After describing his task, Carlos rose from the bench and went closer to the rail around the entrance to the crypt below the church. I followed him.
Pointing at the stairway with his chin, he told me:
"You should go down there. Inside, you will see a circle in the floor, which corresponds to the exact center of the main dome of the church. According to tradition, that is the original place where Cuauhtemoc, the last Aztec emperor, was buried."
I asked him how historically accurate that information was.
He replied that he didn't know, but that the catacomb was an interesting place, regardless.
"All I want you to do is stand for a while in the center of that circle with your eyes closed, to tune yourself in to the energy of the place. It is a place of power from the sorcerers of antiquity, and it will help you in your task."
Briefly holding my hand, he added that he could not accompany me this time because someone was waiting for him somewhere, and he wished me luck. Without giving me time to react, he turned and left.
Carlos' attitude - asking me to go down in the crypt, and then leave in a hurry - left me confused. I didn't know what to do. With some misgivings, I leaned out over of the narrow stairway and felt a cold, humid breeze. Filled with an irrational apprehension, 1 went down the stone steps to the entrance door.
The crypt was empty. It had a gloomy air, was poorly lit, smelled of mold and the dust of centuries, and it was utterly quiet. While I explored the tombs belonging to some privileged families of old
Mexico, a chill traveled up and down my back. If it had not been for my desire to fulfill the task Carlos had given me, I would have run out of there.
Trying to control my over-excited imagination, I placed myself in the place Carlos had indicated, a circular space defined by the intersection of two passageways. I closed my eyes and made an effort to silence my mind. After a moment, I realized that my internal dialogue had quieted by itself.
I don't know how much time passed. Suddenly, I felt I was being observed. 1 opened my eyes quickly, just in time to see, standing a short distance from where I was, a man wearing a hat, with indigenous features and a penetrating gaze. He was tall, strong, and quite old; he had a rural appearance, dressed in a loose white shirt and sandals, and carrying a rucksack. When noticing that I had discovered him, he slipped quickly towards an enclosure at the end of the passageway called the 'the bishops' crypt'. His steps didn't make the smallest noise.
Although I was very afraid, my curiosity was even greater, and while menially preparing myself to face this strange character, I crossed the short distance which separated us - about seven or eight meters. When I came into the crypt, my surprise was total. There was nobody there. A quick inspection confirmed (hat the enclosure had no other exit, nor any space for a person to hide.
This time I panicked. I had goose bumps, and got the hell out of there