The story
The silence of the early morning hours wrapped around every corner of the modest home located in a peaceful residential area. That night, Mariana was fast asleep, resting up before facing a decisive day where she needed to close an important purchase she had been planning for weeks. However, her rest was abruptly cut short when the clock struck exactly four in the morning. It was at that precise moment that the woman felt as though lead were falling upon her limbs, plunging her into a terrifying episode of sleep paralysis.
Mariana's body seemed divided into two opposing realities. While one half of her anatomy lay completely rigid and immobile, the other perceived with chilling clarity what was happening around her. Amid the confusion and the absolute inability to scream or move, her gaze fixed toward the right side revealed a luminous presence: a figure with a very pale complexion that slowly came into focus to reveal the serene face of a Christ. In contrast, toward the left side, a mass of pure, dense darkness lurked in silence, generating a mixture of fear and profound dread within her.
Suddenly, the dreamlike wakefulness transformed into a vivid, hallucinatory dream. Mariana saw herself walking through a dreamscape, a paradise of wildflowers growing over a lagoon of crystal-clear waters. Small creatures, tiny duendes, mischievous goblins with mocking laughter and light steps, surrounded her and insisted on guiding her along impossible paths. They reached the edge of a fog-covered abyss and the creatures demanded that she jump to continue. Horrified by the idea of falling to the bottom and drowning, she flatly refused. One of the duendes, with a look unbefitting this world, insisted firmly: she had to do it, for her true fortune awaited on the other side.
Impelled by a mysterious force, Mariana advanced toward the abyss and took the leap. To her total surprise, the abyss was only an optical illusion; upon stepping into the void she did not sink. She looked down and saw the duendes growing smaller and smaller as she crossed to the other side. There, the landscape changed abruptly and she began to witness incessant flashes of multicolored lights that hypnotized her senses. The creatures surrounded her once again and told her to open the chests sprouting from the ground, assuring her that each one was filled with riches and that she was already the owner of her fortune. Upon opening the last chest, a blinding flash flooded everything. A voice whispered to her that she would never have to worry about anything in her life again, leaving her with the disturbing sensation that she had just traded her soul in exchange for that invisible power.
Emerging from that terrifying trance, Mariana woke up gasping for breath. A warning echoed in her mind, reminding her that she knew very well what she had to do with her life and her fortune. The next morning, with her heart racing and the image of the duendes still fresh in her memory, she related every detail of the experience to her husband. Trying to clear her mind and fulfill her daily obligations, the woman opened her bank account app to check the money set aside for the pending purchase. Looking at the screen, an ice-cold chill ran down her spine: an amount close to three billion pesos was sitting there, an absurd and impossible balance for her finances. Panic paralyzed her again; she was convinced that, without realizing it, she had sold her soul the night before.
Worried and fearful over the origin of such wealth, Mariana and her husband went immediately to the bank branch. Inside the offices, the manager and one of the advisors exchanged evasive glances, laden with nervousness, flatly refusing to give her any explanation about what had happened. Determined to check if the money was real, Mariana tried to make a transaction to send a gift for a special occasion, but the system instantly locked the account completely.
The mystery deepened when she contacted the call center in Bogotá. From there, they informed her that it was a serious error in the entry of an astronomical amount and demanded that she present herself at the main office immediately. The next day, the couple arrived with the digital statement showing the millionaire zeros. The bank employees, visibly scared at the prospect of facing legal troubles or federal investigations, once again exchanged knowing glances without offering clear answers. After weeks of exhaustive internal investigations, the bank managed to unlock the account, but peace of mind never returned to their home. Feeling that the money carried a supernatural and dark burden, Mariana decided to file a formal complaint with the prosecutor's office to disassociate her name from what she considered a pact with otherworldly forces.
