Don't enter the cave twice

The rainy season had arrived. Thanks to global warming, hurricanes are more intense now, but that hasn’t changed the fact that in my town we’ve always suffered during these seasons, houses destroyed, crops ruined, shortages of food and supplies, health problems. I think everyone here lives with the constant stress of knowing it’ll all repeat itself every year.

“It’s been upgraded to Category 5,” said the news. Without a doubt, we had to take shelter. My grandparents used to tell stories about how, when hurricanes and storms hit them, they would flee to the hills where there were supposedly many caves. There, they endured the rains and the devilish winds, the landslides, and survived in an environment where they could hunt and gather water.

When they announced the hurricane was coming our way, my whole family was on edge. I was so stressed that one night I dreamed I was fleeing from the hurricane. The dream felt so real, the mud was slippery, and the scrapes on my knees from falling stung and burned. I found a cave, and I felt relieved that I had stumbled on one of the legendary anti-hurricane refuges my town spoke of as tradition. But when I went inside, I noticed clothes scattered around, boxes, chairs, and more. I thought maybe someone had gotten there before me and I’d have to share the cave. I was relieved at the thought, because it’s better not to be alone in survival times. But I didn’t see anyone nearby. I figured they must have gone deeper inside the cave, since it would be dangerous to linger near the entrance with all that wind and rain.

I went deeper in, and I noticed a tall figure in the darkness. Before I could even start to imagine what it was, the figure rushed toward me, t was floating. It was a young woman, with pale skin and long black hair, and she carried the smell of incense. I wanted to run, but I felt like my body was moving in slow motion, as if the air itself was too heavy and wouldn’t let me move. The woman asked me, in a young but ghostly voice that echoed through the cave: “Did you come here for treasures?”

I was terrified, but I felt that if I didn’t answer quickly, something bad would happen to me. With the broken voice that managed to escape my throat, I told her no, that I was only taking shelter from the hurricane. The woman replied, and I noticed that her lips weren’t moving; “You can stay. You can use and take whatever you want. But if you ever come back here a second time, you’ll have to stay forever.”

As soon as she said that, she floated back into the depths of the cave. It shook me so badly that I woke up just a few seconds later. I realized that before waking up, I had been tossing and turning, gasping for air. The bedsheets were all tangled, and I felt so agitated, as if I had just finished running. I even felt like crying.

The abundance of caves that once existed has slowly been lost due to natural changes, but there are still legends that a few remain. And among them, some are said to still contain the belongings of the old settlers of the town. So, in theory, it would be possible to find clothes, tools, important papers, and more intriguingly, money and jewelry. There was a time when people used to climb the hill in search of these “treasures.” I don’t know if anyone ever managed to find anything, but I imagine they wouldn’t say a word about it, to avoid danger or stirring up trouble. What I did hear, though, is how, very abruptly, people stopped going treasure hunting.

Rumor has it that a group of relatives once found a cave, and they did find treasures. They said there were boxes full of jewels, old coins, clothes, photographs, weapons, and various belongings. But they didn’t take anything because, supposedly, a witch lived there. The witch told them they could take whatever they could carry, but they could only enter the cave once. If they entered a second time, they would have to stay there forever.

The story from that family discouraged many, but it also inspired others to seek out that cave, bringing sacks and wheelbarrows to carry as many treasures as possible. The strange thing is, those people never returned. Civil protection searched the entire hill for them, with helicopters and everything, but they were never found. Since then, people no longer want to hunt for treasures and see the hill only as a place to take shelter when hurricanes become too dangerous.

They say the witch from the legend was a woman who lived in the town a hundred years ago. She came from a wealthy family, so they had many treasures. Perhaps it was because her family practiced witchcraft that they became so rich, no one knows for sure. What is known is that a hurricane forced them to flee to the hill; they must have taken everything they could. After the storm passed, with no home to return to, they decided to relocate, but the witch stayed on the hill. Instinct would suggest she died there of old age, illness, hunger, or something similar, but I doubt that. The witch appears young and must be in good health, just like the one who appeared in my dream, just like the one I face every time I try to leave the cave.

The hurricane did hit as a Category 4 in my town. My family and I sought refuge on the hill and found a cave, exactly like the one I had dreamed about. We all felt such relief at having found shelter. The entrance was the same, and the same things that had been scattered in my dream were there. When my dad went further into the cave, the witch appeared to us and said the same thing I had heard in my dream.

We spent two days in the cave, feeling intense fear, from the hurricane, from what we were going to do next, and from the witch, whom we knew was in the cave because suddenly we would smell incense. When the hurricane finally passed, it was time for us to leave. No one dared take anything for fear of the witch. My family left first, and when I tried to leave, my body suddenly felt unbearably heavy. I heard the witch’s voice, sharp and commanding: “You stay.”

Tears welled up when I heard that, and I asked why me, since it was supposedly my first time here. She answered, “No, this is your second time.” I realized that I had been here before, it was in my dream.

My family tried to pull me out when they realized what was happening, but that meant entering the cave a second time. Now they were also condemned to stay in the cave forever. I finally understand how the other people searching for treasures were lost. I feel guilty for having condemned my entire family, I feel sad for the future I’ve lost, but at least here we are safe from hurricanes. We have many treasures, and in the depths of the cave, there is a lot of chatter and a very pleasant scent.