The coffee pot

Max Borman carefully checks the contents of his backpack, he is carrying everything he needs to spend several days camping, including his ever-present coffee pot.

This time he has not told anyone about his trip, he wanted to do it alone, without the company of his friends. He has proposed to explore a new route a little farther away, which will lead him to the top of the mountain, in an area with very little vegetation...

With the first light of morning he sets out on his long walk along a narrow, stony path, at first the terrain is flat, he advances quickly, but as he ascends the slope becomes steeper. And although Max is an experienced hiker, every fifteen to twenty minutes he stops to rest a bit, admire the scenery and take a few sips of water.

A little before noon he notices a glint in the mountain that catches his attention, it is not far from where he is. Max estimates that by walking another hour he can reach the point where the light originates. With renewed courage he begins the ascent again, trying not to take his eyes off the mysterious flash.

As he climbs, the old stories of the indigenous people of the region come to his mind. They tell that long ago the old and sick people climbed the mountain to wait for death.

According to the legend, each one knew when the moment of death was near, so they would prepare a backpack with their most beloved objects, ascend the mountain, look for a cave and stay there until the final moment. However, few gave credit to these legends because it was not common to find caves in those mountains and so far no one had seen any body from an ancient time.

Max walks concentrated trying not to lose that light, he has no doubt that there is something in that place. Suddenly the sky becomes cloudy and the flash disappears, but Max manages to see a smooth object lying on the ground, its surface is very polished, similar to glass...

The sky clears again and reveals a dark area in front of Max's eyes, with surprise he realizes that there is an incision in the stone, he takes out his flashlight and moves forward, it is the entrance to a grotto.

Although the space is narrow he manages to penetrate, he walks a little inside and suddenly sees a small wrapper, he examines it and realizes that inside it there is a skeleton, it must be very old because it has no remains of skin ...

As he watches, he feels his feet wobble, it takes him a few seconds to realize that the earth is shaking. He tries to move towards the entrance but it's too late, part of the mountain has collapsed, blocking the grotto...

For the moment the trembling stops, illuminating with the flashlight Max advances towards the interior of the grotto. He stops next to the body, takes a seat on the hard stone floor and takes a few sips of water. He gets up agitated, disoriented, not knowing what to do... the only thing he can think of is to continue advancing inside the cave to see if he can find a way out...

He lifts his backpack and does not realize that the coffee pot has fallen to the ground. With his face drenched in sweat, he continues on his way. After a hundred meters he begins to tremble again. Max falls to the ground, a cloud of dust surrounds him, he feels that the tremor is eternal. When he gets up he tries to continue on his way, but he realizes that he has not reached the end, he tries to turn around and realizes that the mountain has collapsed. Max is trapped...he can't get out of there...

Fifteen years later...

Professor Seymour Gardner meets at the foot of the mountain with a group of students from his anthropology class on a recreational excursion to celebrate the end of the school year. The boys are overflowing with enthusiasm, they love this kind of outings organized by their teacher...

Seymour motions for them to wait for him. One of the boys runs back to Seymour and tells him that he has seen a glow on the top of the mountain, the teacher sees it too. He tells them to come closer but not to touch anything until he arrives.

Once at the site Seymour lifts the object, it is a polished surface, almost like glass, he explains to his students that it is a fragment of a very old piece of pottery, perhaps made by the ancient Indians who populated those lands thousands of years ago... The group listens carefully...

The earth begins to tremble, Seymour tells the boys to hold hands, to remain calm. A sound of falling stones makes them look up, a crack has opened up in the wall in front of them, it is wide enough for two people to pass side by side.

The professor steps forward, tells them to wait outside, with his cell phone as a flashlight he moves inside, something stumbles over his feet. He looks down and realizes that it is a coffee pot, in front of it he sees the skeleton wrapped in scraps of fur, it is surrounded by small pieces of pottery, he knows that they must be very old... He smiles, he is in front of an important finding...

But his smile turns into a grimace. And the coffee pot?....How did this get here, Seymour asks himself...

Thanks for your time.