A forgotten mattress and the pond
I am sharing this imaginary story of the mattress and the pond, captured by my eyes and imagination.
A friend had invited us to his house at a private estate called Salinas de Pullally close to the sea. Early morning I went out scouting places where I could take photographs from a nearby a cove.
From the top of a hill I saw ponds created through constant water erosion of the rocks at the seashore line.
Getting closer I could see strange colors floating on the ponds. This is my interpretation of the story of where it began…..
The roaring sound of the sea crushing into the rocks woke me up. Faint light from above, I heard bird calls, were they Gulls? Why wasn’t in my room? A cold sensation made me shiver when the extremely cold water bathed my parts. I could see all myself disseminated throughout a pond.
Had lost track and notion of time and space, the gentle sea breeze made me realize that I was out in the open. I didn’t understand what had happened, why was I there. Why all of me was spread out violently and graciously laid over the rocks surrounding the water mirror pond.
Parts of me were mixed with algae, that grew in the crystal clear saline water; others were drying with the low breeze and faint sun that was just rising, could be 9AM?
What had happened to the room I used to live? its surroundings? Why was I in this environment? The comfort of pearl colored walls bedroom with a window overlooking the bay of Papudo town, north of Santiago — Chile. I could still remember the fishing boats leaving to the sea early morning. They would bring their catch to the fish market by midday where a crowd of people gathered.
Returning from my thoughts, I wondered if an earthquake could have occurred last night? but no, everything was calmed. I could feel no aftershock tremors that regularly happen after an earthquake. Was shuffling possible options, when I heard a strange noise, a deaf sound (“Tunnng”). I realized that it was a large plastic case bumping a nearby rock. I had never seen a case like this, it had a silver look as of an oyster.
A man opened the case which had a graphite colored foam and strange round objects inserted within the foam. Could he be a doctor, and those round things, medical equipment? Was I in need for help? Why couldn’t I remember things, had I amnesia? My name was Ness or Neso. Panic came to me; I did not know my name…
The round objects shining with the sun over the foam they were placed looked familiar, intriguing me. Where did I see it? it was something that had belonged to me, but what?
I was about to ask for help, when a large wave crushed over the rocks and poured white strays liquid that over-filled the pond, raising its water level. My parts were suddenly wet with the cold water, it happened so fast that I started seeing bright sparkles. They floated around my eyes like stars, fading slowly out until all turned black, then… darkness, I lost all consciousness.
Woke again, still all dark, didn’t know how long it had passed. While my eyes were adjusting to the faint light, I heard a click and the sound of a small electric motor. The “rurrr” lasted 2 seconds and click again; repeating the same sounds many times.
It still was blurry, could not see what was happening, only shades, the click and motor sound had ended.
Questions over questions came to my mind as time passed.
Was someone coming to help me, what happen to the person who came earlier, was he really a doctor? Then, a shadow passed by, I realized that it was the same man walking that I had seen earlier. I could see that the hat he was wearing had an inscription that said “Yosemite”.
Carrying over his shoulders a type of 3 barrels rifle and his right hand the silver case I saw earlier. Why was he walking away? I needed help, I screamed, but he seemed not to listen me; then I realized that my scream was produced in my mind, but no sound came out of my voice. Was I invisible? Was I ghost?
The sound of the waves hitting the rocks and the calls of the seagulls overflying the pond, distracted me; as the man walked away and started to climb the small hill that surrounded the cove.
I realized that there were many ponds in addition to the one I was located. The gulls diet had a variety of elements including different types of insects, earthworms, small rodents, reptiles and amphibians. They also were complemented by seeds, fruits and leftovers of human meals. A horrible idea came to my mind, would I be part of their diet, I laid openly over the rocks. Fortunately they seemed to be more interested in the small crabs of the mirror ponds.
I stayed all day hopping someone would come. It was 8:56PM the sun had just melted into the sea. I suspected nothing would happen until the following day, at least that is what I expected.
Stars passed slowly from East to West, and some satellites traveling in diagonal. Many airplanes with their red blinking lights and distant roar passed at high altitude. They would go from North to South and vice versa. Strangely the moon did not come out, I wondered why.
I knew many things, but some were not clear, the amnesia idea came back to my mind? Well, at least I knew that amnesia meant.
At dawn, fog started to form and blocking the amber light that was glowing from the rising sun at 6:59. By 11:00, the fog started fading, the sun that was already high in the sky started warming me.
I tried all night recalling what had happened, but nothing came to me. I still had no idea of where I was. From my place I could see a modern house overlooking the sea on top of the small hill. It had green grass surrounding it, but no lights were lit last night, so I suspected the house was empty.
Still could not move, now words would come out of me, so the idea of being a ghost haunted me.
I am ghost, yes that is the answer, but ghost do not feel, which was strange. By now I had gotten accustomed to the cold water that raised constantly with the wave movement. For the last 2 days all the questions I had asked myself. The intriguing thought that the moon had not appeared was puzzling me, was I on a dream? Early in the morning, the moon finally appeared with a slight round silver ring allow on its right side. It would stay with me until 9PM when it plunged into the sea.
The man with the Yosemite hat appeared y 9:30AM, again he came with his 3-barrel rifle. This time the rifle looked much smaller. I thought that he would now come to help me.
He just stood and looked around, then he took his rifle and started extending the barrels. This was unusual rifle, he then spread all 3 barrels apart and pointed them to the ground leaving it there.
The gulls were circulating around, they hadn’t eaten any parts of me. The idea of being a ghost has making more sense. How did I die? Why was I spread all around the rocks of the pond, and did not feel any pain?
Why could this man not see me? I realized that I could only feel temperature: cold water or warm sun, but not the pain. This was strange as especially all my parts were scattered around the pond.
The man with the Yosemite hat, opened the silver case and took out a black box attaching one of the round metal objects that I had seen the first time I saw him opening the silver case.
He placed it over the 3-barrel rifle, which miraculously attached firmly to it. He looked over the black box, then I recognized the same sound heard before of click & “rurrr”. Now I knew that this box was making the noise I had listed the first time.
It continued making the noise, when it stopped, he opened the box extracting a white long and small cylinder. After replacing it with a new one that he pulled from his pocket, the noise continued. He changed the white barrel every 13 clicks. After moving the black box around different sides of the pond until 11AM, he packed all what he had brought. Finally, collapsed his rifle barrels into one, and shortening their length.
He walked through a trail that went towards the hill and disappeared. Nothing else happened that day, and for many days to come.
More than a year had passed. I knew by now that I was a ghost living in the pond and that someday I would be reunited with my family, but who was my family? This part of the amnesia was still there.
I had made a recollection of thoughts and was transported to a big warehouse. Piles of wire coils, a noisy machine unwinding wire rolls and making these helical coils, like springs. They all were put tougher and piled like they would be forming the curls of British magistrate wig. Couldn’t recall anything else of the past.
While traveling through my mind, I noticed that a family arrived at the house that overlooked the ponds. Their visits were regular. This night was different, they had placed a large TV in the garden, chairs, lots of drinks and food. I was delighted to hear music that night.
The moon that was almost faint had a its gold ring to the left and was a few hours from vanishing into the sea. I then heard a roar that was not from the sea but came from the ground. Everything started shaking. The children of the nearby house screamed as the lights went out. Besides the faint moon, it was almost totally dark.
The shaking and roaring continued for a long while. I think it was about 2 minutes. The water from the pond started moving from one side to the other taking my parts to different locations. Finally the noise stopped, as well as the water movement. The screams also ended, and the people from the house took out small booklets that had a light. Some put them on their ears. It was strange, never thought that a booklet on your ear would calm you.
The faint moon vanished just when the sun was about to appear. Some of my hair was scattered, mixed and tangled with the algae. The people on the house had stayed the last few hours sitting outside house. Could see them desperate tapping the small booklets that stayed for hours on their ears. When the sun came out, they ran into the house to collected things and drove away. For many weeks I could feel from time to time the earth complaining and shaking.
Some time passed and again last evening the earth started violently to complain. The water of the ponds moved me gently from one rock to the other. When we had a greater calm and I was starting to relax, I would be soon disturbed. The sea suddenly rose went over the defending rocks that protect the ponds.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, this large wave cleaned the pond of waste that started to decay and gave a nauseous smell. This also washed away almost all my parts, leaving very little of me. This made me worry if my ghost would stay longer floating around.
The movement of my parts revealed me that there as a second house on the hill overlooking the pond. I had never seen it before, was square, like an observation tower. Making me wonder if the architect had ever studied art or design. Maybe the owners had a fix idea on the design of their house, and the architect could not impose an art concept for the majestic view that this part of the hill had: almost 240 degrees of vision.
That night the moon was almost inexistent, just the gold thin ring around it. I realized that each time that the earth had a hiccup or the man with the Yosemite hat came along, the moon had this thin golden ring.
Lost track of time, it was a cold cloudy morning, was not able to see the sun nor the moon. All the surrounding hills were full of flowers that had blossomed: violet, blue and red.
I had heard many cars driving by during that weekend. Only one of the houses I could see from the ponds had people. By 9:40 I saw people coming down the hill, but they were not from the 2 adjacent houses. It was a man and a young girl. I distinguished the man of the Yosemite hat, although he wasn’t wearing it, he came with the silver plastic case and the 3-barreled rifle, wearing a red anorak.
The girl carried a green/yellow backpack, they came to the smaller pond, where some of me still laid almost faintly. This week a group of seven or eight black Vultures were visiting the pond attracted by a small seal that had died and thrown by the sea over rocks near where I resided.
As the visitors approached, the black Vultures, unpleasantly moved to a group of rocks that had a higher vantage point. They observed, hoping that the visitors would not eat their fabulous meal, which they were busily being working all morning.
The girl mentioned about the smell to the man of the Yosemite hat. They walked towards a light pink mass of the seal, finding the entire skin was peeled by the black Vultures, which patiently waited for the visitors to go away to continue with their meal. Finally they got tired of waiting and eventually flew away, as a solitary Pelican passed by and observed the seen and continued its flight to the South. Normally they passed in groups of 3–4, maybe more but never seen them stopping in the ponds.
The man with the Yosemite hat, extended again the barrels of this rifle and placed it in the floor. This time he explained the girl certain things of the black box, which I could not understand, placing it over the inverted 3 barrel rifle. He was interested in me, kneeling and approaching at a very close distance, not more that the size of shoe to where my parts lay.
He positioned himself just where most of me lay, or at least that was left. The click and “rurrr” sound repeated 12 times as well as the complains. He finally placed away all the things he had brought, guess that the girl had command over him.
The way that the man of the Yosemite hat had seen me and comments he made to the girl, I knew soon my ghost would fade away. All my parts were gradually also vanishing, taken apart with the rough sea. After 7 years of contemplating I would go to a new life, but where? Well, that is something I will have to write about, when I get there.
Never the less, I am afraid that the man with the Yosemite hat could be borrowing my story using his black box.
Note from the artist: I do mainly fine art photographs of water, however this particular debris placed by nature design captured my attention. Although I am not 100% sure, the fibers and layers floating on the pond have the look of the layers that a mattress that could have being thrown to the sea and destroyed by the rocks of the cove, leaving the floating remain on the ponds.
I have followed the debris decay for 7 years. During my last visit 2 year ago, little was. Planned to visit for the last 2 summers, but Covid restrictions did not allow me, eventually will be able to register whatever is left.
Rollei 6006
GPS -32.411247, -71.424811
0913–02
Lens Sonnar 150mm + Sky filter
120 Velvia RVP 50 ASA film
1/15
0916–01
Lens Sonnar 150mm + Polar filter
120 Velvia RVP 50 ASA film
1/15
0916–10
Lens Sonnar 150mm + Polar filter
120 Velvia RVP 50 ASA film
1/15
0917–17
Lens Sonnar 150mm + Polar filter
120 Velvia RVP 50 ASA film
1/15
0936–11
Lens Sonnar 150mm + Polar filter
120 Velvia RVP 50 ASA film
1/15
0938–14
Lens Sonnar 80mm + Polar filter
120 Velvia RVP 50 ASA film
1/15
1052–12_2
Lens Sonnar 150mm + Sky filter
120 Velvia RVP 50 ASA film
1/8 at 16.0
1053–07
Lens Sonnar 150mm + Sky filter
120 Velvia RVP 50 ASA film
1/8 at 16.0
1070–12_2
Lens Sonnar 150mm + Sky filter
120 Velvia RVP 50 ASA film
1/8 at 11.0
Sony A7R
D093–4745
FE 24–70mm F4 ZA OSS + Sky Filter
1/80 at 4.0
