O l i v e r B e n j a m i n
world would similarly be spared. This was to be the most profound
moment in all his life. He would have cried, had it not been for the
fact that his entire world was watching him. Tears did not befit a
hero, he knew. Instead, a low whimper escaped from his lips.
“Are you all right, Nanahuatzin?” the king asked.
“Oh, yes,” he coughed. “Just a little indigestion.”
“Then let us be off to preserve the world!” the king exclaimed,
leading him out of his palatial room and into the grand square in the
center of Tenochtitlan. Nearly the entire population had gathered in
the open to catch a glimpse of the god as he strode to the temple.
People cheered and kneeled on the earth, crying over their good
fortune, chanting his name and praying. Muchoman began to feel so
light that he thought he might suddenly float away into the ether and
emerge on the other side of the sun. He saw his friend, the Mayan
king in the crowd. Strangely, he was the only one who was not
watching the procession, staring instead at the ground by his feet.
Faces and color spun around the hero as he was led up the
massive steps of the stone temple of Huitzilopochtli. He could see far
into the distance, the shocking green of the lush vegetation, the
incredible masses of devout worshippers, the pale blue sky that
seemed to spin around his head like a giant crown. His vision seemed
to grow more and more precise, the details of the scene soon taking
favor over the general.
From the height of the temple he could see a tribe of armor-clad
soldiers far away heading over a hilly pass, no doubt to help
participate in the glory of the day. His day. He could see the horses
the soldiers rode on, more magnificent as anything he had seen in the
last few days. He felt the urge to wave to them, to every one of the
assembled hopeful. But there would be plenty of time for fraternizing
later, after he had saved both worlds that were now his responsibility.
He drew a breath, and arrived at the platform on top of the
temple, high above the beaten earth.
A great mass of peasants, thousands in fact, had assembled on
the massive platform to greet him, their solemnity underscoring the
grandeur of the event. Muchoman stepped forward and addressed
them all.
“Fear not, brave Aztec faithful. I, Muchoman, formerly known as
Nanahuatzin, have made it my personal mission to save your world
from demise!”
Rather than applaud him, the masses kneeled. One man,
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