Algo no andaba bien por la casa, no sabía cómo se había hecho esos cortes en su cara, tenía un escozor inexplicable. Así, Dionisio solía levantarse cada mañana, como si una pesadilla se repitiera.
Se acercaba al espejo y buscaba en su rostro esas heridas que no entendía, ¿Cómo se hizo esos cortes en la piel?
Zaira solo le hacía muecas y daba vueltas a sus dedos por encima de la cabeza para que entendiera que estaba loco.
Ella se sentía cansada porque no la dejaba dormir, al fin y al cabo, a Dionisio no le importaba lo que ella pudiera decir. Qué se las arregle como pueda. El presentía que algo extraño pasaba en su casa y no eran sus nervios o sus delirios de borracho, ya tenía muchos días de haber dejado de tomar licor.
Cuando llegaba a medianoche oía ese zumbido como una lluvia torrencial atrapada dentro de su casa, miraba a todos lados para ver si lograba entender lo que pasaba, ¿Cuál era el origen de los ruidos o si alguien le jugaba bromas pesadas?
Zaira, ya cansada de sus gritos nocturnos, decidió dejar la puerta abierta para no tener que levantarse a altas horas de la noche, porque Dionisio despertaba a los vecinos y armaba un escándalo porque no lograba meter la llave en la cerradura.
Cuando Zaira se levantaba, el presentía que su mujer caminaba en cuatro patas como un bicho y babeaba la entrada en medio de sus berrinches de vieja.
—Pareces un bicho mujer, — le decía y se reía.
—Y tu, un gusano de mierda.
Al entrar, Dionisio comenzaba a oír zumbidos que subían por las paredes, crujidos como si machacaran hojas secas, eso lo ponía en alerta y muy nervioso.
—¡Tú, lo que quieres es asustarme, vieja! ¡No te basta con mandarme al carajo!
Pero Zaira, ya no lo oía, porque sus ronquidos eran tan fuertes y esa actitud era una manera de hacerle callar.
Dionisio dudaba, sí era verdad que se quedaba dormida o solo fingía.
El seguía buscando para saber qué generaba esos ruidos que le quitaban el sueño, sentía que miles de ojos lo miraban, por eso decidió que no iba a tomar más licor porque le hacía daño.
—¡No me habrás hecho algún trabajito con la bruja de tu hermana! —hablaba duro, para hacerse sentir.
— ¡A mi hermana, déjala tranquila! tengo meses que no la veo.
Cuando llegaba la noche, recorría la casa, asegurando que todo estaba cerrado y bien asegurado. Tapaba bien los resquicios de las ventanas y puertas para que el viento no entrara, silenciaba el reloj para no oír el tic tac.
En medio del silencio, podía percibir los ronquidos de su mujer, cosa que le inquietaba mucho y lo perturbaba, pero no podía taparle la boca, era lo que deseaba. Los nervios empezaban a dominarlo. Iba a la cocina y preparaba café en cantidad para no dormir, pero, aun así, oía ese ruido de pasos arañando las paredes, arrastrando objetos, quebrando la quietud de la noche.
Su cuerpo empezaba a ponerse rígido por el miedo, se pellizcaba para saber si estaba dormido, o era una simple pesadilla.
—¡Zaira! —la llamaba, —¡Zaira ya vienen! ¡ven aquí, ayúdame!
—¡Déjame dormir! Eso es porque no tienes licor en el cuerpo y el vicio te lo reclama. ¡Déjame dormir!
Zaira se echaba la cobija encima y él intentaba dormir acostándose a su lado. Los calambres no lo dejaban tranquilo, sentía resequedad en la garganta. El ruido empezaba a oírse, como si caminaran por el techo, buscando bajar, sentía que su cuerpo se entumecía, temblaba, como si un frío penetrara en su cuerpo y acuchillara sus huesos.
Después venía un silencio largo y con mucha tensión. Dionisio cubría su rostro con la cobija, la bajaba poco a poco para poder ver; no podía creer lo que veía debajo de las sábanas que cubrían a Zaira, se movía algo extraño, no parecía la figura de su mujer, era algo grotesco, Zaira no era Zaira, veía dos enormes patas de un bicho saliendo por debajo de su cobija, luego fue surgiendo una cabeza que lo miraba con muchos ojos, quietos y amenazantes, tenía dos antenas que vibraban produciendo un zumbido metálico que resonaba y le taladraba los oídos.
Aquel bicho fue abriendo la boca, Dionisio sintió la certeza glacial de estar perdido.
—¡Zaira! — dijo, sabía que ya no tenía regreso.
Something wasn't right in the house. He didn't know how he had gotten those cuts on his face, but he had an inexplicable itch. Dionisio used to wake up every morning as if reliving a nightmare.
He would go to the mirror and search his face for those wounds he didn't understand. How did he get those cuts on his skin?
Zaira just made faces at him and twirled her fingers above her head to make him understand that he was crazy.
She felt tired because he wouldn't let her sleep. After all, Dionisio didn't care what she had to say. She could fend for herself. He sensed that something strange was happening in his house, and it wasn't his nerves or drunken delusions; he had stopped drinking liquor many days ago.
When midnight came, he heard a buzzing sound like torrential rain trapped inside his house. He looked everywhere to see if he could understand what was happening. What was the source of the noises, or was someone playing a practical joke on him?
Zaira, tired of his nighttime screams, decided to leave the door open so she wouldn't have to get up in the middle of the night, because Dionisio woke up the neighbors and made a scene because he couldn't get the key in the lock.
When Zaira got up, he sensed that his wife was walking on all fours like an animal and drooling in the doorway in the midst of her old woman's tantrums.
“You look like an animal, woman,” he would say and laugh.
“And you, a fucking worm.”
Upon entering, Dionisio began to hear buzzing sounds coming from the walls, crackling as if dry leaves were being crushed, which put him on alert and made him very nervous.
“You just want to scare me, old woman! It's not enough for you to tell me to fuck off!”
But Zaira couldn't hear him anymore because her snoring was so loud, and that attitude was a way to shut him up.
Dionisio wondered if she was really asleep or just pretending.
He kept searching to find out what was causing those noises that were keeping him awake. He felt like thousands of eyes were watching him, so he decided he wasn't going to drink any more liquor because it was bad for him.
“You haven't had your witch of a sister put a spell on me, have you?” he said harshly, to make himself heard.
“Leave my sister alone! I haven't seen her in months.”
When night fell, he would go around the house, making sure everything was closed and secure. He would cover the gaps in the windows and doors so that the wind couldn't get in, and he would silence the clock so he wouldn't hear it ticking.
In the silence, he could hear his wife snoring, which disturbed and unsettled him greatly, but he couldn't cover her mouth, even though he wanted to. His nerves began to get the better of him. He went to the kitchen and made a large pot of coffee so he wouldn't fall asleep, but even so, he could hear the sound of footsteps scratching at the walls, dragging objects, breaking the stillness of the night.
His body began to stiffen with fear, and he pinched himself to see if he was asleep or if it was just a nightmare.
“Zaira!” he called her, “Zaira, they're coming! Come here, help me!”
“Let me sleep! That's because you don't have any liquor in your body and your addiction is calling you. Let me sleep!”
Zaira pulled the blanket over herself and he tried to sleep by lying down next to her. The cramps wouldn't let him rest, and his throat felt dry. He began to hear noises, as if someone were walking on the ceiling, trying to get down. He felt his body go numb and tremble, as if a cold were penetrating his body and stabbing his bones.
Then came a long, tense silence. Dionisio covered his face with the blanket, lowering it little by little so he could see. He couldn't believe what he saw under the sheets covering Zaira. Something strange was moving. It didn't look like his wife. It was something grotesque. Zaira wasn't Zaira. He saw two enormous legs of a creature sticking out from under her blanket. then a head emerged, staring at him with many eyes, still and threatening. It had two antennae that vibrated, producing a metallic buzzing sound that echoed and pierced his ears.
The creature opened its mouth, and Dionisio felt the icy certainty that he was lost.
“Zaira!” he said, knowing there was no turning back.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Imágenes creadas con Leonardo AI y editadas con PhotoScape
