Life on the rocks

I'm not usually one for writing...but there are some stories that must be told. It's always strange when life throws you a curve ball. We all know we're not going to live forever, we're mere mortals walking this earth looking for meaning and a deeper understanding of life until it’s taken away from us. A routine check-up turned my whole life upside down; when I was told by my doctor, I had four weeks to live. As a man of fifty-seven that’s still quite a shock, I was in good health, walking everywhere, but some things are out of our hands, I guess. The strange thing is when you're told something like that, you become almost invincible, fear no longer clings to your bones. I'm a simple man who keeps myself to myself. My quaint home would look like a ghost house to most people as I'm not one for going out or entertaining friends, I don't really have many to speak of. I stay in one little room that overlooks my overgrown garden. I'm happy in my study getting lost in a good book and sipping a glass of eighteen-year-old Glenfiddich on the rocks, two pieces to be precise. Sitting there feeling its warm liquid like gentle lava coating the inside of my throat. I had heard some story of a cave in Mexico where if you drank the water, it could cure any illness. This kind of thing I'd normally laugh off and think it's all dragons and potions crap. However, as I was literally on borrowed time it was definitely something to consider, I had nothing to lose. I had a large sum of money stashed away that was supposed to last me for twenty or thirty years or until my brain turns to mush and I find a cosy spot in an old peoples home. But seeing as I won't make it to old age now I can blow that money on whatever I like. So I bought a ticket to go see my daughter to tell her the sudden news in person. Sadly, I couldn't drive to the airport but I became very good friends with a mechanic who worked at the garage at the end of my road. He kindly offered to give me a lift to the airport as it was such an early flight, we had become pub pals I guess you could say. Or I was the only one that enjoyed listening to his stories. I was heading to see my daughter who was now living in Spain with her partner. Lucas is one of the top chefs there and he owns his own restaurant, 'lucky sod'. Unfortunately, as fate would have it 'the car we were in' broke down on the way to the airport, just as well my driver doubled up as a mechanic and had the know-how to fix car problems. Sadly I still missed my flight to Spain. He offered to drive me back home, but something told me to head to the airport anyway. And I'm truly glad I did. At the crowded airport even that early in the morning there were no seats available. Just a sea of faces, people my age or older asleep, children on iPads or iPhones it was like a life like version of Guess-Who playing out in-front of me. I sat at the bar and ordered a Glenfiddich and was about to call my daughter when I looked up at the departure board and there was a plane heading to Mexico in two hours, but it was the flight number that really got my attention, the numbers were the year my daughter was born. As fate would have it, I managed to buy the last available ticket on the flight heading to Mexico. When I arrived in Cozumel International after over a ten-hour flight, I was delirious As you can imagine. It felt like I was levitating over to the taxi rank and befriending a local driver called Fernando who apparently had only been a driver for a few weeks. I later found out his name means 'Brave Voyager'. He asked why I'd come to Mexico was it, business, or pleasure? I told him I'd come to find the famous cave that heals the sick. He said how will you find this notorious cave? I told him I'd drink with every local in all the bars in Mexico until I found out the name and location of the cave or die trying. He told me the name of the cave was Cenote, he had taken his mother there who lost the ability to walk. I asked what the outcome was for his mother. He said his mother goes for long walks every evening now. He told me I could get a ferry to the Cenote caves which would take forty-five minutes. He asked where I was staying? I told him this wasn't a planned trip I was going on a whim. Following a feeling, an instinct, some sense of hope, a path perhaps laid out by God. He nodded and smiled, then said where do you want to stay? He recommended a humble little place called Caribo Cozumel, he offered to drive me there and take me to the ferry port the next morning. I slept well that night, feeling I now had a spiritual guide and companion in Fernando. When we arrived at the Ferry port, I gave him a huge tip and he gave me a huge hug, he wished me all the best on my healing journey. I joined a diving group as the instructors guided us through to the caves explaining the safety aspects and telling us a little about the history but upon entering the Cenote caves, it was the most awe-inspiring sight I'd ever seen. I felt like my ears no longer worked as the instructors’ words became white noise compared to the vision that stole away not only my breathe but all my senses. I honestly thought I was dreaming under some kind of spell. If these were my last moments on this earth, I picked the perfect place to die. The last thing my eyes would be filled with were the most stunning views. A room created by mother nature herself, long lime-coloured leaves spread across the four walls, hanging vines almost bungee jumping off into the pool below. Waterfalls cascading into a crystal-clear turquoise water, and when you look up from that pool there’s a hole looking straight into the heavens. That's why cenote Ik-kil is a Yucatán paradise. This was heaven on earth in every sense of the word. I dived straight into the water deep under the surface and took in a mouthful of holy water. I closed my eyes and laid back on the surface feeling the sun hitting my face as I imagined the water making its way through my body like medicine healing my damaged insides. As the days passed by I felt myself becoming stronger, having more energy. I wasn't just walking, I was now able to run too. My skin was looking healthier, my eyes had a kind of sparkle to them. I felt reborn. I'm not sure if it was a placebo effect or if the water had in fact saved my life. When I returned to England and spoke to my doctor a week or so later, they couldn't understand how my disease had disappeared. "This is a miracle" to quote my doctor. I can happily say I'm in an airport writing this in a notebook so I can remember it word for word, moment for moment when I tell my daughter this miraculous story that not even I would believe. Here I am three years later heading to Spain to celebrate my sixtieth birthday with my daughter and son in law. When I think on how bizarre and magical that whole journey was, I might not be here now if it wasn't for that car breaking down, forcing me to choose a different path. Life is full of surprises, but I believe everything happens for a reason. Some paths in life are straight forward, other paths are hidden in plain sight waiting to be discovered through chance or fate.