Fear will not be enough reason for Miguel to desist in his quest to discover what Doña Santina is hiding, and although the mere memory of her cold and penetrating gaze makes his body shudder, his determination will guide him in his risky search for the truth.
Will Miguel succeed in discovering what his neighbor is hiding or will his youth become a double-edged sword for our young protagonist?
During the short trip to the market, Miguel did not miss the opportunity to question his mother about the smallest detail of his new and mysterious neighbor.
That little woman with the frightening look had set off all his alarms with her arrival in the middle of the night, and the information he got from his mother only fueled his curiosity.
According to Magda, although his stay in town had been what could be considered "normal", there were some circumstances surrounding his departure that seemed really suspicious to him.
She had moved to town with her husband and young daughter Leticia when her mother was still a teenager. Magda described her as a kind woman, always helpful and although strong-willed, a very loving mother.
Her daughter Leti, as she affectionately called her, was the center of her life and when her husband passed away she became her faithful companion.
As the years went by, Leticia became pregnant by a young man from the village, and when Juan did not care for her and the child, far from being a disgrace, Doña Santina, who was reluctant to accept that her daughter could form her own family and abandon her, saw it as a blessing.
As the due date approached, they were forced to move to the capital, since Leti would need special care and what happened to them until the day of Doña Santina's arrival was one of the greatest mysteries of the town.
Their neighbors, worried about the passage of time, had no news of the travelers and did everything possible to contact them, but their attempts were in vain. It seemed that the earth had swallowed them up.
After a while they finally resigned themselves and stopped looking for them and now after sixteen years they were there, or at least Doña Santina was.
Miguel, curious by nature, gladly took on the challenge of discovering what was hidden behind it all. There were too many questions to remain unanswered.
Why were Doña Santina and her daughter not heard from for so many years?
What happened to make them disappear like that and why had they decided to return just now?
That's assuming that Leticia had returned with Doña Santina, and if so, where was her son? Because Miguel had definitely not seen them. Unless they had entered the house before being awakened by the removal men.
"Yet another thing to discover " thought Miguel as he organized his thoughts.
However, the most important question on his list and the one that grabbed all his attention was what was hiding in that cage. The shriek that came from inside was something he would never forget.
And so, engrossed in a sea of conjecture and without even realizing it, they had already returned home.
He helped put away the groceries and went straight to his room. He had a lot of thinking and planning to do.
For now he was grateful that his room was so well located and from there he could watch any movement of Doña Santina, he just had to be very careful not to be caught in the act and of course to put his plan into action as soon as possible.
For this he already had something in mind and his mother would be nothing more and nothing less than the perfect piece for his first move. So determined to clear a few doubts that very day he left his room in search of his mother.
"Mom, where are you? " Miguel called but received no answer. He tried again and this time his sister Luisa answered. His mother had gone out to visit the new neighbor.
Miguel couldn't believe his luck, he didn't even need to put his first move into practice. And without thinking twice he left his house to go to Doña Santina's. He knocked on the door and waited for her to come home. He knocked on the door and waited.
After a few seconds a thin, dark-haired woman appeared, taking Miguel, who was expecting to meet the old lady, completely by surprise.
"Good afternoon, is Mrs. Magda here?" asked Miguel shyly. "I am her so"
"Yes, she is here. Come on" Said the woman as she opened the door.
"This must be Leticia " thought Miguel, somewhat disappointed, who was expecting a little more mystery in this whole situation.
And indeed, after the respective introductions, he could see that it was Doña Santina's daughter and although he managed to cross one of the questions off his list, he was not really pleased.
"There is still to discover what they are hiding in the cage " Miguel thought to himself, trying to cheer himself up.
He took a seat next to his mother and while the women were talking, he looked around every little corner of the house in search of any clue that would lead him to unveil the secret that Doña Santina and her daughter were hiding.
The large living room still looked messy because of the move. At that moment Miguel realized that he had missed a good part of the story because he did not see many of the pieces of furniture that had been placed in the room when he got off the truck. That explained why he hadn't seen Leticia.
But... And where was her son? Miguel wondered, who so far had not seen the slightest trace of her existence. Some carelessly placed photographs were on a shelf near him, but none of them were accompanied.
From the living room, the view opened onto the courtyard. It was almost entirely visible from where Miguel was sitting, and except for a few trees, it was completely clear. There was no sign of the huge cage anywhere and that detail alone kept the flame of curiosity burning inside him.
After a few minutes his mother said goodbye to the neighbors and Miguel, quite satisfied with the results of the afternoon, was ready to interrogate Magda.
As soon as they arrived home, Miguel mentally organized his questions so as not to raise suspicions, his mother was very perceptive, he had inherited it from her, so he had to be careful.
He asked some very vague questions about his neighbors, mostly focused on the past and as soon as Magda mentioned Leticia's pregnancy, he saw his chance and took it.
Trying to sound casual and hide his true intentions he asked about Leticia's baby, to which Magda without much explanation simply replied that it had died at birth. She immediately warned Miguel not to mention the subject to Doña Santina or Leti.
Promising by all the Saints not to say anything, Miguel said goodbye to his mother and went straight to his room.
After his findings of the afternoon, his curiosity exceeded all limits. If it wasn't Leticia or her son, who was in that cage and more importantly, where was it.
It was big enough not to go unnoticed and the only place in the house where it could be would be the patio, but that option had already been completely discarded during his fleeting visit to Doña Santina's house.
From that day on, Miguel's sleeping hours began to be intermittent. Every now and then he would wake up to look through his blind. He was determined to find out what his neighbor was hiding.
During his first two weeks of surveillance absolutely nothing happened. Miguel was beginning to feel that he was wasting his time imagining things as his sister used to say. But finally something caught his attention.
Late one Sunday night, engrossed in his surveillance duties, he saw Leticia poke her head out of the door, looked both ways and decided to go out.
With her hair and part of her face covered with a kind of blanket Leticia left the house with nothing but a small cloth bag rolled up in her hands.
She quickly got out of sight leaving Miguel waiting impatiently for her return.
After an hour that felt like an eternity to the boy, Leticia returned home with the same bag, only this time it was full.
Miguel didn't know whether to attribute what he saw to lack of sleep or some visual effect produced by the blind but he could swear that whatever was inside was moving.
This event was followed by two weeks of absolute inactivity, and then the same story repeated itself. That night Miguel decided it was time to take more drastic measures. Something very dark was going on in that house and the only way to find out was to find the cage.
He had to get into Doña Santina's house.
He planned his strategy all night long and the next morning without any sleep at all he ate his breakfast and headed for Doña Santina's house.
He knocked on the door determined to find out at all costs what was going on and once again his long hours of planning proved unnecessary.
Doña Santina greeted him with a smile he had never seen before, which made Miguel regret having knocked on her door.
Something was really wrong, but there was no turning back.
He crossed the door trying to look calm when in reality he wanted to run out of that place and escape from the clutches of the old woman.
That day Doña Santina looked like another woman, she made him take a seat at the kitchen table and served him a cup of hot chocolate that Miguel had the precaution of refusing alleging intestinal problems.
"You have fallen from heaven " said the old woman who explained to the boy that she was about to go to look for him to help them with some chores that were a little difficult for her and her daughter.
Miguel could not believe what he was hearing and became convinced that something terrible was about to happen to him. Nothing that was happening was normal, but he wanted to stay.
Determined to take sides in the situation and leaving aside his worries, he went to the courtyard where the old woman asked him for help with some branches from the trees.
He looked all over the place to finally convince himself that the cage was not in the yard. At this point Miguel began to doubt his sanity.
He wondered if he had really seen the cage, if all that was not a figment of his imagination or one of those strange dreams of his that seemed to be real.
"And the scream? I'm sure I heard that scream, in fact, even the animals heard it " Miguel thought as he finished with the last of the trees.
"Ready, Doña Santina, can I help you with anything else? " he asked the old woman who was sitting in a rocking chair a few meters away without taking her eyes off the boy.
"Do you know how to paint? The whole house needs a coat of paint " said the old woman getting up from the rocking chair. "Come in so I can show you the rooms".
Miguel's heart was beating uncontrollably, two things were going through his mind, escape from there with some excuse or keep his fear to himself and end all this once and for all.
He decided on the latter and went after the old woman.
"Sorry about the darkness. Light bulbs need to be put in " she said as she led him down the long hallway, which, given its location, received no sunlight.
Miguel's heart was beating so fast that he was about to run away, after all he was practically a child and he was far from being the famous detective of those stories he liked to watch so much. He thought as he walked a few steps behind Doña Santina.
Finally they reached the first room. Indeed the walls needed to be painted, the blue that covered them looked faded, especially in the places where the sun's rays came directly through the window.
Maybe he was worrying for no reason.
At that point Miguel was hyperventilating, both from the fear of being in that place and from the thrill of having dared to stay there in spite of everything.
Back in the living room, having the exit door so close gave him some peace of mind and even though he was sweating profusely, he refused to drink the lemonade offered by Leticia.
Doña Santina went on and on about the small repairs the house needed, while Miguel sat in front of them and began to feel disappointed.
He had a golden opportunity to discover the mystery that was hidden around these two women and he had not been able to find the slightest clue.
What had escaped him, where he had not looked. Was he going crazy?
The three rooms of the house, although quite spacious, did not hide the cage he had seen coming down from the moving truck.
Had he really seen it? This was driving Miguel crazy and without being able to tell anyone about his doubts and adventures he had no choice but to give up.
The cage was not in the house, that was for sure. Nor had it been taken out, since something of that size was impossible for it to go unnoticed.
He remained seated pretending to listen to the old woman while his head and his whole body fell little by little into a spiral into which his thoughts and emotions were dragging him completely.
"Excuse me Doña Santina, I must go home " he excused himself as he got up from his seat and headed for the door. He felt defeated, but above all confused. He found it hard to accept that it had all been a figment of his imagination or the result of still being asleep.
He said goodbye and crossed the street to his house. His sister said something to him that he did not hear and continued on to his room.
He closed the blind and with this act, he symbolically ended it all. He took his headphones, closed his eyes and went to sleep. Something he hadn't done in a long time.
"Mom, she closed the shutter " Leticia announced and a macabre smile appeared on Doña Santina's face.
"I told you it would work " she said as she pulled back the carpet, revealing the entrance to the basement.
El temor no será motivo suficiente para que Miguel desista en su afán de descubrir qué oculta Doña Santina y aunque el sólo hecho de recordar su fría y penetrante mirada hace estremecer su cuerpo, su determinación lo guiará en su arriesgada búsqueda de la verdad.
¿Logrará Miguel descubrir qué oculta su vecina o su juventud se convertirá en un arma de doble filo para nuestro joven protagonista?
Durante el corto recorrido hacia el mercado Miguel no perdió oportunidad de interrogar a su madre sobre el más mínimo detalle de su nueva y misteriosa vecina.
Ésa pequeña mujer de mirada atemorizante con su llegada en plena madrugada había logrado activar todas sus alarmas y la información que obtuvo de su madre sólo avivó su curiosidad.
Según Magda aunque su estadía en el pueblo había sido lo que pudiera considerarse "normal", existieron algunas circunstancias al rededor de su partida que parecían realmente sospechosas para él.
Se había mudado al pueblo junto con su esposo y su pequeña hija Leticia cuando su mamá era aún adolescente. Magda la describió como una mujer amable, siempre colaboradora y aunque de carácter fuerte, una madre muy cariñosa.
Su hija Leti, como le decía cariñosamente era el centro de su vida y cuando falleció su esposo se convirtió en su fiel compañera.
Con el paso de los años Leticia se embarazó de un jóven del pueblo y cuando Juan se desentendió de la criatura y de ella, lejos de ser una desgracia, Doña Santina, quien se nagaba a aceptar que su hija pudiera formar su propia familia y la abandonara, lo vió como una bendición.
Al acercarse la fecha del parto se vieron obligadas a mudarse a la capital, ya que Leti necesitaría cuidados especiales y lo que pasó con ellas hasta el día de la llegada de Doña Santina era uno de los misterios más grandes del pueblo.
Sus vecinos preocupados por el paso del tiempo, al no tener noticias de las viajeras hicieron todo lo posible por contactarlas, pero sus intentos fueron en vano. Parecía que se las había tragado la tierra.
Después de un tiempo finalmente se resignaron y dejaron de buscarlas y ahora luego de dieciséis años estaban ahí, o por lo menos Doña Santina lo estaba.
Miguel, curioso por naturaleza, asumió complacido el desafío de descubrir lo que se ocultaba detrás de todo aquello. Eran demasiadas preguntas para quedar sin respuestas.
¿Por qué no se supo de Doña Santina y su hija durante tantos años?
¿Qué sucedió para que desaparecieran de ésa manera y por qué habían decido regresar justo ahora?
Eso asumiendo que Leticia hubiese regresado con Doña Santina, y en caso de ser así ¿dónde estaba su hijo? Porque definitivamente Miguel no los había visto. A menos que hubiesen entrado a la casa antes de ser despertado por los hombres de la mudanza.
"Otra cosa más por descubrir" pensó Miguel mientras organizaba sus ideas.
Sin embargo la pregunta más importante en su lista y la que acaparaba toda su atención era qué se escondía en esa jaula. El alarido que salió de su interior era algo que jamás podría olvidar.
Y así, absorto en un mar de conjeturas y sin siquiera darse cuenta ya habían regresado a casa.
Ayudó a guardar las compras y se fue directo a su habitación. Tenía mucho que pensar y planificar.
Por lo pronto agradecía que su habitación se encontrara tan bien ubicada y desde ahí poder vigilar cualquier movimiento de Doña Santina, sólo tenía que ser muy cuidadoso para no ser atrapado en el acto y por supuesto echar a andar su plan lo antes posible.
Para ello ya tenía algo en mente y su madre sería nada más y nada menos la pieza perfecta para su primer movimiento. Así que decidido a despejar unas cuantas dudas ese mismo día salió de su habitación en búsqueda de su madre.
"Mamá, dónde estás?" llamó Miguel sin recibir respuesta. Un nuevo intento y ésta vez su hermana Luisa respondió. Su madre había salido a visitar a la nueva vecina.
Miguel no podía creer su suerte, ni siquiera tuvo necesidad de poner en práctica su primera jugada. Y sin pensarlo dos veces salió de su casa en dirección a la de Doña Santina. Tocó a la puerta y esperó.
Pasados pocos segundos apareció una mujer delgada, de cabello oscuro tomando completamente por sorpresa a Miguel quien esperaba encontrarse con la anciana.
"Buenas tardes, la señora Magda está aquí?" preguntó Miguel con timidez. "Yo soy su hijo".
"Sí, está aquí. Pasa adelante". Dijo la mujer mientras abría la puerta.
"Ésta debe ser Leticia" pensó Miguel algo decepcionado quien esperaba un poco más de misterio en toda esta situación.
Y efectivamente luego de las respectivas presentaciones pudo constatar que se trataba de la hija de Doña Santina y aunque logró tachar una de las interrogantes de su lista no estaba realmente complacido.
"Aún falta por descubrir lo que esconden en la jaula" pensó para sus adentros Miguel tratando de darse ánimos.
Tomó asiento junto a su madre y mientras las mujeres conversaban recorría con la mirada cada pequeño rincón de la casa en busca de cualquier indicio que lo llevase a develar el secreto que ocultaban Doña Santina y su hija.
La sala de gran tamaño, lucía aún desordenada a causa de la mudanza. En ése momento Miguel pudo darse cuenta que se había perdido una buena parte de la historia pues muchos de los muebles dispuestos en el lugar no los vió bajar del camión. Éso explicaba el por qué no había visto a Leticia.
Pero... ¿y su hijo, dónde estaba? Se cuestionaba Miguel, quien hasta los momentos no había visto el menor rastro de su existencia. Algunas fotografías colocadas al descuido se encontraban en una repisa cercana a él, pero en ninguna de ellas se las veía acompañadas.
Desde la sala, la vista se abría hacia el patio. Se podía observar casi en su totalidad desde donde estaba sentado Miguel y salvo algunos árboles, se encontraba completamente despejado. Por ninguna parte había indicios de la enorme jaula y ése solo detalle mantuvo la llama de la curiosidad ardiendo en su interior.
Pasados unos minutos su madre se despedía de las vecinas y Miguel bastante satisfecho por los resultados de la tarde se disponía a interrogar a Magda.
Ni bien llegaron a casa Miguel organizó mentalmente sus preguntas para no levantar sospechas, su madre era muy perspicaz, de ella lo había heredado, así que debía andarse con cuidado.
Hizo algunas preguntas muy vagas sobre sus vecinas, enfocadas sobre todo hacia el pasado y en cuanto Magda mencionó el embarazo de Leticia, vió su oportunidad y la tomó.
Tratando de sonar casual y ocultar sus verdaderas inteciones preguntó por el bebé de Leticia, a lo que Magda sin grandes explicaciones se limitó a responder que había muerto al nacer. Advirtiendo inmediatamente a Miguel no mencionar el tema a Doña Santina o Leti.
Prometiendo por todos los Santos no decir nada, Miguel se despidió de su madre y fue directo a su habitación.
Después de sus hallazgos de la tarde su curiosidad rebasaba todo límite. Si no se trataba de Leticia o de su hijo, quién estaba en esa jaula y más importante aún, dónde estaba.
Era lo suficientemente grande como para no pasar desapercibida y el único lugar de la casa donde pudiese estar sería el patio pero esa opción ya había sido descartada por completo en su fugaz visita a casa de Doña Santina.
Desde ése día las horas de sueño de Miguel comenzaron a ser intermitentes. Cada tanto despertaba para mirar a través de su persiana. Estaba decidido a descubrir qué ocultaba su vecina.
Durante sus dos primeras semanas de vigilancia no pasó absolutamente nada. Miguel comenzaba a sentir que perdía su tiempo imaginando cosas como solía decir su hermana. Pero finalmente algo llamó su atención.
Un domingo ya muy entrada la noche, absorto en sus labores de vigilancia, vió a Leticia asomar su cabeza por la puerta, miró hacia los dos lados y decidió salir.
Con el cabello y parte de su cara cubierta con una especie de manta Leticia salió de casa sin nada más que un pequeño bolso de tela enrollado en sus manos.
Rápidamente se perdió de vista dejando a Miguel esperando impacientemente por su regreso.
Después de una hora que para el chico se sintió como una eternidad Leticia regresó a casa con el mismo bolso, sólo que ésta vez estaba lleno.
Miguel no sabía si atribuir lo que veía a la falta de sueño o a algún efecto visual que producía la persiana pero podría jurar que lo que estaba dentro se estaba moviendo.
A éste evento le siguieron dos semanas de absoluta inactividad, para luego repetirse la misma historia. Ésa noche Miguel decidió que ya era hora de tomar medidas más drásticas. Algo muy oscuro sucedía en esa casa y la única manera de descubrirlo era encontrando la jaula.
Debía entrar a casa de Doña Santina.
Planificó su estrategia durante toda la noche y a la mañana siguiente sin haber dormido absolutamente nada tomó su desayuno y salió en dirección a casa de Doña Santina.
Golpeó la puerta determinado a descubrir a toda costa lo que sucedía y una vez más su largas horas de planificación resultaron innecesarias.
Doña Santina lo recibió con una sonrisa hasta ahora desconocida para el, lo que hizo que Miguel en ése preciso instante se arrepintiera de haber tocado a su puerta.
Algo estaba realmente mal, pero ya no había marcha atrás.
Cruzó la puerta tratando de parecer calmado cuando en realidad quería salir corriendo de ése lugar y escapar de las garras de la anciana.
Ése día Doña Santina parecía otra mujer, le hizo tomar asiento en la mesa de la cocina y le sirvió una taza de chocolate caliente que Miguel tuvo la precaución de rechazar alegando problemas intestinales.
"Me has caído del cielo" dijo la anciana quien explicó al chico que estaba por ir a buscarlo para que las ayudara con algunas tareas que se le dificultaban un poco a ella y su hija.
Miguel no daba crédito a lo que escuchaba y terminó de convencerse que algo terrible estaba por sucederle. No era normal nada de lo que estaba ocurriendo sin embargo quiso quedarse.
Decidido a tomar partido de la situación y dejando de lado sus preocupaciones se dirigió al patio donde la anciana le pidió ayuda con algunas ramas de los árboles.
Recorrió con la vista todo el lugar para finalmente convencerse que efectivamente la jaula no estaba en el patio. A esas alturas Miguel comenzó a dudar de su cordura.
Se preguntaba si realmente había visto la jaula, si todo aquello no sería producto de su imaginación o uno de esos extraños sueños suyos que parecían ser reales.
"¿Y el grito? Estoy seguro que escuché ese grito, es más, hasta los animales los escucharon" pensaba Miguel mientras terminaba con el último de los árboles.
"Listo Doña Santina. ¿La ayudo en algo más?" preguntó a la anciana que se encontraba sentada en una mecedora a pocos metros sin despegar la vista del muchacho.
"¿Sabes pintar? Toda la casa necesita una mano de pintura" dijo la anciana levantándose de la mecedora. "Pasa para mostrarte las habitaciones".
El corazón de Miguel latía sin control, dos cosas pasaban por su mente, escapar de ahí con alguna excusa o guardarse el miedo y terminar de una vez por todas con todo esto.
Se decidió por lo segundo y fue detrás de la anciana.
"Disculpa la oscuridad. Hay que colocar bombillos" dijo mientras lo conducía por el largo pasillo, que dada su ubicación no recibía luz solar.
El corazón de Miguel latía tan aceleradamente que estuvo a punto de salir corriendo, a fin de cuentas era prácticamente un niño y estaba lejos de ser el famoso detective de esas historias que tanto le gustaba ver. Pensó mientras caminaba unos pasos detrás de Doña Santina.
Finalmente llegaron a la primera habitación . Efectivamente las paredes necesitaban ser pintadas, el azul que las cubría lucía descolorido, sobre todo en los lugares donde los rayos del sol entraban directamente por la ventana.
Quizá se estaba preocupando sin razón.
En ése punto Miguel estaba hiperventilando, tanto por el temor que le ocasionaba estar en ese lugar como por la emoción de haberse atrevido a seguir ahí a pesar de todo.
De vuelta en la sala el tener la puerta de salida tan cerca le brindo cierta tranquilidad y a pesar de estar sudando copiosamente se negó a tomar la limonada que le ofreciera Leticia.
Doña Santina seguía hablando sin parar sobre las pequeñas reparaciones que necesitaba la casa, mientras Miguel sentado frente a ellas comenzaba a sentirse decepcionado.
Tuvo una oportunidad de oro para descubrir el misterio que se escondía al rededor de éstas dos mujeres y no había sido capaz de encontrar el más mínimo indicio.
¿Qué se le había escapado , dónde no había mirado. Se estaría volviendo loco?
Las tres habitaciones de la casa aunque bastante amplias no escondían la jaula que había visto bajar del camión de mudanza.
¿Realmente la había visto? Ésto estaba enloqueciendo a Miguel a quien sin poder contarle a nadie sus dudas y aventuras no le quedaba otra alternativa que darse por vencido.
La jaula no estaba en la casa, eso era seguro. Tampoco la habían sacado, pues algo de ése tamaño era imposible que pasara desapercibido.
Permanecía sentado fingiendo escuchar a la anciana mientras su cabeza y su cuerpo entero caían poco a poco en un espiral al que sus pensamientos y emociones lo arrastraban por completo.
"Disculpe Doña Santina, debo ir a casa" se excuso mientras se levantaba del asiento que ocupaba encaminadose hacia la puerta. Se sentía derrotado, pero sobre todo confundido. Le costaba aceptar que todo había sido producto de su imaginación o resultado de estar aún adormecido.
Se despidió y cruzó la calle hasta llegar a su casa. Su hermana le dijo algo que no alcanzó a escuchar y siguió de largo a su habitación.
Cerró la persiana y con éste acto, simbólicamente dió todo por terminado. Tomó sus audífonos, cerró los ojos y se dispuso a dormir. Cosa que no hacía hace muchísimo tiempo.
"Mamá, cerró la persiana" anunció Leticia y en el rostro de Doña Santina se dibujó una macabra sonrisa.
"Te dije que funcionaria" dijo mientras corría la alfombra, dejando al descubierto la entrada del sótano.
Fotografía por:| Photography by:
@rlathulerie, Redmi 9 AI QUAD
Edición por:| Edtion by:
@rlathulerie on Canva
Traducido con:| Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)