Gorma Tales of the Camino: Captain Cordula’s Treasure Map
In the middle of a fine, warm day, Gorma walked with bare feet along one of the small, secret beaches of the Land of the Heart. She had come from one shore of this land to the other, walking the Camino day by day. The wet sand was cool and smooth, and Gorma’s footprints filled slowly with water before being washed away by the morning’s slow, gentle waves smoothly and softly covering Gorma’s toes. She was hunting for new shells for Saint Thomas, her walking stick, who always wore a charming necklace of white, yellow, or striped shells on a turquoise cord wrapped around him, turquoise like the color of a gentle sea.
As Gorma rounded a small cove, she found a big surprise! A sailing ship was anchored in the tiny cove, and a rowboat was bringing a woman ashore. The woman stood tall and strong as the boat neared the beach, directing the rowers past the rocks to the best landing site. As she hopped from the boat onto the sand, she gave Gorma a nodding bow.
“Gorma, Gorma! Too long have I sailed without a landing! And too long since we shared a meal ’round a beach fire, eh? Tell me, what treasure have you found today?” She gave Gorma a great, strong hug, and an even stronger smile of friendship.
Her name was Captain Cordula, and she and Gorma had known each other a long, long time. Her white hair fluttered like the sails of her ship, and the fleeting clouds passing easily overhead.
Gorma opened her hand to show Captain Cordula the shells she had collected. “I have also found one song, light as a bird upon the breeze,” Gorma added, smiling warmly in return.
“Then you may have no need of this, eh?” Captain Cordula said grandly, and from her jacket pocket, she pulled out a rolled cloth, and unrolling it with a flourish, she showed Gorma – a treasure map.
“Where have you gotten this?” Gorma asked, for one person’s treasure is another person’s trouble, and she was concerned about the source of such a map.
“I have drawn it myself, Gorma,” Captain Cordula stated proudly. “I have talked to the villagers and islanders along these coasts, to the fishing folk, and the barmaids and alemen, the nearby farmers bringing cheese and meat to the market, and many passing travelers. Never was such a true and trustworthy treasure map made!”
“Indeed, I believe you, for you are true and trustworthy as your fine ship upon the seas, Captain Cordula,” Gorma agreed. “But I could not help but notice – there is no X to mark the spot of the buried treasure on your map.”
“That is because it is not yet buried!” Captain Cordula laughed, and now Gorma saw her sailors carrying a quite heavy treasure chest from the boat. They set to work, pacing off the distance from the tides at this time of day, in this season, and from those trees growing beyond the sandy beach, and from that rocky point at the bend of the cove. Then, when all was measured and noted and recorded on her map, Captain Cordula set the sailors to digging, and to building a fire for a fine evening meal, for the afternoon soon passed with all this treasure adventure, as afternoons do on warm beaches under sunny skies.
As she feasted with Cordula on clams and mussels and sea kelp seasoned with the salt of the sea itself, the treasure chest was lowered into its hole.
“May I see the treasure, before it is buried?” Gorma asked, and Captain Cordula nodded, holding up her hand to stop the sailors and motioning for one to lift the lid for Gorma. Instantly, her eyes lit up, and her heart was glad.
“Why, this is everything needed to keep the land and sea beautiful and strong, always. This will keep the sea air salty, and the mountain lakes crystalline with ice,” Gorma said in wonder.
“Aye, and the jungles green and lush, the deserts quiet at night, and the monsoon clouds bringing rain over the highest peaks,” added Captain Cordula.
“This is the greatest treasure I have ever seen,” Gorma replied softly. “You must mark it well.”
“Oh, we will, Gorma, we will. Together.” And so, asking for a feather and a shell from Saint Thomas, Captain Cordula marked the treasure’s hiding place, buried well in the Land of the Heart. It is there for any and all to find, just waiting for an adventurer in search of the greatest treasure ever seen.
Gorma said goodnight and walked on down the coast, quiet and smiling. She arrived at the next albergue just in time for a bed, for which she was very grateful, and she slept deeply. In the corner, by a window overlooking the sea at night, Saint Thomas stood quietly, as if he might want to go find a treasure chest under the sand, marked by a perfect shell, and a fluttering feather.
Buen Camino, Captain Cordula.