by Stefania Gil
Isabel took out a charcoal pencil and began to draw a few strokes.
It took a few minutes to scan the entire space. She touched the walls. Then she dampened a cloth, and swiped it across the floor to see what type of material it was. The basement looked like it had not been restored since the construction of the house.
“There is a lot of humidity down here,” said Isabel. "And in winter it will get worse. The floor is unfinished and this wall has to be repaired before winter. If not we won’t be able to get the moisture out. I'm sorry, Carl, but it's not advisable that you keep working here under these conditions. You could get sick.”
Carlota knew that was what her sister would say after cleaning the place a few days ago. Of course, she was fascinated with the solitude that surrounded the space. How calm she felt there so for that reason she had not insisted on Isabel coming down earlier because she knew that when she did, she would have to find a temporary writing station. Sure, in case the damn words deign to fill in the blank sheet on the computer.
Isabel continued to take notes in one notebook and toss stripes in another.
“There is so much dust in here!”
“And I've cleaned.”
“You're crazy to keep coming down here every day and besides, spending the whole day here. You're lucky you haven’t gotten sick.”
“All right! Already! Message received.”
“I promise I'll put the workers to work here as soon as possible so that you can have your study.”
Carlota explained to her sister how she imagined the space.
Isabel was writing everything down. Carlota liked it. The result would be classic and welcoming. Her special corner for writing letters and reading. She could already imagine herself sitting there reading in her free time or telling Alice a story after working.
And then, she went on, explaining to her sister, on this wall, which Isabel classified as the worst due to the humidity, “I thought I would put a beautiful shelf with my favorite book collection and on this one” - it was the opposite wall -, “I would hang the covers of my bestsellers.”
“Maybe we should switch sides. It all depends on this stain on the wall, Carl. It's soft and I dare say we're going to have to tear down the whole wall. If it is a space problem then perhaps, the most convenient thing to do is to hang the shelf on this one and the covers on the other one.”
Isabel was still feeling the wall. After caressing it with her open palm, she would tap it gently in different places.
She went to the front wall and did the same. It sounded different.
One was hollow and the other wasn’t.
She touched the moisture again, then took one of her pencils and pushed at the damp spot with the tip of it. A hole appeared in the stain.
“This wall is fake.” She said, wiping the end of the pencil with a cloth.
“What do you mean fake?” Carlota asked curiously.
“Yeah.” Isabel gave it a couple of stronger punches. “It's hollow. Do you have the plans to the house here?”
“Yes” Carlota pulled them up on the computer.
“That’s weird.” Isabel said to the screen. “Give me a second.”
Carlota saw her sister disappear upstairs and in a few minutes, return with a sledgehammer.
“What are you going to do?”
“Find out what the hell's behind there. It sounds hollow and the blueprints indicate that the house ends here.”
***
With the first blow Isabel was assured that not only was it hollow, it hid an underground passage.
“Oh, my God! Is the legend true?” Carlota asked with nervous excitement.
“Stop talking nonsense, Carl. Legends are just that, legends. This is nothing more than a secret passageway under the house. What you need to know is where it starts and how far it goes.”
When Isabel finished breaking the old, damp wood, the air smelled heavily of mold and dirt.
“Let's get Edward to come with some of the workers to investigate further.”
Isabel stopped before she got to the first step.
She stopped because she did not feel her sister behind her and she knew it could only mean one thing.
When she turned, Carlota had already made her way into the passage with the flashlight on her cell phone.
“Damn it! Why do writers want to research everything for themselves?”
Isabel tightened her grip on the sledgehammer and entered the darkness that was absorbing her sister.
It was a narrow passage and the truth was that Isabel didn’t want to see beyond her nose. She felt like if she turned, she would find a giant spider, a snake and even a scorpion. She could almost feel them crawling over her jeans or plotting the exact moment they could attack her. She was about to let out a chilling scream when she realized Carlota had stopped.
“There's another wall.”
“Move out of the way.” Isabel ordered. Carlota did allowing the decorator to fracture the wood. “It was a little tougher and in an astonishingly better state than the other.”
It took a couple more minutes to be able to tear it down completely.
Isabel was the first to go in. When Carlota entered with her cell phone light they were both astonished. They could not believe what they saw.
Before them, stood the marble coffin of the main character in the famous legend that surrounded “The Alcala Orange Grove”.
Carlota was beginning to feel elated. The legend was true and her imagination was beginning to fly with incredible force. For a moment she felt the air drain from her lungs, and thought her heart was going to burst through her chest.
Without thinking she walked to the coffin and stroked it.
“Are you crazy?” her sister asked. “Do not touch it any more, we don’t know if it’s cursed. I’ve had enough bad luck with losing Luke.”
Carlota burst into laughter.
“That was a blessing.”
“I'm not going to discuss this with you. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to stay here any longer, alone, surrounded by darkness with a coffin that God only knows what is inside. Also it could be cursed.” Carlota ignored her.
“Haven’t you ever seen the Discovery Channel or the History shows that tell about cursed sarcophagi?”
“Isa, those are Egyptian. Does this look Egyptian to you?”
“I don’t think I want to stay and find out.”
“Then go, we'll see you later.”
Carlota watched her sister turn around and look in the dark hallway. She hadn’t intended on giving Isa her cell phone.
She knew Isabel would not go anywhere. She had been scared of the dark since they were little.
“I'm only staying here because I don’t want to leave you alone. You might need help.”
Carlota laughed again.
As she stroked the sarcophagus, she thought that perhaps it would be best to listen to Isabel. The right thing to do would be to leave Isa there while she went back to get some cleaning supplies and several lanterns. She could return alone to clean the sarcophagus in order to see the carved symbols clearly.
Isabel began to grow little curious, especially when she saw the huge padlocks connecting the top to the base.
“Who the hell is buried here that needed padlocks like this?” she insisted. “Carl, we should go. Lest there be a vampire thirsting for blood and sex in there ready to make us his prisoners.”
Yes, it was best to leave Isabel at home.
“Ha! Well, it would be phenomenal for us, I could feed him and you, you could take advantage of the sexual pleasure you're missing.”
She winked at her little sister and Isa stuck her tongue out.
“I do not need sex. I'm fine. Thank you.”
“Sure. Whatever you say.” Carlota passed her and headed back into the tunnel.
“Where are you going?” She felt Isabel rush to catch up.
“The house, Isa. Lest the vampire really come out to eat us.” She said sarcastically.
/> They walked in silence and Carlota thanked her, because her mind reenacted several situations. What if her sister was right? Was he a vampire? Vampires were not supposed to exist but there was a legend that told of their existence a long time ago. Okay, maybe she was freaking out with the excitement of the find. Okay, not a vampire.
Maybe... A witch? According to legend, they were guilty of heresy. Witches knew spells and potions ... maybe they drank an immortality potion so when you open the coffin, you will find them in perfect condition.
What a nerve! She felt her own nerves kicking her poor stomach. Chocolate. Coffee. Then she would meet her witch again.
Would she be pretty? Or would she have a wart on her giant nose? She could also be a man, a sorcerer. She had to think about what she would do once she released him. She would have many things to explain. The first thing she would have to do would be to ask him or her not to attack because she just wanted to meet him.
What if it was a mummy? She would have to wear a house mask for dust and put Vick’s Vapor Rub under her nose. After all, she did not know if what was inside would smell bad or not.
When they reached the basement she looked into her sister’s eyes.
“Please keep this a secret for a couple of days.”
“No way.”
“Please, Isabel.”
“Only if you promise not to go alone.”
Well, for once she planned to break a promise to her sister. It wasn’t like anything was going to happen to her, right?
“Alright.”
Isabel looked at her watch.
“I have an appointment with the woman at the antiques shop in the city. Do you want to come with me?”
She'd better say yes and go back when everyone was asleep.
“Very good. I’ll get my purse.”
When they were about to leave, Laura, the nanny taking care of Alicia, appeared in a hurry with the girl in her arms.
“What is it, Laura?”
“Oh, Carlota! Forgive me, but I have to go. My mother just called me saying that she can’t go get my little boy from school. It seems it is raining much harder in Valencia than it is here.”
Carlota took the child.
“Sure, Laura, go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Alice kissed Laura on the cheek who in turn hugged the little girl and left.
“With the weather as it is, I’d rather not take Alice out.”
“I see.” Isabel looked at her doubtfully.
Carlota was almost, jumping for joy.
What a timely coincidence.
“I'm going to be alone with my daughter, Isabel. I can’t go to the basement and whatever is in the coffin you can’t get out because of the huge padlocks.”
“I can call and cancel the appointment.”
“No way, you'd have to wait two more weeks, and you'd miss the opportunity to buy something beautiful.”
“I do not want you to go down there alone.”
“Now, get out.” Carlota kissed her sister. “I told you I wouldn’t.”
HA. Liar.
She would find a way to forgive her. The worldwide society of writers would absolve all her guilt when they learned she needed to investigate what was inside that coffin to motivate her stagnant mind and be able to overcome writer’s block.
Of course they would forgive her!
Her sister would have to forgive her.
She sighed when she saw Alice running wildly from side to side. It seemed that, after all, her plans were going to have to be suspended until dawn.
“Come on honey, let's have a snack.”
***
Carlota's time seemed to be going backward instead of forward... or maybe, it had just stopped. She did not know. Just as she didn’t know how many times a minute she checked the clock so she could see how long before she would be alone so she could go back to the basement.
She was not a believer in chance, but of causality. She believed that when things happened, it was simply for a reason. Today, her instinct didn’t fail her when it told her—almost shouted— that she had to go and inspect the mysterious sarcophagus carefully.
First, her sister kept the secret. Second, she was fortunate enough to stay home with her daughter after they had an afternoon snack.
They both finished a slice of homemade cake saturated with chocolate. Two facts confirmed that today was the day to investigate the sarcophagus. There was no other way.
Around 7 p.m. Edward called her saying that he would not arrive for dinner because he was going with Alfonso to find material for planting. Alfonso invited him to stay for dinner at his house because he wanted to teach him some things about the estate’s accounting. That lesson Ed already knew by heart. He was a founder of a bank and a genius in finance but everything Alfonso said about the ranch’s management was like the holy word for Edward and Carlota.
At about 8 p.m. She received a message from Isabel saying that she would be home late. When she left the antiques shop, she met Alfonso's nephew and although she gave him thousands of absurd excuses, the man wouldn’t take no for an answer and persuaded her into having drinks with him.
How wonderful was Alfonso’s family!
It was helping her a lot.
Carlota checked the clock again. 8.25 p.m. She barely tasted the dinner she had with the little girl.
She had already bathed her, so she just had to prepare a bottle and put her down to sleep.
When the girl fell asleep, she would have enough time to go to the basement.
And that’s exactly what she did.
When she was walking down the dirt passage that connected the basement with the mortuary room, she hung the baby monitor on her waist so she could listen to her little girl. The monitor began to emit a frightening whistle that she only muffled by turning it off.
Great!
She could not stay down here without a way to check on her daughter. She was a mother first.
She left everything in her hands and rushed back to the basement where she turned the monitor on again. She turned up the volume and left it in the entrance door of the passageway. There she still could pick up a signal, so she could hear if her baby was crying.
She returned to the passage, collected everything left lying there and entered the room where the sarcophagus lay.
She looked at the clock. It was barely 9 p.m. They didn’t start eating at Alfonso's house until 9:30. She received a message on her cell phone.
It was perfect, even there she had coverage, in case she was badly injured by the vampire she was about to meet.
She smiled. The message was from her sister.
“I'm at Alfonso's house. Catalina called Roberto just as he was going to drop me off at home and invited us to dinner. I know Edward is here. What are you doing?”
“Are you checking on me? I'm preparing a bloody cocktail for our new guest”
“Keep joking about that and you'll see”
“Afraid he will be attractive and you’ll end up falling in love with him.”
“I hope it is a super-powerful witch when we uncover it and she will turn you into a frog”
“I’ll make the sacrifice for you then. I'm writing down ideas, see you later”
“In the basement?”
“No Isa, I can’t work there. You forbade it for my health. Kisses”
She knew her sister suspected what she was up to, but she didn’t give a damn. She had the world-wide society of writers on her side. They would help save her skin when vilely judged by her sister... and her husband.
She cleaned the sarcophagus. It was beautiful. Clear bright, white, with some rather strange symbols carved into the stone lid. She climbed completely on top and took as many photos as she could with her cell phone.
The sides were smooth and only one of them was hollow.
Carlota took a large flashlight and shone it directly into the hole. Nothing, except more marble.
She took a deep breath and stuck her finger inside. In a
ncient times, they made sarcophagi with hidden chambers in which jewels of the deceased were kept. In some cultures, they kept containers with the brain, the heart and the entrails.
Her index finger inspected the area. Cold and smooth as stone should be. She pushed with her fingertip but nothing seemed to happen.
She stood up and inspected the coffin again. She tried to open the locks with a few wires like a burglar, but it didn’t work.
It seemed that her expedition ended here, after all.
She would have to wait for her husband and the builders to work their magic with pliers or something else to break the locks.
She checked the clock. Almost midnight. She checked her cell phone, no messages.
She returned to the hole and this time, placed her right thumb inside. It fit perfect, like it was made for it. The rest of her hand rounded the corner of the coffin, that way she could get enough support to push with her thumb inside the hole, which she did, of course.
Surprise.
A loud noise startled her, causing her heart to beat faster.
It came from the opposite side. She went around and found a tiny sheet of stone protruding from the side. She stopped and put her hand to her mouth when she saw it was a small tray that hid the key to the padlocks inside.
Carlota's hands began to shake. She was close to hyperventilating when she inserted the key into the first lock.
She had to do it. She turned the key and the padlock made a dry sound as it opened. She pulled the key out and placed it on the side of the sarcophagus.
Then she went to the other side. She took a deep breath and turned the key. She opened it, and placed that padlock next to the other one.
She pulled the hooks from both sides and pushed the lid. It was very heavy.
Very heavy.
She was strong and very determined to see the contents of the accursed coffin. Was she going to give up like a little girl after she had gotten this far?
She pushed again.
The lid moved just enough so that Carlota could make out a few strings inside.
“Sweetie!” It was Edward yelling for her from the laundry room.
Carlota jumped and ran. Thirty seconds later, she was climbing the basement stairs just as Ed decided to come look for her.