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The capture
In a port, surrounded by palm trees, Manuel lives with his young wife in a beautiful mansion, which at night illuminates through its large windows, the firmament, like a bright spot in the middle of the ocean.
One night, while he was sleeping, he was awakened by the unusual barking of dogs. He looked beside him and realized that Sabrina, his wife, was not there. He suspected something was wrong and grabbed the chuso from the fireplace. Then he looked out the window and saw a group of pirates invading the place.
He went down to the main room and was surprised to see that Sabrina had been captured. one of them attacked him from behind, but Manuel blocked the blow with the metal bar. even so, the subject's impact made him lean on a chair, which he bravely grabbed to smash it against the pirate.
There were too many of them against him, so he had to be precise and quick before they could surround him.
He charged headlong into the men holding Sabrina, knocking one of them down with one swipe. He spun fiercely toward the shore, driving his elbow into the other's nose, but the pirate was still on his feet, flailing, dizzy.
Manuel raised the bar to finally pull him out of the fight, when suddenly he received a hard, unexpected blow to the head that left him dazed.
He opened his eyes and saw his attacker: it was Sabrina, carrying a club in her hand.
"Did you really think I loved you?" she said. "My family was broke. I married you to get your land." She turned to one of the pirates, handing him a bag of gold. "Throw it to the sharks so there's no trace, and make sure he doesn't come back."
They took him to the ship where Captain Ramírez, one of the most feared pirates on the high seas, was sailing.
The captain watched as Manuel was pushed to the place where his life would be taken, yet his face did not reflect fear but disappointment.
"His agony is not due to the wounds on his body, captain," said one of the captors. "It is due to the broken illusion of seeing his wife's betrayal."
"Halt!" shouted Captain Ramirez.
Manuel, seeing that his execution had been stopped, said, "The only thing I wish for more than anything is to die."
"Do you want to die?" the pirate replied. "Well, that's fine, but it's not going to happen now."
One of Ramírez's greatest ambitions was to steal the treasure of the witch who lived on the island of death. However, no one would follow his orders to enter that fearsome place. Only a madman or a suicide would attempt it.
"Look, boy," Captain Ramieres says to him. "On the top of a volcano lives a witch. If you kill her, we'll give you half the treasure. And if you die, well, it's another way to get what you want."
He unhesitatingly agreed to join the crew. During the day he worked on deck and at night he was haunted by memories of Sabrina..
When he arrived on the island, he was asked to light a dynamite if the witch died. So he went into the jungle that would take him to the top of the volcano. He walked through swamps full of alligators and fought fierce creatures. The more he risked, the more he forgot his love for Sabrina.
Near the crater of the volcano, Manuel found a cave. Its interior looked like a beautiful temple, with pillars decorated with carved owls. He walked across a floor of polished stones until he came across the witch.
A very old woman, consumed by time, said to him when she saw him, "If you have come this far alive, it is because you do not want the treasure I keep."
He pounced on her, but as he did, he felt his legs being held. They were branches of thorns and roses that tied him like a snake to its prey.
Already immobilized, the witch leaned over and touched his forehead with one of her fingers. "I have killed you," she said. "Now I want you to live."
Then the branches that held him fell, freeing Manuel's body completely.
"No need," said Manuel, with a look that demanded she execute him.
When he saw that he was asking for death, he said, "I just spared your life and you were coming for me, so you can spare yours".
"Finish me now, if I don't kill you the pirates will kill me on the beach" replied Manuel.
She smiled "they can't get here" said the witch "stay with me and you'll be fine".
From then on he stayed with the witch, who was over 800 years old and time had made her a wise woman. She taught him things about the world and helped him heal his heart.
Until one day he looked at her differently, she herself was the hidden treasure on the island.
