting the narrator to question the purpose of his work.

Addressing Fray Pedro’s marriage demand, the narrator suggests to Rosario the idea of marrying, expecting her to seize the opportunity. However, Rosario’s strong rejection based on her belief in the freedom and autonomy afforded by their current arrangement surprises him, sparking a mix of jealousy and indignation.

The discussion is abruptly interrupted by the appearance at their window of Nicasio, a former gold-hunter who has Hansen’s disease (referred to in the book by its older name, leprosy). Marcos, the Adelantado’s son, gently but firmly removes Nicasio from the premises.

After the Adelantado provides the narrator with a final notebook, the narrator continues to struggle with the lack of paper while grappling with personal tensions and the unrelenting rain. The narrator’s creative process is further hindered by tensions with Rosario: Now that she has declared her unwillingness to marry him, he desperately wants to marry her.

Screams are heard, and it’s revealed that Nicasio has tried to sexually assault an eight-year-old Indigenous girl by the river, severely injuring the girl in the process.

In a tense confrontation with Nicasio at the Cliff of the Petroglyphs, the narrator has an opportunity to kill him but hesitates, burdened by the weight of taking a life. Marcos, frustrated by the narrator’s inaction, takes the gun and carries out the execution himself.

A plane unexpectedly appears over the valley, causing astonishment among the Indigenous community and excitement for the narrator. Two men emerge from the aircraft, revealing that they have been searching for the narrator for over a week, spurred by rumors of his potential capture by Indigenous headhunters. A newspaper has even offered a reward for his rescue, based on the general location provided by the Curator.

The gift of alcohol from the pilots ignites in the narrator a longing for the comforts and tastes of the life he has left behind. He decides he needs paper and ink.

Torn between his new life and his past connections, the narrator decides to return home temporarily to retrieve supplies and divorce Ruth. Rosario’s indifference troubles the narrator. Despite Rosario’s demeanor, the narrator leaves with the pilots, leaving his Threnody notes with her, which she rejects.

From above, the narrator observes mixed reactions within the community, including Rosario, whose black hair resembles a widow’s veil.