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My heart pounded loudly in my chest, through my throat, and onto my eardrums. Everyone back home warned me not to come. They tried every scare-tactic to dissuade me. Two weeks later, there I was, lost and alone. “Excuse me,” I meekly entered the communal kitchen, “My friend has been gone for two hours now. I’ve already circled around twice. Could you please hel…” my throat tightened. Ten minutes later, the sheriff arrived. I had to make a quick decision. Do I trust him or is he with the men that surely kidnapped Dania? I decide to trust him. What’s the alternative: run? I was far from the city and I didn’t even know in which direction. “Come with me.” He said without greeting me. ~ Earlier that day, Dania and I hopped into a public van en-route to a local native community. I met Dania, my AirBnB host, a few days ago and found out that we both enjoyed deep conversations and disliked tourists. “Our stop is coming up,” Dania said. “Are you headed to Ricon?” said the only other passenger left in the van. “Yeah, we hear it’s beautiful,” she replied. “Eh, it’s for the tourists.” He got us. “If you’d really like to see something special go to my hometown. I’m headed there for our fiestas.” “Yeah, let’s go,” I heard myself say. During the four-hour drive through the winding and eventually unpaved road, Hector told us about Tabaa. Families are known for a specific product or service, which they share and exchange with each other. Hector, he is the watchman at the clinic. “We don’t get paid for any of it.” “Wow. That’s so cool” I stupidly said. “Not for those who want certain things like a nice shirt for the fiestas,” he answered politely. “Sometimes I drive city folk around for some cash,” I noticed his clothing bag, “but you’ll see how nice Tabaa is. Wait till you see our kitchen. The whole town has been gathering the goods for weeks now. And I’m sure the bulls were butchered yesterday.” “The bulls?” “For Doña Pili’s mole. And the tortillas are this big,” he outlined the size of a large pizza, “but the coffee… this year Don Chema’s family had a good coffee bean. I had some before leaving and there’s just nothing better.” Hector was right. As soon as we arrived, I was shocked. Colors have never looked so vibrant. Disney could not have done a better job. “Ladies, I’m leaving in fifteen minutes,” uttered the driver. Neither of us wanted to leave yet, so we shrugged the problem off for a later time. We walked up steep steps to the open-air communal kitchen at the top of the hill. We were served Doña Pili’s mole, tortillas, and coffee. When I took a sip of the black coffee; I swear my eyes watered. The moment and the cup were equally perfect. I tried figuring out how much or who to pay, but that was silly. Even tipping would have been offensive. Although the fiesta had just begun, it was time to start heading back, but we quickly found out there would be no cars leaving town for the next few days. I swallowed hard. “Wait here, I’ll keep looking” were the last words Dania said before she went missing. Why I didn’t go with her is still a mystery to me. ~ As I followed the sheriff, I wanted to cry like I did when I got lost in my second-grade field trip. Right before I gave into my childhood trauma, I spotted her. “Dania!” I looked to the sheriff who had already left. “I was able to use someone’s landline to call my parents” she smiled, “and one of the musicians is an old friend. She’s here with her band and invited us to sleep with them and catch a ride back on Wednesday”. That night, after feasting and dancing, we unrolled the borrowed petate and again my eyes welled up again. Being open to an adventure opens doors that you didn’t even know existed. And when you walk through those doors, there are windows with spectacular views, good coffee, and great company.