Chronicle 10: The grave robber and the patron Oyá, orisha death

"If you feel the leaves of the flamboyant, it is because the lady Oyá is close «

__ Open the door! __

The iron gate opened and prisoner 4038 came out, now as a free man he had recovered his name: Ricardo Alberto Noas de Flor, 43 years old, behind bars for ten, orphaned since he was eight and with only one purpose in life: revenge on the person guilty of all his misfortunes, old Antonia.

It was decided, that damn old woman would not have one more day in the world of the living, even if it was hard for her to return to prison again:

__ «My life ended years ago anyway.»__, he thought as the bus rolled towards his town where no one was waiting for him, only distant memories and some parents in the cemetery where the end of his existence began.

__"Damn world… "__, he said to himself, looking at the passengers, savoring that torturous feeling with which he has been living since that drunk driver ended the life of his parents and began his aberration for humanity,__"I wish they were all dead..."__, remembered his only words when he left the cemetery before moving by obligation to a home for children without family, from that moment, his relationship with the living died, nothing that he breathed was of interest to him because as a child he could not harm them; however, being dead...

He began to escape, and where was Ricardo going? To his favorite place, where he felt most comfortable and where he could do the most damage to humanity: the cemetery. He ended his interest in school forever, the only necessary education was in the house of the dead, yes, because the diversity of tenants allowed him to study them, learn, and even live at their expense.

Valuable garments, clothes, even skin and bones, everything served to support oneself financially because everything was sold. When he reached the age of majority, he was already an expert in the business of miscellaneous traffic, his ability was such that he traveled from town to town carrying out his obituary operations, in a short time he had amassed a small fortune that would have allowed him to retire even so young, but for him, that trade was more than a way of life, it meant his protest against the human being and everything that smelled of life, as long as a cemetery existed, he would be there to desecrate it and kill the dignity of the dead, any cemetery less one…

__ "It doesn't happen today..."__, he was determined, he would enter that place he feared so much, he would visit his parents' grave and, why not, do his usual work.

Everything was going wonderfully, true, he did not have the courage to face the parental tomb, but the rest... that would be his last night in town, after ransacking the cemetery he would leave never to return, it was then that the unexpected happened.

__ You have to give it all back...__, were the words of old Antonia, her neighbor, until then just a lonely old woman of no importance, __ Give it all back or get ready…__, said the old lady, standing in front of the gate of the cemetery, __ give it back or mrs Oyá will punish you __.

At that moment Ricardo thought they were the delusions of a crazy old woman, he left her speechless and went home. Ten minutes later, the police were knocking on his door.

The sentence would have been minimal if he had not resisted arrest, the police report left no doubts: several broken heads, broken bones and even a gouged out eye were serious injuries to keep him locked up for a long time. Ten years in prison and a single thought: kill old Antonia, those had been his only companions in prison, now, with freedom in his hands, the time for revenge had arrived.

Everything was planned, he would wait until late at night not to be seen, he needed a place to be.

__ The cemetery. __

It was the perfect place, no one would ask there, the dead can't speak, the question was whether he would have the courage to go to the forbidden place. No, better to avoid going near the grave of his parents.

It felt good in cemeteries, so much peace and quiet, no disturbing voices, better than any palace. She lay down on any grave and let time pass.

The sound of the wind woke him up. It was already night, the perfect time to leave. He knew which wall to jump over to take a shortcut. Just before he did, a flash of lightning lit up the entire cemetery. Ricardo turned around and saw the wind playing with a flamboyant tree. Something caught his attention, something shiny in the distance. He wasn't afraid, so he approached it. There they were, on top of a grave, forming a circle, nine copper handles.

So, instinctively, he put them in his pocket. At that moment, the wind calmed the flamboyant. Ricardo regained consciousness, ran towards the wall and jumped over it in search of his prey.

The street was deserted, without witnesses, the house in front, he knew there was a back door, an easy thing, but was ending a life an easy thing? He owed it to so many sleepless nights, to so much wasted life, he also owed it to his parents, although he did not believe in anything, deep inside he imagined himself with them in another dimension, the dimension of the dead, and for that...

__ I have to do it. __

Carefully he opened the door and entered, the place was in darkness, but the silhouette in the background was unmistakable, just as he remembered it in all that time, just like his voice when he heard her say:

__ I've been waiting for you for ten years. __

Until that moment, Ricardo had not thought about how to end that life, how is it done? She gave him an unexpected clue:

__ Why don't you ask Oyá...? __, Ricardo did not understand her, but old Antonia knew what she was talking about, __ Mrs Oyá wants to talk to you… now. __. And then it all started.

A strong wind began to whip the walls and the ceiling, the sound was deafening, Ricardo tried to get out, but he tripped, twisting his leg, from the ground he saw how, while the house fell apart, old Antonia remained motionless, without fear gestures . The last thing she heard was: __ «Oyá It wants to tell you something..."__, then everything fell apart.

When he woke up he was in a hospital room, they immediately told him what had happened.

__ And old Antonia...? __, he asked, but no one knew about that woman, yes about the unexpected tornado that knocked down the flamboyant tree and crushed the house, also about her almost miraculous salvation, but nothing about that old Antonia.

The days passed and, fully recovered, he returned to his old home, it was when he felt the nine copper bracelets in his pocket, again the memory of Antonia. With a head full of doubts, he immediately went out to find information.

__ Old Antonia... but you don't know what...? __, the news left him shocked, like lightning he ran to the cemetery, a fine rain tinted the atmosphere, desperately he searched and searched until he found it, there was the inscription on the tombstone, it was the name of Antonia, but most surprising, the date of death, just one day before being arrested. Ricardo fell to his knees and looked up at the sky where a rainbow was beginning to form. He didn't feel fear, more of a comforting, healthy energy. He got up, took the nine bracelets, put them on the grave and made a promise:

__ I'll be back to listen to you... Oyá. __

It would be later, before he had to amend a personal injustice, for the first time, after many years, he would visit his parents' grave... And the rainbow accompanied him.

«The World of the dead has its patron... the lady Oyá. "