THE SECRET OF THE MEDINA SISTERS

         As everyone in town knows, Lucrecia Medina's daughters were three: Veronica, Maria and Luisa. Veronica was the eldest, the least graceful of the three, less talented in her daily chores but with a pride that surpassed that of the most gallant men. Her hair was toasted and matted, like hay, opaque like dry branches, and her eyes were as penetrating as a lynx. People did not like her because they said her envy was worse than a lash from the devil. She felt slighted by her sisters who were talented in the things they were particularly good at.

Next in line was Maria, very nice with a rather sarcastic humor, she always dressed well, very elegant in fact, especially to stun her lovers. In such a conservative town there was no room for her liberal thoughts, so she drew the scorn of the betrothed women who jealously watched her overflowing with beauty. The men were caught by her musical talent, being the viola the instrument that she mastered masterfully. The children of the town loved her and these were the children of the women who despised her with impetus. Veronica and Maria never married or even got engaged, with the exception of her younger sister.

Luisa was the only one who became engaged to a businessman from a distant country. He was a young man with a promising future, born in a golden cradle since he inherited all the fortune of his late father. The boy's name was Antonio Valenzuela and he was a very shrewd business mind. He opened a branch of his growing empire in the town of Medina and when he met young Luisa he fell madly in love with her. They began a beautiful relationship and, with Dona Lucrecia's permission, became engaged. It was said that every time they were together, Luisa sang a different beautiful song. Her talent was singing and her voice was like that of an angel in all its glory.

Doña Lucrecia Medina lived worried about her three daughters. She was a widow with her heart buried in the grave of her deceased husband; Don Gustavo Medina, and since then she succumbed to dementia writing a letter every week with love poems for him, waiting for them to be answered. Her daughters feared that they were going to lose their mother too, she always watched them with a lost and astonished look, as if glimpsing the abyss and its immensity, but this did not overshadow the lifestyle of the three sisters who lived on their own looking for their destinies.

Veronica, although envious of her sisters' talents and fortune, was overprotective of them, having become the new matriarch of the family when their mother was indisposed. Her power as the eldest had conferred upon her the respect of her sisters, even to obey her in any serious situation.

One gloomy afternoon, in the middle of the living room of the Medinas' house, a loud argument was heard, Luisa and Antonio were fighting because of jealousy, for which the latter could not stand other men seeing his beautiful fiancée. Veronica and Maria watched discreetly, until Antonio struck the first blow, knocking down poor Luisa, that made Veronica lose her head, she took the poker next to the fireplace and hit it hard on the top of Antonio's skull, he fell to the ground fainting with his head open and bleeding.

The three sisters were stunned, Maria looked down the hall towards her mother's room hoping that she had not heard anything, fortunately she was still asleep. Luisa, horrified, placed her hands over her face, there was no action that would perform on her poor frightened body. Veronica came out of her shock, for a moment she didn't believe what she had done, but she thought fast and took control of the situation.

—He's not breathing anymore! —Veronica revealed to her sisters. —I'm afraid he's... dead. —Luisa burst into tears.

—My God, Veronica, this time you've really gone too far! —said Maria, upset. Now what are we going to do?

—We have to bury him outside the house. —Veronica immediately blurted out.

—Are you crazy? The neighbors might see us! —said Maria.

—Then let's bury him here, until we know what to do with him. Luisa, help us, stop crying, the worst is over, how can you cry for a despicable man who mistreated you?

—Leave me alone, Veronica! —Luisa exclaimed with a torn voice.-My nerves are on edge and now you come and yell at me. Oh sisters, how can you be so cruel? I will not be a party to this atrocity, I will go to my room and pray for the souls of both of them!

And not having Luisa's support, the two sisters decided to continue with Veronica's plan. They lifted up the floorboards, threw the corpse there, covered the hole again and placed a rug over it, cleaned the blood on both the wood and the poker and went to the kitchen, very quietly and as if nothing had happened, to start preparing dinner.

The next day, in the morning, Veronica woke up early and suddenly noticed that the carpet in the middle of the living room had moved, she thought it was strange since before going to sleep, she had taken a last look at it. Veronica's suspicions became worrisome, Maria found her trying to lift the boards again so she helped her, thinking that they would remove the corpse from there. When they finished, they glimpsed with horror that the body was gone, as if someone had moved it from there, was it Luisa? Could it be that because of her desperation she had committed some madness?

Veronica and Maria, to dispel their doubts, went to Luisa's room, knocked on the door but when they saw that she did not answer, they decided to enter. On the bed lay Luisa with her eyes open, and as they got closer, they glimpsed with horror the body of her sister, she was pale, cold, completely lifeless, her arms and legs were outstretched with huge hand marks on her neck.