The wise and the fearful
A group of ten geologists had been sent to Hungary to visit caves formed in the subsurface rock by the passage of thermal fluids. The group was led by a local geologist, who for many years had dedicated his life to studying the more than 200 caves in and around Budapest. They would spend a total of four days going in and out of these caves, photographing all the interesting features they could find and having long discussions on the spot about the various theories that have so far explained their formation. All young, interested people who had been working together for many years.
They were dressed in hiking boots, helmets and a speleologist's flashlight on their foreheads. In their hands they held field notebooks already full of observations made during the previous day's visits.
"Who's the capiau?" asked one of the geologists discreetly to the colleague next to her. It was then that the others noticed the presence of an unknown man who had inserted himself among them, while they were waiting for the entrance to the Pál-völgy cave to be arranged with the person in charge of the site. His colleague awkwardly spread his hands beside his face and raised his shoulders in a silent response, while the others laughed quietly at the criticism of the boy's simple appearance embedded in the question. One of the geologists approached the boy and asked him in English if he was also a geologist. "No", he replied in Portuguese, "I'm the driver of the van that brought you". "Aaaaaah," the others replied in chorus. And soon a series of questions rained down about where he was from and what he was doing in Hungary.
Kázmér had been born in Santa Catarina, the son of Hungarian descendants. His great-great-grandparents had emigrated from Hungary in the mid-19th century. To escape poverty, they ended up settling in Brazil, deceived by Dom Pedro's promises of economic advantages. Abandoned in distant lands, without tools or government support, they struggled against hunger and isolation. A century and a half later, their descendants were still struggling to survive in their adoptive country, now sunk in an economic recession. So, a few years after Hungary joined the European Union, Kázmér returned to his ancestors' country of origin in search of better opportunities.
However, life in Hungary wasn't easy for immigrants either. In this country, governed by the ultra-right and with a Catholic tradition, Kázmer looked to religion for acceptance and solace from his social isolation. During the week, he grew red peppers on his relatives' land. At weekends, he worked odd jobs to earn extra money, driving an acquaintance's van. It was during one of these odd jobs that Kázmer asked the group's coordinator to go with them to the Pál-völgy cave, famous in the region for its size, the beauty of its immense vaulted halls and its stalactites and stalagmites. While the group examined the detailed model of the cave, the young man, happy with the attention he was receiving from his fellow countrymen, was subjected to a barrage of questions.
Finally, the group entered the cave, descending a staircase that never seemed to end. Out of a total of 31 km of interconnected galleries, they were only going to visit a small section of the cave, made up of several floors of tunnels and passages. The interior of this cave was fresh, the galleries spacious and the paths well paved, specially prepared for tourists to visit. When Kázmér found himself confined in this underground space, he was extremely impressed. His lips, in an incessant movement, began an almost inaudible prayer, while the beads of a rosary slid between his fingers.
The group, entertained by the coordinator's explanations, ignored what was going on among them. When the teacher had finished explaining, Marcos, the gentle geologist, noticed Kázmér's nervousness and explained to the boy that the cave had been open to tourists for over 100 years and that there had never been any problems with it collapsing. He finally seemed to calm down. Around lunchtime, the group decided to return to the van, where Kázmér took over the driving.
In the afternoon, the geologists went to visit a cave that is not open to tourists and which is located under the luxurious facilities of the Gellert Thermal Baths. On the surface, there is a beautiful spa, full of Art Nouveau stained glass windows, Roman-style pools with hot water and walls decorated with colored tiles. Customers of this spa are entitled to all the best. However, carved into the rock beneath the spa, there is a dark and unwelcoming tunnel that leads to the cave where the eighteen hot springs that feed the heated pools of the Termas Géllert flow. The tunnel was more like a sauna: super-hot and full of water vapor. As the group progressed, the smell of sulphur became more and more unbearable as they approached the sulphurous springs.
When the geologists finally reached the end of the tunnel, 40m below the surface, they heard a deafening groan. The whole group looked at each other, frightened. Kázmér, who had been trying to contain himself until then, abandoned himself to despair. He fell to his knees and, weeping, asked God to forgive him. "Lord, I know I've sinned, but I don't believe I deserve to be thrown into the fires of hell. Please deliver me from Lucifer's hands!". The group coordinator, stunned by the scene, knelt down beside him and explained in Hungarian that there was nothing to be afraid of. That the noise was generated by the streetcar passing overhead, and that the heat and smell of sulphur came from the hot springs. "Kázmér, please calm down. Come with me. Let's get out of here. It's cooler outside, you'll feel better."
In the evening, the group of geologists went for dinner and drinks in a restaurant in Pest, the newest part of the city. One of them, already a bit woozy from drinking so much beer, mocked the capiau. "Lord, forgive me! Get me out of this hell!" he said, while his colleagues looked at him in dismay, their faces serious. "Look at you, making fun of the guy! You're the one who felt the most fear in the cave!", commented one of his colleagues. At a table a little further on, the teacher shook his head in dismay as he watched the scene. With half-closed lips, he muttered to himself, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and humility is before honor (Proverbs 15:33)".
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