The Claws

Three days had passed in a calm that felt as thin and fragile as glass. Julián clung to logic with all his might: the photo had been a compression error, a reflection, anything other than what his eyes, clouded by fatigue, thought they saw. That morning, however, a relentless sun streamed through the windows, and the family, infected by the light, got ready with an almost genuine enthusiasm to visit the ruins.

The aroma of the coffee Akari was preparing filled the kitchen, but that was when Julián saw it. His cup stopped halfway.

“ Honey... what's that mark on your arm? ” she asked, trying to keep the chill that ran down her spine from showing in her voice.

Akari looked down at her left forearm, where three deep, parallel red gashes were visible. They were not scratches from a branch or the result of a fall. They were deliberate marks, unnaturally precise and deep. As if an animal's claws had closed around her with precision.

“ Ah... this. ” she murmured, looking away toward the coffee maker. “ It must have been the neighbor's cat. Last night I was scared when I saw it walking through the living room. I didn't even hear it, to be honest. ”

Julián stood still. The air thickened around him. “ Akari. ” he said, measuring each word, “ the windows have been locked since we arrived. No cat has come in. ”

Since the night the photo was taken, sleep had been a luxury that Julián did not allow himself. His vigils were long and meticulous, and he was certain: no living being, at least none from this world, had crossed the threshold of the house.

She rubbed her arm, uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze. “ Julián, please. You're being a bit dramatic. I'm sure I made the wound worse by scratching it. ”

At that moment, Haru burst into the kitchen with the energy of a child who had just woken up. “ Dad, look! The light is perfect, it's like in the movies! ”

Before anyone could react, the boy raised the camera and took the picture. The click of the shutter sounded like a gunshot in the tense silence.

“ It looks amazing! Look! ” exclaimed Haru, turning the screen toward her father.

Julián held his breath. The image was idyllic: the warm glow of dawn bathing Akari and Hana, who were smiling with their bowls of cereal. But his gaze did not rest on them. It was drawn, like a magnet, to the doorway at the end of the hallway.

She was there again.

It was no longer a blurry shadow, a suggestion in the static. Now it had shape. That silhouette was of a woman, soaked as if she had just emerged from the depths, silhouetted against the darkness of the hallway. Her dress, dark and heavy, dripped onto the tiles. Her hair, straight and black as tar, clung to her gaunt, deathly pale face. But the worst thing was not the dampness, nor her spectral thinness. The worst thing was her eyes: two deep, empty sockets that did not look at the camera, but through it, staring directly into Julian's eyes.

Are you also seeing that horrible thing behind the photo? Julian commented with a trembling voice.

Akari looked at the screen, frowning in confusion. “ See what, Julian? It's a beautiful photo. ” 

The confirmation was like a dagger of ice piercing his chest. Pure, absolute terror took hold of him. A buzzing sound filled his ears, drowning out the sounds of the world. The camera slipped from his numb hands and crashed to the floor with a crack of plastic and glass that sounded distant to him.

He began to shake uncontrollably. Cold sweat soaked his shirt. And then, from the darkest, most sealed-off place in his memory, something broke through. It wasn't just a vivid memory, but an avalanche of sensations: a woman's heart-wrenching scream, the salty, pungent smell of the sea at night, the dull, wet sound of something heavy hitting the rocks, over and over again.

“ N-no... It can't be! ” Julian stammered, bringing his hands to his temples as if he could contain the explosion.

"¡Julián!, ¡Dad!"

The voices of his family reached him from the depths of his heart. Their faces, pale and terrified, blurred before his clouded eyes. He looked at them, his perfect family, the light he had brought into his life, and a certainty struck him with the force of a hammer: he had led them straight into the monster's lair.

“ I'm... I'm fine. ” he mumbled, forcing himself to stand up straight. The taste of lies was bitter in his mouth. “ I just felt dizzy because of the heat... I haven't slept well either. ”

He knew his excuse was flimsy. But at that moment, a fierce and desperate determination was born out of his panic. He couldn't just stand there and do nothing; he had to act for the sake of his family, no matter what the cost.

“ I'm... I'm going to town. ” he said, pushing his chair back with a squeak. “ I need something for my headache. I'll be back soon. ” His gaze rested on them, grave, trying to convey a warning he couldn't vocalize. “ Please... don't leave the house. Don't open the door to anyone. ”

I had to find someone who knew. Someone who understood the nature of this nightmare that haunted them. I had to put an end to this, here and now, before the woman on the threshold decided to cross an irreparable line.