by Z Surakji
In ancient Mayan civilization, there lived a man whose love for a woman was so exceptional and noble it made a god jealous. Dacey was an artist who was said to have been blessed by the god Hun-Batz with incomparable skills and talent. Hun-Batz also bestowed a gift which allowed Dacey to paint or sculpt the face of anyone who has ever existed. This made Dacey quite the celebrity in his city, often receiving requests to draw faces of deceased loved ones or immortalizing a wedding ceremony. For his troubles, he was always rewarded handsomely, receiving heaps of gifts and money as a show of gratitude for his immaculate work which captured everything down to the very last, minute detail.
Dacey has seen and memorized countless faces in his life. Be it old or young, beautiful or ugly, round or defined, this face was like a vision in his mind. Yet one of them was plastered to his fantasy, outshining all others.
A rounded outline resembling the moon, vibrant brown complexion like that of the cocoa beans she farmed, and lips a burning crimson like that of chili peppers. Her face was always adorned by a strip of red paint that stretched from her bottom lip down to her chin, with a black line in its center, accompanied by a thin black line that stretched from one ear, across the bridge of her nose, to the other.
Yolotli.
He would spend hours watching her work in the fields around the city, her skin kissed by the sun and her body toned from years of farming and harvest. They would often meet at sunset on the outskirts, talking and laughing, fantasizing of a life together, expressing their longing for one another. Yolotli would often show Dacey an attempt she had taken at painting an animal or a person on a small stone slab, telling him how inspired she was by his divine talent. She would also repeatedly beg him to draw her, or sculpt something of her resemblance, but, every time, Dacey would deny that request. And every time, he would provide the same reason for doing so.
“You are the only face which the gods have created and I have been smitten by. An attempt by myself to recreate such a phenomenon would be an insult to your perfection.”
© Z Surakji 2023-08-21