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"See? Isn't it am-…?"

"Sad." Coral interrupted her. "It's sad…"

"Uhm…" She hesitated for a few seconds. "Do you think so?" She glanced around at the rest of his companions' faces. "Sad?"

"It's not very nice to know that under your feet there is... this."  Coral did not know how to accommodate herself, she crossed her arms, caressed the skin near her shoulder and crossed them again.

"I didn't know that there were crypts in the Canary Islands," Imobach wrote it down in the notebook he usually carried with him, his forgetful nature forced him to always carry it.

They were still at the foot of the burial place, wondering what to do: should they make an offering? Would it be disrespectful? Would there be anyone there? Would a curse be placed on them?

Adassa was the first to take a step.

"Come on, it's not that bad!" Her energetic, active  and loud voice were not diminished even by the situation.

"Adassa Bethencourt Cardona!" the girl who had run after her a few minutes ago called her attention in a cautious tone. "Come here!" she whispered.

"Make me, doggy's system!"  She stuck her tongue out at him as she went deeper.

"Are you serious....?! Coral hunched before entering, not out of belief, but out of respect.

The rest followed her, Teresa, despite being the only one inculcated in religion and a believer, did not make any gesture; unlike Imobach, who repeated his sister; the last was Yûsuke, his tradition and culture was quite different, but by imitation he understood quickly and entered with a:

"Excuse me."

With short but expectant steps they began to walk around the premises. Although the width of the place expanded at least four meters, the path was narrower, because both on the sides and in the middle were the crypts. Everything was made of dark rock, nothing stood out above anything else, damp and of an unusual luster. A strange cold air blew through, but what caught Coral's attention the most was the fact that after taking a step inside she felt different, at peace, calm, it was as if a dome isolated the little noise there was, perhaps it was her thing, perhaps, but she preferred to turn her back on the small figures that decorated the top of the covers.

Imobach, who despite wearing loose clothing, as usual, seemed to be the one least affected by the low temperature, was the one who walked the slowest and at the same time the one who was most thirsty to know what had happened there. He wrote down in his notebook every detail he could observe, touch or associate. He doubted for several minutes if they would think badly of him ffor taking photos, also if some spirit would haunt him because of it (spending more and more time with the self-proclaimed Teresa P. Melián, the first of her name, Heiress of the Campoamor estate, Protector of truth and the occult, Queen of the library with more than nine rented books per month, Dark Princess as her name on her social networks, The One Who Does Not Freeze, Breaker of Curses and Mother of Pussycats , was affecting him). Finally, and after regretting not having been able to immortalize the first discoveries, he gained confidence and took out his mobile phone with some dissimulation, shame and stealth.

"Please pass them to me later," Teresa whispered in his ear. She had realized that he didn't want them to find out, and she respected that, but she wasn't willing to lose some magnificent snapshots, which, although for different purposes, she was going to enjoy just the same.

"Y-yes" He was a little embarrassed, he didn't expect anyone to notice, much less so soon.

With an eighteen-centimeter height difference, the blonde continued to cover the brunette's hands as best she could, with her little body slightly leaning forward, one hand clasped behind her lower back and the other looking for different angles to better illuminate.

Adassa cared less, as her impertinences had made Coral forget where she was in order to chase her. The curly-haired girl was not making things easy for her, she slipped from one corridor to another without caring about touching the tombs, and the girl with long wavy hair had a hard time anticipating her movements to catch her.

Steps behind, the boy with thin eyebrows and a snub nose had not uttered a single word since he entered, not even a sound other than when he stepped. There was something that had been bothering him since he entered, something that made him feel uncomfortable, something that…

"Have you noticed?" she said in a voice loud enough for the stragglers at the front and the forwards playing tag to turn around to listen. "They're all small, of a reduced size."

"It could be the remains, the… bones." Imobach intervened.

"No. Look. There's one angel in each one of them."

"My grandmother says that they are the ones who accompany the children on the trip, especially, since once they f…" Teresa's eyes filled with tears; she did not finish the sentence.

"What a drag." Adassa stopped and raised his hands, as if trying to get away from it.

A few seconds passed.

"Are they... are they children?" Coral's got pale, something similar happened to her brother. Nausea took over her body.

More seconds and more silence. No one wanted to break it, it was a kind of unnegotiated respect. Imobach swallowed before interrupting.

"As far as I understand, children who were not baptized could not go to heaven. In the past, mortality was higher, with diseases, wars, poorly assisted births…"

"They are in limbo" Teresa added, her eyes still watery.

So they walked more cautiously, paying attention to the names written on the walls.

"Carmen…, Francisca, Ayoze, Mamerta María, Ayoze, Maria Jose…" Coral began to read.

There he was, in the right-hand hallway, the second from the end, "Eduardo José Chinea Pérez", Teresa found him. She swallowed hard, she would have suffered the same fate...

"But Mrs. Milagros never said anything to her husband. Not even anything about…" Coral pointed around her. "This. There was no clue in the photo."

"It may be a chance discovery, maybe. But maybe he didn't tell you everything either. Or maybe she didn't tell her husband anything to protect him" Yûsuke said.

"Come on, you made a mistake and now you want to fix it without saying you were wrong." Adassa read between the lines.

"I had a hypothesis. Erroneous, as far as I can see."

"Yeah, and protect him from what? If I may ask" Adassa asked.

"From sadness and memory..." Coral responded calmly, not paying attention to the mini-argument between the two people welcomed into her home. "It was an act of love."

"No, it was selfish, maybe he would have also wanted to have a place where he could pay tribute to his son." Adassa spoke logically for the first time all night.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Yûusuke redirected the conversation. "With this secret." He had to explain.

"Nothing, he took it to the grave. We must respect it." Imobach said firmly.

"I... I think it would be nice to tell him... it will give him peace." Teresa objected timidly. Adassa nodded, it was strange, but they agreed on something.

"No, it will make him sadder." Coral refused. "What do you think, Hara?"

"I don't know the gentleman, I don't know how he can answer, if it were me I would like to know. But there may be more options, not only those, for him to discover, for example."

It was already three-something in the morning and Adassa had enough energy to reply to the answer but not the rest, so Coral did the smartest thing her tired brain allowed her to do: she offered her a euro for every minute she was quiet. And so it was, silence.

They finished touring the mortuary cave. Imobach couldn't help but wonder. If it filled up, what would they do? Dig? Narrower corridors? Niches? But he would never have an answer.

When they returned to the tunnel, they knew they had no choice but to continue along the path they had briefly taken an hour before. They preferred not to return another day, they were tired and wanted to finish as soon as possible. For this reason, their spirits dropped when they came to a fork in the road.

"We split up, it's the most practical thing to do." Yûsuke said.

"Have you never seen a horror movie in your life?! You should never separate!" Adassa explained to him, and rightly so.

"No, not really." Yûusuke had always been busy with my studies. "But that's the reality."

"Blondes usually die first." The athlete added.

"M-me…?"

"You see, on top of being blonde and dumb, two very clear stereotype. Death assured." Adassa scared her even more.

"I'll go with her," Imobach said, annoyed by the technology addict's words, momentarily forgetting his concern for his sister.

"I'm going with you." Adassa added. "You are strong, you will protect me, and I just have to run faster than the blonde" She declared without meaning to offend.

With that she was the first to go down the left path, upright and straight ahead; Tere followed her, winking at her friend as if to say take advantage of the moment; in the rearguard was the eldest of the Cuesta Ruiz brothers, who shook his head in complaint at the vanguard.

"Well, then... the groups are made, let's go" Coral was quick to say.

"Since I can't run faster, I will be muscle of the group" Yuusuke satirized. Coral laughed nervously, they were alone.

"And tell me... how do you feel a week after the trip?" She didn't know very well how to start the conversation with him, but it had never been a problem for her.

"Strange" was the only answer he gave, but when he turned around and saw the curiosity on her face he continued - A little over a week ago, I was only following my mother's (strict) study plan, go to the club, come home, eat and repeat. Now everything has disappeared, the probability of being able to return with the lack of technology and plans here is almost zero, I'm not even a real citizen. It's... - he didn't want to admit that it overwhelmed him - strange.

"Oh…" Coral giggled. "I’m sorry" Giggle". "I’m really sorry, this must be a bit distressing, but…" Giggle. "I’ve never seen someone tell something serious with such a… neutral face, not in real life." She cleared her throat. "Sorry."

The boy opened his eyes wide, more than usual, almost losing his ethnic streak, he was used to predicting people's responses, we are very simple, but that one had caught him off guard.

"It's okay, don't apologize."

"No, really…" There was Yuusuke's premonition:  she tends to behave well and try to stand out, he thought. "Normally you carry yourself like a barrier, a permeable one, nothing affects you too much, impenetrable and imperturbable."

In that sense, he was quite similar to the character in the manga, in fact you could say that he got the description from there.

"Yes" That look again. "It runs in the family, correction, because of the family."

"In the story I know, the one about the animanga." She looked away briefly. "They explain that you were an orphan and a transvestite who was leaving work adopted you from the garbage dump, after a lot of effort and work you managed to get into the best school in Tokyo but your classmates bullied you out of envy but you overcome all their pranks because of your great intellect and, surprise surprise, the power to read minds, the cause has not yet been discovered, it is still being broadcast; where I cried the most was when your childhood friend, Yamada Ume, passed away, also when..."

She stayed like that for a long time without taking a breath, all in a rush, from the excitement, you could see that she had trained and clean lungs of an athlete. In a few minutes, somewhat long, she summed up her false life and she only stopped when he stopped her.

"You told me it was a comedy." He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, well, not exactly as I'm telling you, but especially when you defeat your enemy, he reminds me a bit of Sebastian, well but without the demonic thing, you don't know who I'm talking about, do you? Well, the one who has it in for you the most, you met him on the first day of school, Kimura Aisuke."

"Aisuke?" He was enjoying his new life story until that moment.

"Does it exist? Who is it really?" She said intrigued.

"My brother. It's his fault I'm here."

"Sorry ." She pressed her lips. "I put my finger on the sore spot, sometimes I am like a ferret."

The boy tilted his head, not understanding the expression at first, although he eventually understood it by associating it with the animal's behavior.

"If it's not too much to ask..." Coral continued. "Could you tell me a little about yourself? When I met you, I really thought I had hit the jackpot. I mean , win, win! the lottery, but you are more unknown than I thought."

"Don't believe everything you see in the media, although my case is exceptional."

Coral began to wonder. Will there be more such cases? Will I have the chance to meet the smoker-pirate-cook or the strongest soldier in humanity? Will it be considered polygamy if it is in alternative universes?

"I can't stand people who threaten or insult actors for playing villains." Yuusuke interrupted Coral's thoughts.

"Neither do I, they are the worst, I hate injustice and if you allow it you are the same as them. But you are not going to escape telling me your story." A brief curve appeared on the boy's lips.

"I am the eldest of two children and the successor of the Hara clinic. Our parents have instilled in us since we were young the need to study, control the company, learn languages and read people."

"If you lived in Spain, you would be forced to study Business Administration and..." She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "...you would have an iPhone."

"I have always been the favorite child, the one who gets the highest score, unlike my brother, everything went wrong when he was sent to boarding school, his resentment increased and it turns out that he is good at technology."

"But if they were so on top of you, didn't they notice? Why didn't they help him with his hobby? Why did they push him to the limit? And why didn't he talk to you about it? Now, I'll tell you one thing, the invented argument is a much better one, the one you're telling me is already very common."

"Sorry for having a normal life." He said sardonically.

"Well, normal” She emphazised the last word. "My brother had no intention of sending me to the other side of the universe…" She remembered that time when she accidentally ate the piece of carrot cake that Imobach had reserved for himself when he returned from camping with his friends. "As far as I know."

"Technically, it's a parallel universe."

"Hum..."

It was talking about the universe or science itself and everything became confusing for Coral, her understanding thickened, "I curse the algebra, the constants and gravitational force." Luckily for her, when she focused in parallel, the wall stopped the light, they had reached the end. She was the one who went up the stairs, she wanted to show off, I'll leave the what to your imagination.

"Another hermitage, he said as he opened the trapdoor."

"It was logical to think that there were several connected, sorry, it should have occurred to me before."

"Come on, come up " She held out her hand to him.

"Have they told you anything?"

Now that they were on the surface, the signal reached them, and yes, there it was, along with other messages from the clubs, meetings, favors and those asking for the delegate's help. Teresa had messaged them nineteen minutes ago. After doing a little research, the few square meters would return to the fork to wait for them. The duo did the same, but without so much dust and flowers.

On the way back, they didn't stop, nobody stopped, they were very tired, six in the morning was a very hard time if it wasn't for a marathon of your favorite series. They agreed that they were three sanctuaries that had been important at one time and, taking advantage of the fact that they were a little far from the town, it was ideal to give peace to the deceased.

From the brief but filtered search that Adassa had done, nothing was known about the route or anything else, nor had the city council encouraged it, it was a secret, their secret. What they would do with it would be a debate for another day, bed was calling them.