THE FAMILIAR

THE FAMILIAR

Azucena disappeared the year before last. She left at dusk and never returned. She wasn’t the only one. In the ten years the sugar mill has been operating, five girls have already disappeared. All of them were alone. All of them were sent there by the patrón.

Gathered around the guitar, the workers whisper that, to save his business, the patrón made a pact with "the unnameable" and that he left a beast to ensure the agreement is honored.

All the men murmur a name: “El Familiar.” They say it is a demon dog, the very incarnation of evil. The stories differ, but they all agree on one thing: whoever faces the black beast disappears without a trace.

Tonight, if no one does anything, it will happen again. The patrón will send a girl into the field and once again fulfill the sinister ritual. However, this time, something will be different. This time, I will stop it.

I hand the patrón his third mate, which he starts sipping slowly as he squints toward the cane fields. Patiently, I wait until he finally loses consciousness. The herbs have taken effect. Today, at last, and after a long time, no woman will disappear.

The hours pass, and night falls. From the cane fields, I hear a muffled scream. I don’t understand—it shouldn’t be happening. The patrón is still asleep. Without hesitation, I push through the dense cane. The full moon lights the winding path. In the distance, something stirs. Fearful but determined, I approach and see the girl. Her clothes are torn, and tears stream down her face. Around her, there is no black dog, no infernal beast, no supernatural being… My eyes only see what I had never wanted to see: the workers. Their eyes are wild, their belts drag across the ground, swaying back and forth. They drool, consumed by lust. The girl looks at me with a desperate, pleading expression. I hold my breath and throw myself at the men I once thought I knew, knowing that whatever humanity they once had, the harvest has already taken it.

RETURN