The Farm, part II.

Macario stands up sweating. he takes slow steps towards the bathroom. he takes a cold shower as he thinks about the vivid nightmare.

later that same day, Maria leaves a nice turkey on top of the wooden table. Macario stares at the turkey as he feels disgust. he sits down. Macario is looking down feeling wrong. there are too many things on his mind. unclear is the vision of the future.

Macario finds himself outside. the labor is hard and effective. sweat and salty tears. one or two stains of blood left behind. work is the same as always. like a malicious parasite is the shadow covering the mind. the shadow of eminent dread.

work goes by quick. he looks at the land he has been working. something feels off. Macario turns around feeling exhausted. he looks up at the sky. the sun as bright as ever. the wind like a jealous lover feeling distant and cold.

Macario walks back home. he stands in front of the door. he opens the door slowly. a strange noise comes from behind. Macario turns around only to see at the distance an elder woodcutter walking among ferocious wolves. the face of the old man hidden.

"Sorry sir. may I help you?" asks Macario as he takes few steps closer to the elderly woodcutter that hides in the shades of the forest.

"Mi amor. what are you doing?" asks Maria standing in front of the door.

Macario turns his head for a second. he admires the beauty of his wife. he then turns back towards the forest. the elder woodcutter is gone, not in the way in which a person walks out or keeps walking without turning back. is more as if he was never there.

"Is something out there, mi amor?" asks Maria feeling genuine concern.

"No. I was just thinking about the boys. about you. and about our future. maybe we could think together about making a third child." said Macario showing an honest smile.

the two of them walk inside the old house. the turkey is still there in the table. Macario sits down and takes a leg. he appreciates the smell as he gets ready to get a bite. the tender meat almost dissolves inside the mouth. the meat is rich of flavor. there is an after taste that is left in the tip of the tongue for two more minutes.

"So good. right? I never had such a good meal." said Maria blushing.

"I know. for once we get to eat like nobles while keeping our pockets full. winter seems to be around the corner." said Macario looking down.

"There is no need to feel bad mi amor."

the kids sit down. they are also eating from the turkey. the couple are distracted flirting with the stares alone leaving behind the use of words. 

then out of nowhere the sky turns black, pitch black. there is no sign of the moon. the turkey out of nowhere catches fire. soon the turkey turns into ashes. one of the kids falls in the ground convulsing violently. something seems to affect the kid. Jose, the eldest child turns pale almost right away as his life becomes fragile. 

Macario takes Jose on his arms. he runs towards the room. he covers the kid with a blanket as he screams asking his wife to send a dove for a doctor. Macario with teary eyes holds the small fragile hand of his eldest child. he can't think straight. 

Maria runs inside of the room. she tells Macario that she sent a letter to a doctor. the wife fails to remember the name of the doctor. her mind is absent. she falls on her knees crying fearing for the worst as her child is sick. she feels a wound deep in her heart.

the youngest child approaches Maria. he holds her hand. Maria looks at the little boy. she holds the kid between her arms trying to keep him safe with her maternal love. none of them are her biological kids. Maria still loves them as a mother loves her kids.

Macario can't forget the strange nightmare he had last night. it felt so real. and so terrifying that even thinking about it brings horror to his heart. his eyes focus on the jar with the pink liquid in a corner of the room. Macario walks towards the jar. an idea comes to mind.

"I may sound insane. I do have an idea. trust me." screams Macario nervously.

Macario holds the jar with his sweating hands. his hands tremble as he gets closer to his child lying in the bed looking as pale as a corpse. he opens the mouth of the child. then he gets the jar closer to his child's lips. then a drop of the pink liquid gets inside the mouth. 

Macario takes few steps away. his wife steps behind him. her warm arms around his shoulder as Maria breathes loudly. the warmth of her breathing makes him blush. Macario hopes from the depth of his heart for his child to be safe.

then Jose opens his eyes. the color of his eyes changed from dark brown to yellow. Jose seems to be confused as he looks around trying to find something. tears come out. there is sorrow taking over his teary eyes. he closes his eyes and looks down.

"Who are you trying to find my child?" asks Macario feeling nervous.

"You know dad. I am trying to find the woodcutter. the old woodcutter told me all. the pink liquid is a miracle formula, but it isn't all-solving. there are limits to the miracles of humans." said Jose with a mixture of anger and sadness clearly reflected on his face.

"What is happening child. mi amor. what is this about?" asks a confused mother.

"I love you mom. you had been the best mother. is a shame we won't be a happy family for long. Doctor Natas is coming to reclaim what was denied to him." said Jose crying.

for a second the memory of the nightmare invades Macario's mind once more. he feels rage directed to himself. he feels disgusted towards his own stupidity. Macario tries to hide his own feelings as he tries to force a smile.

Maria runs towards her eldest child. she hugs Jose with all her strength. she cries loudly as she whispers to her child that everything is going to be alright. Maria wants to believe in her own words as she feels that something bad is about to happen.

Macario feels guilt even when he isn't to blame. he walks out of the room. he stands in the middle of the living room. his eyes fixated on the table. the ashes of the fruit of all hell. Macario falls on his knees feeling vulnerable and guilty. all because of a damn nightmare.

Maria comes out of the room. she helps Macario to stand up. he avoids eye contact. Maria talks to him until she gets tired of him ignoring her. Maria slaps him hard. Maria grabs his face and forces him to look directly at her eyes.

"We are a team Viejo. don't you dare take it all by yourself. share the weight with me. we need to work together as one. talk to me, mi amor." said Maria with teary eyes.

"I am sorry my love. I am a failure as a husband. I can't believe such a perfect wife has chosen to spend the rest of her days at my side. I will work hard to prove myself deserving of your love. I will do better from now on." said Macario as he embraces his beloved.

"You stupid Viejo. my stupid lover. let's go back to the kids. they need of us. we need to be strong for them. they need to feel safe under our roof." 

Macario nods. the couple goes back inside the room. Macario is about to say something. then someone knocks on the door. Macario turns around. he gets out of the room. he walks towards the door slowly, dragging his feet. he turns around. a figure is walking around the living room observing every corner.

"Who are you? how did you get inside my home?" asks Macario.

"Don't you remember me?" said the Woodcutter in a voice full of wisdom.

someone knocks on the door once more. Macario walks closer to the door. the voice of the elder woodcutter sounds intimidating as he begs Macario to not open the door. Macario stops moving as he stands there holding the doorhandle.

"Whatever is inside your home is evil. open the door. only I can help you." said the familiar voice of the doctor standing on the opposite side of the door.

"Who are you?" asks Macario feeling conflicted.

"I was on your dreams. I am Doctor Luc Ferdinand Natas." said a voice of conflict.

it is hard to trust in either of the men. none of them feel human. one of them seeks evil and the other is just a person of his own principles. it is hard to guess who to trust.

Macario stands in the middle of the corridor. he is sweating. he tries to think about the proper solution to the conflict hanging on his hands. none of them sound trustworthy. both entities are creatures of chaos. but who is worse than who? time is running out.

"Had you seen his face? the only reason why you can't see his face is because he is not human. he or better said that. that is Death itself. it has come to claim your soul. only I have the power to save you, and your family." exclaims the desperate voice of the doctor. 

"Don't listen to that serpent. red is the tongue of its poison. a serpent of seven heads and each is more malicious than the previous one." screams the faceless elder woodcutter.

Macario once more feels lost. he is unable to decide between the two. each is accusing the other one of being an entity of evil. but are they lying? are they truthful? what do they want? plenty of questions up in the air. and none is answered. 

both voices keep screaming. asking for Macario to take the decisive choice. Macario is no less than a simple commoner. a farmer of low knowledge. a simple-minded creature that lives his days working hard under the sun. a man like Macario will break or feel lost under the pressure of a complex ordeal like the one he is facing right now.

"Listen to me." demands a voice.

"You know that I only offer the correct answer." screams another voice.

"I don't understand. why are you doing this to me? what had I done wrong?" asks Macario.

"It isn't what you had done. is what we can do. we are travelers from far away. in our journey to pay our respects to a fallen comrade, no. a fallen acquaintance. we found a farm in the border of her territory. and we came with the idea of testing you, to see if you're worthy of becoming the replacement. but you are too weak. the coronation should be postponed. now you will die a horrible death. a true tragedy." mentions Luc.

Macario feels desperate and opens the door. outside is pitch black. there is only a light coming from the sky. soon the light turns into two octopus' eyes. there is a sinister smile from an otherworldly entity painted in the middle of the sky. from a far approaches Luc Ferdinand Natas dancing with a cane in the middle of the darkness.

"What had you done? you foolish human. you had condemned them all. they are all dead now. you had failed the final test." screams furiously the elder woodcutter.

Macario is frozen in fear unable to close the door. Luc Ferdinand gets closer to them. the Doctor whispers about something malicious. Macario is able to read his lips. then Macario turns around to see a gigantic mouth about to eat him alive.

Macario wakes up. there are bite marks all over his body. he is lying down in the middle of the field half naked. he stands up slowly. he takes firm steps. the sun is bright. the weather is warm and calm as it is supposed to be. 

Macario keeps advancing towards his home. then a shadow stands behind. the shadow takes the form of the elder woodcutter. the woodcutter vanishes into the forest. his voice calm and desperate warns Macario against opening the door before sunset.

Macario once more stops in the middle of the road. he thinks about his options. then the screams of agony coming from his wife and kids start to torment him. Macario runs towards the door in a desperate attempt to save them. he opens the door once more.

"You had failed the test twice. unworthy." the Woodcutter's final words.

Macario opens his eyes. he is in bed with his wife next to him. Macario pushes Maria to the side as he tries to stand up. the morning is serene and calm. the aroma of the flowers with a hint of honey to the side. then a small sound comes from the other side of the door.

Macario looks around expecting to see either the woodcutter or the Doctor. but this time it seems like he is fully awake. Maria asks him to return to bed. Macario half-awake tells his beloved wife that he needs to make sure the kids are fine. Macario opens the door. then a sound that once was foreign to him now sounds like agonizing horror.

Jose stands in the middle of the corridor. he screams and cries. his skin loses the brown tones of color as it starts to become gray. his limbs contortioned in inhuman ways. the light brown eyes start to turn white. blood comes from his mouth. ears. and nose.

a single, "NO." is all Macario is able to say as he runs towards his dying kid. he tries to hold the child between his arms as he dies a slow agonizing death.

"Unworthy I tell you. unworthy." echoes a sinister voice in Macario's ear.

Maria comes out of the room screaming in horror. she runs towards her child. the child that once played in the mud with friends, now lies in his final breathe. Maria faces a dreadful horror that no mother would ever wish to their worst enemy.

and just like that a happy family of four turns into a family of three. and the hungry beasts of the forest are left unleash upon the surrounding areas of the forest. to their heart contempt they will destroy and break anything humanlike. 

Macario holds the lifeless body of his oldest child. Macario cries until his tears run dry. his voice breaks after long, prolong periods of wailing like a dying animal. it has become too late to run away now that the forest can see them.