لالیورونا - قسمت دوم

I jump off the rock

and frantically run toward the direction of the car.

I step over a barbed wire fence pushing myself between trees breathing hard

trying to get as far as I can from the river but I fall to my knees.

I look up

and luckily

I am near the car.

“Carlos,” I whisper.

“Where are you?”

There is no reply as I look in every direction.

“Carlos”

I call out desperately.

But there is complete silence.

A sense of emptiness surrounds me and I don’t care for the Gallinas River anymore.

I get in the car

and sit on the driver’s seat wondering

if this is really happening to me.

It can’t be!

I squeeze the steering wheel with both hands realizing that

Carlos is probably trying to scare me.

I am about to get out of the car to find him.

when something catches my eye.

Just on the other side of the bridge is a woman.

below a flickering light pole.

She stares in my direction.

A chill runs down my back as I quickly reach over lock the doors

and jump over to the back seat.

My hands start to shake as I try to find what courage I have left.

I take a deep breath

and slowly peek over the seat.

And there she is

next to the car with her long black hair covering her face

and mud spattered on her white gown.

I gasp

fall to the seat

and cover my face in my hoodie pulling my knees against my chest in a fetal position keeping my body completely still.

I close my eyes

hoping that this is all a dream but as I hide like a coward the car starts to move back and forth with a sudden coldness in the air. I am about to scream

when I hear her voice.

“Where are my children” she whispers.

I hold my breath for a moment.

“mi hito”

“Mi hita”

she cries.

“Where are they?” I keep my eyes shut

praying to God that she didn’t see me or force herself into the car.

I don’t move

which seems forever

but to my surprise

the car stops moving

as I hear her feet dragging away.

I stay still for a moment but then I look through the window.

I see nothing

no woman

and no Carlos

only a jingle

next to the steering wheel.

I turn around

and the car keys are in the ignition.

I crawl over onto the seat anxious to drive away about to start the car when I am startled by a loud agonizing scream.

I cover my ears as I hear it again a horrible, painful scream.

I cringe while I reach for the keys and start the car.

“Boy!”

It is Carlos, my stepfather.

“Help me, boy.”

I hate when he calls me that.

As tears run down my face I put the car in drive to another loud disturbing scream

but all I can think about is my dad and how he taught me to drive before he died.

“Wait for me,” Carlos begs.

I drive away to the sound of death outside the car knowing

I’ll never return to the Gallinas River.