My God.
My blood ran cold instantly.
It was NOT what I imagined.
It wasn’t Mr. Arnaldo’s hand.
It wasn’t Lucas.
It was… something more.
A shadow.
But not just any shadow. It was as if darkness itself had taken shape, clinging to Mr. Arnaldo’s body like a second skin, breathing slowly. It moved independently, as if it had a will of its own.
My eyes opened so wide they hurt.
“What… is… that?” I whispered, my voice breaking.
Lucas sat up startled.
But I couldn’t look away.
The thing… that thing… slithered down his father’s back, as if searching for something. Its edges were blurry, almost liquid, and every time it moved, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
Then it happened.
The shadow stopped.
And slowly… turned towards me.
He had no face.
But I knew he was watching me.
I felt a cold that wasn’t physical, but something deeper, something that pierced my chest like an icy needle.
“No…” I murmured, backing away.
Mr. Arnaldo frowned.
—What’s wrong, girl?
But as soon as she said that, her voice changed.
It got worse.
More… hollow.
As if two voices were speaking at the same time.
Lucas looked at him, confused.
—Dad… are you okay?
Mr. Arnaldo did not respond.
His eyes… Oh my God… his eyes.
They grew dark.
Not completely black, but dull, as if something behind them had taken control.
The shadow then slid down from his back… and fell onto the bed.
And he began to crawl.
Towards me.
I screamed.
I jumped out of bed and fell to the floor, hitting my knee, but I didn’t feel the pain.
—DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!
Lucas stood up suddenly.
—What the hell is going on?!
But just as he tried to take a step, his father grabbed his arm with brutal force.
—Don’t move.
It wasn’t an order.
It was a threat.
And that voice… wasn’t entirely his own.
The shadow moved slowly across the sheets, distorting the fabric as it went, as if it were a thick liquid.
I was crawling backwards, my heart beating so hard I thought it was going to explode.
“This… this isn’t a tradition,” I said, tears welling in my eyes. “This is something else…”
Mr. Arnaldo turned his head towards me, in an unnatural way, too rigidly.
—Every tradition… has an origin.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Lucas swallowed hard.
—Dad… what did you do?
For the first time… Mr. Arnaldo hesitated.
Just one second.
But it was enough.
“I… had no choice,” he murmured.
The shadow stopped.
And then… he spoke.
Yeah.
SPEAK.
But not with normal words.
It was a whisper that seemed to come from everywhere at the same time.
—Blood… continuity… promise…
I covered my ears.
-IT JUST IS!
The lamp began to flicker violently.
The room shook.
And then, as if someone had pulled an invisible thread, the shadow lunged towards me.
But at the last second…
Lucas intervened.
—DON’T TOUCH HER!
The shadow crashed into him.
And at that moment…
Lucas shouted.
A heart-wrenching scream, full of pure pain.
His body tensed, as if he were being pierced by something invisible.
—¡LUCAS!
I ran towards him, but Mr. Arnaldo pushed me away.
—¡No!
—Let me go!
“You don’t understand!” he shouted, desperate. “If you interrupt him, it will only get worse!”
—WORSE THAN THIS?!
The shadow partially enveloped Lucas now, as if trying to get inside him.
Her skin turned pale.
Her eyes… empty.
“Love…” I whispered, trembling. “Hold on…”
Mr. Arnaldo fell to his knees.
“Forgive me… forgive me…” he repeated. “I went through this too…”
I felt like something wasn’t right.
-What do you mean?
She looked up, her eyes filled with guilt.
—My father… did the same to me.
The world seemed to stop.
-That?
—And his father before him… —he continued—. It’s a pact. A curse. Something passed down on the first night… to ensure the “male lineage.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” I said, horrified. “That’s… that’s monstrous!”
“I know…” he whispered. “But if it’s not done… the entity takes something worse.”
The shadow stirred violently, as if it had heard those words.
Lucas shouted again.
And then…
Silence fell.
Total.
The shadow disappeared.
Just like that… without further ado.
Lucas fell to the ground, unconscious.
I ran towards him.
—Lucas! Lucas, wake up!
He was breathing.
But weakly.
Mr. Arnaldo remained motionless, staring into space.
“That’s it,” he said. “He’s already chosen it.”
—What… did you choose?
He did not respond immediately.
When he did, his voice was barely a whisper.
—The container.
I felt a knot in my stomach.
-Who?
He slowly raised his gaze.
And he looked at me.
The world broke in that instant.
“No…” I stepped back. “No… that can’t be…”
“Now you’re part of it,” he said. “Like my mother was… like her mother before her…”
—¡NO!
I got up and ran towards the door.
I opened it suddenly.
But…
There was nothing.
Only darkness.
The house… was no longer the same.
The walls seemed longer, the corridors misshapen.
As if she were trapped somewhere else.
“You can’t leave,” said the voice behind me.
It wasn’t Mr. Arnaldo.
It was… that thing.
I turned around slowly.
And there it was.
No longer like a diffuse shadow.
Now it had a shape.
Human.
But incorrect.
Too high.
Too thin.
With limbs that didn’t fit together well.
And a face…
That it shouldn’t exist.
—Promise… kept —she whispered.
I felt my legs stop responding.
I fell to the ground.
—What… do you want from me?
He leaned towards me.
-Continue.
Tears ran down my face.
—At what price?
He did not respond.
But it wasn’t necessary.
I understood.
Everything.
The tradition.
The sacrifice.
The lie.
This was never about having a child.
It was about keeping something alive.
Something old.
A little hungry.
I closed my eyes.
And then…
I heard something.
A voice.
Weak.
—No… don’t…
I opened my eyes.
Lucas.
I was awake.
Weak, but conscious.
—Lucas…
“Listen to me…” she said, with effort. “My father… never broke the cycle…”
“How does it break?” I asked, desperate.
His eyes locked onto mine.
—By denying it.
Mr. Arnaldo shouted.
—¡NO!
“That’s a lie!” he said. “If you do it, we’ll all die!”
The creature stopped.
As if he were watching.
Waiting.
A decision.
I took a deep breath.
My heart was beating strongly.
I looked at Lucas.
Then to Mr. Arnaldo.
And finally…
About that.
—No—I said.
Silence.
—I’m not going to continue this.
The creature tensed up.
“No…” she repeated, this time forcefully. “I am not your vessel.”
The room shook violently.
—¡NO!
The entity screamed.
An inhuman, heartbreaking sound.
The walls began to crack.
The air became heavy.
“What did you do?!” shouted Mr. Arnaldo.
But it was too late.
The creature began to disintegrate.
As if its shape could not be sustained.
—Promise… broken…
“Yes!” I shouted. “Broken!”
Lucas crawled towards me.
He took my hand.
-Together.
The light exploded.
A white flash.
And then…
Silence.
When I opened my eyes…
It was daytime.
The room was untouched.
Lucas was next to me.
Mr. Arnaldo… no.
We never found his body.
Nor any explanation.
Only one thing changed.
The house… felt empty.
As if something had been uprooted.
Forever.
Months later, we moved far away.
Very far.
To another city.
Hereafter.
But sometimes…
On the quietest nights…
I feel something.
A memory.
A shiver.
And although it all ended…
I know one thing for sure.
Some traditions…
They should never have existed.