THE DARKNESS NEVER LIFTED as he was trying to push his way through the tight and ever-turning cave. Being in Mexico always excited him: the aromas of the rain forests, the warm breeze on his skin, the colorfully dressed smiley Mexicans offering tostadas and tamales. He was wondering, now, why he ever dared to go into the wilderness of the jungle on his own; why he could not control his curiosity and chose to descend into the cave; why sunbathing on the beaches or wandering the markets and chatting up the locals was not enough.

But it was too late. He was deep into the cave with no idea of how to come out. Only the darkness, some water to his ankles, and an occasional bat flying under the cave roof were his companions. He was exhausted.

Mat sat on a small stone that was protruding out of the water and considered whether it was better to continue forward, or to turn back and try to retrace his steps out of the cave. The truth was, he was not entirely sure which way was back and which was forward, even deeper into the darkness of the mountain. This was when he heard a muted yet high-pitched sound, very faint but unmistakably produced by a living being. Mat started towards the sound, charged with new energy as he moved his feet through the water. At last, after several turns, he saw a creature with short greenish gold fur and a tail held low and close to the small skinny shaking body of what appeared to be a terrified young animal, looking almost like a dog.

“Xoloitzcuintle!” exclaimed Mat. It’s the famous Mexican Xolo dog, many of them are hairless, but some do have a coat, like this one, Mat knew. “What are you doing here Xolo?” asked Mat gently, thinking suddenly of the old legend that Xolo dogs guided people through the dangers of the afterlife towards heaven.

Mat shook his head to avoid these thoughts. He was not in the afterlife; he was very much alive. He pinched himself. The puppy looked sheepishly at Mat, backing another step towards the cave wall, but not having a lot of room; it was only standing on a small stone, surrounded by water.

Mat took off his green worn-out travel backpack. He found a small piece of cheese and offered it to the puppy. Xolo gratefully accepted and ate with much vigor. He might have been here for some time, without food, thought Mat, but how did he get here?

After the offering of cheese, Xolo perked up and appeared less scared of Mat. The puppy eventually allowed Mat to pick him up and pet him on the back. Mat realized that Xolo had a little collar with a small tag. The tag was designed in the colors of the Mexican flag, with a vertical green stripe on the left, a vertical red stripe on the right, and a wide white stripe in the middle. Instead of the national coat of arms emblem found in the center of the official Mexican flag, the middle of the white stripe on Xolo’s tag had an interesting sign, something like graffiti, or perhaps it was a map.

Curious, Mat forgot for a second about his hardships and that he just gotten lost inside a Mexican cave, as he tried to figure out the meaning of the mysterious drawing.