The story
There are presences that refuse to settle for oblivion and manage to weave themselves into the corners of everyday life. Julián knows this well. Over the years, his path has crossed with things that logic insists on denying, leaving a trail of cold anxiety that he has barely managed to endure without giving in to absolute panic.
His most distant memories are rooted in a childhood night. The night air blew freezing when Julián, returning home late, crossed the threshold with silent steps. When he turned on the living room light and closed the door behind him, a detail made his blood run cold: the window curtain lifted violently, as if an invisible hand were shaking it, even though the glass was tightly sealed and the air inside was completely still. Before he could process the shock, a dark silhouette slipped by with feline speed, hiding behind the darkest corner of the hallway. A piercing scream tore from his throat, alerting his mother, who rushed to his rescue. And, as if the house itself were responding to the intrusion, just a few minutes later, a gloomy, high-pitched whistle tore through the silence from outside, floating in the darkness like a warning.
Years later, in his youth, daring got the better of fear. In the middle of a heavy night, he heard that exact same whistle creeping through the trees. Without thinking it through much, he defied the invisible creature by shouting out into the darkness that the next day it should drop by his house to ask for sugar and coffee. What seemed like a foolish joke took on a grotesque turn at dawn: an elderly woman with white hair, a gaunt appearance, and strangely long, unkempt fingernails showed up at his door with her face distorted by fear, asking for the exact provisions he had mentioned the night before.
Nowadays, the mystery continues to lurk in the basement where he works long hours. Between concrete walls and dim lights, shadows move in the corner of his eye. Sometimes, a parked car's alarm goes off for no apparent reason; other times, a freezing caress brushes against the fabric of his jacket, reminding him that he is not alone. Julián goes on with his work, glancing sideways at the corners, fully aware that those presences have never truly left.
