Week 42: June 7th-11th,,2021

Umbra Resume
When I opened my eyes, I was lying with a towel on my forehead and the sun shining
through the window. Águeda, Damien, and my father looked at me with worry. Maritere
replaced the towel with a damper one.

-You are finally awake - she said.

-What happened?

-Almost nothing, the old lady's ghost just proved to you she's ready to fight.

She has accepted your challenge.

-I had many visions in the warehouse's darkness. Many things from the past were
revealed to me.

-Rest. The past doesn't matter. What matters is the future.

-Well, I can't stand this anymore. Let's do the ceremony or whatever we

have to do. I want this to finally end.

-Good, we just need you to get stronger. I'll fetch the roots and the water,

so as soon as you get up we'll start praying, and follow up with this...

-Let's do it

I wanted to tell Águeda to stay by my side, to ask my father to take care of

Damien. But I didn't say a thing. I was exhausted. I asked all of them to leave

me alone. It was time to stay quiet and to look for the strength within me.

When Maritere left the room, followed by my family, they closed the door

and remained attentive to the sounds around me, to the figures which

surrounded my bed, to the pictures on the walls. I couldn't hear a thing,

nothing moved.

Hours went by, but I wasn't able to sleep, I was still alert of my surroundings.

It was then, when the door squeaked and a second later Anton's face

appeared before me with a cigarette in his right hand and a big smile.

I was happy to see him.

 Week 42: June 7th-11th,,2021

- bring another dream catcher. This is for you. Pin it on the wall on the right

when you stand up, next to your bed. It will work together with all the other.

Tall, dark, with a sober dress, she had her gray hair tied in her regular bun

on her nape. A locket was hung from a chain over her chest. He had a

cane in one hand and a ring on the other one. The sleeve cuffs were made

of white lace and her bony hands. The most frightening were the dark

circles that make her black eyes deeper

. They were raven eyes, murdering,

maddening

This time, the old lady wasn't laughing, she wasn't pointing her cane at me.

She was serious, mad, her eyes fixed on me. In spite of the darkness of the

place, I could see her clearly and I held her stare.

Tiny claws came from under the bed and crawled to the mattress. Those

were the cursed creatures that appeared by dozens. Some ran as rats to

the feet of the old lady, others were crawling like snakes. They were slimy,

with long tails and demon faces. Their eyes distilled hatred and disgust.

They had sharp fangs and viper tongues that showed from their green and

brown pig faces

The image of the witch with her feet covered by demons froze my blood. I

was still immobile, looking expectantly the infernal scene. The woman came

closer to me. She floated towards me, at the time that the small demons

followed her feet. At my first attempt to raise my hand the cane came out

from the black air and stayed a few inches away from my face. The smell

was hideous.

-Do you want to play? -The ghost asked.

I couldn't answer, my tongue was tied,

 Week 42: June 7th-11th,,2021

-Do you want to play, son of a prostitute? -She asked again moving the

point of her cane.

it's time to introduce ourselves, pig -she continued-. You are life, it is

assumed. I'm the virgin and martyr of Umbra. The world of the corpses, I'm

your future. And you are a worthless piece of crap that soon will disappear.

I'll keep your most valuable possessions: your wife will be mine, your son

will kiss my hands and I'll kill your father. I'll wake up being you, and no one

will ever know about you anymore.

-Go to hell, hideous witch – wanted to yell. But my throat was stiff and my

jaw was unable to move,

-Creatures like you don't deserve to live, you are a failure. You should've

died before anyone in your family. You are a shame, who dare to be called

a man. You are no more that a cockroach. You never wanted to listen to

me, you always ran under your mommy's skirt. Damn writer or editor or

whatever you are. You are a whole of nothing, you aren't even a man.

squeezed the dream catcher in my hand, just my fingers began to move,

but my mouth couldn't express a thing. The old woman kept her cane

pointed at my eyes and continued insulting me.

-Poor idiot. Your father always hated you because he was aware of the

coward you really were. Your mom was grossed by you; picture her holding

you every night smelling like piss. The principal in your school noticed how

worthless you were and threw you from the institute because you are lame,

a waste. And now you take your fear out of your wife and kid. Stupid fool!

She doesn't love you and she's afraid of you because she knows you are

able to hit a defenseless little kid and to spit all your frustrations on him. How

gross to carry your seed in the belly.

 Week 42: June 7th-11th,,2021

The woman began to laugh.

-They'll soon know what a man is! Because you won't dwell that body

anymore, you won't waste my time anymore, it belongs to me! Not any

longer, dumbass. It's time to switch. But don't worry these creatures will take

you to Umbra from where you will never come back...

The old wench lowered her cane, nearer to my face. There was vomit on

her breath. For the first time ever, I felt both of her hands over my chest and a
burning feeling overran my body. But when she placed her skeletal palms

on me, the quartzes of the rosaries I wore on my chest began to shine.

have waited years for you, and you haven't done anything but to run away

from me. But today you're going to pay, moron because today you're going

to die as what you are...

Her sharp fingernails stabbed my chest, transgressing my skin. I felt again,

everything spinning around me.

Then, I saw myself lying in bed, pale, with an opened mouth as to breathe

my last breath, my lost sight, contracted muscles and my hands, now those

were my hands, stabbed over the deedless body on the bed.

saw myself dying

I was now the old lady.

Then, in one final effort, with all the energy that was left in my body, I could

move my right hand where I still kept the dream catcher. The ghost was

beginning to materialize and I hit it on the forehead stamping there the small

piece of fabric and red threads with all my strength.

The witch howled. The skin on her forehead tore apart; white worms came

from her temples. Beetles and cockroaches moved around her eating her

skin. She cried out again and I could finally move.

-You damned shrew! The one who is going to disappear forever is you!
 Week 42: June 7th-11th,,2021

You cursed old lady. You are death, death! And that's the way you will stay.

With the dream catcher in my hand, I threw myself over her. I could hit

her with the amulet, and at the same time she received each of my blows

she began to disappear; I could feel that I was getting covered by a bitter

humidity. Everything stunk around me. My clothes were wet and my hands

were besmeared with a slimy substance. The woman kept shouting at

every punch, and instead of attacking or making her demons come over.

Umbra Unknown Words

1. pernicious
2. bun
3. locket
4. lame
5. shrew
6. besmeared
7. slimy
8. deja vu
9. hallucination
10. bruise
11. apelike

12. pernicioso
13. bollo
14. medallón
15. aburrido
16. musaraña
17. manchado
18. baboso
19. deja Vu
20. alucinación
21. moretón
22. simiesco
Week 42: June 7th-11th,,2021