The red saguileno

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window, because that was a very special night. It was the night that marked the emancipation of an 18-year-old guy with very pale skin, and blond hair named Virgil Van Petev, who had grown tired of his parents' rules and finally left home to live by his own rules, and what better place to start this new adventure that the old abandoned cabin in the Lujubia forest? It was not his dream place, but it was free, and for him, it represented an excellent starting point. He just had to clean it and take all the crazy stories he heard about the place in the past out of his mind.

To celebrate this decision and his new life, he invited his twin brother Vincent, who looks exactly like him but his hair was a little darker, and his girlfriend Florence Massa, a beautiful, slim, brunette girl with long, straight hair who didn’t seem too happy to be there. Virgil, sitting on the floor, raise his glass and shared a toast. “For my new beginning.” He said.

"So, this is where you'll be living?" Florence asked.

"Yes, it will be temporary, but at least for a while… home sweet home," Virgil answered.

"It will be difficult to see you, because just getting here is at least 40 minutes of walking in the forest, and you know I don't like to walk, or the forest and this one especially scares me, so if you want me to visit you, you’ll have to pick me up in the civilization because not even in a million years I will I walk this forest by myself."

"It doesn't have to be by yourself. You can come with Vincent," Virgil replied.

Florence stood up, looked away, took the candle from the window, and left a little upset.

"Looks like she doesn't like the idea of coming with me." Said Vincent with a smile.

Both brothers smile, took a sip of their drinks, and simultaneously look down at the floor.

"I'm going to miss you a lot. I am not leaving home because I don't love my parents or because I don't want to see you anymore. I just feel like the time has come.” Virgil said wistfully.

"I don't want to be a bird of ill omen, but I don't think you'll miss me very much, look." saying this, Vincent pointed to a corner of the room where they were. In this corner, there was a huge opossum, totally white with blue eyes and an extremely long tail. At the moment the three of them make eye contact, in the middle of the two eyes of the creature, a third blue eye opened. When this happens Virgil got scared, stands up, and runs to the opposite corner of the room, but seeing that his brother remained relaxed he calmed down a bit.

"Why are you so quiet? You will not tell me that's normal." Said Virgil a little agitated.

"It's a zaliciae. The legend says that only good people can see it." Vincent said.

"Okay, let's say we're good people, but why it doesn't scare you?"

"It is a very rare species, and they are rarely seen. The good news is that the people who see one of these go to heaven for sure. So good for us." Vincent continued without even paying attention to his brother's questions.

At that moment Florence enters the room with the candle in her hand. When she sees Virgil in the corner with a frightened face, she gets a little scared.

"What's wrong? Why do you have that face?" Florence asked.

"Look, look, in the corner," Virgil says.

"In the corner? I don't see anything. You're scaring me." Said Florence with a lot of fear in her eyes.

"I told you that only good people could see them." Vincent says.

"But what are you talking about? It's Florence, she's good, very good, even better than both of us." Virgil said.

"Who are you talking to? You're scaring the hell out of me."

"Who am I talking to? I'm talking to Vincent."

"Enough with the creepy shit you are scaring me. I don't want to hear one more thing about your dead brother, or I promise you I will never visit you here again."Said Florence very seriously.

At that moment, Virgil felt that the world stopped for him. Everything was in slow motion. Dead brother? A zaliciae? What did all this mean? Vincent was there in front of him smiling and the strange opossum was also there in front of them, in front of the three, three, because he was sure that there were three people in that room at that moment. But while everything was still in slow motion, his brother saw him, stood up, his smile changed to a very serious face, and he spoke.

"As I told you, see a zaliciae means that those who see it go to heaven, but the bad news is that it also means that you will die tonight, which is why I am here. Once you die, I will show you the way."

"I die today? But how? I'm young and healthy, plus I know this forest and this cabin like the back of my hand." Replied Virgil to his brother while everything around him continued in slow motion.

"I know, but Florence is a red saguileno, a demon hidden in our myths that our species can only know about when it's too late, they are demons with a female form that feeds on men, and can only take their lives after having relations with them 50 times."

"But we've known her all our lives. She can't be a demon, besides we've had sex many times."

"Yes, 49 to be exact. Tonight will be number 50." Vincent interrupted.

"But knowing this, I can avoid it, right?"

"We cannot change what is already written, at least not today. Once this conversation is over, you will not remember talking to me and she will get to the point. Once you die, you will remember all this again, just keep these two things in mind: one, I will be waiting for you outside, and two, once you die your soul will be facing away from your body, and Florence will be in her original form. Do yourself a favor and don't turn back to see her. After all, she is your great love and you must always remember your great love as something beautiful. Sorry brother, I wish I could do more for you."

Saying this, everything went back to normal. Vincent and the zaliciae disappeared and just Virgil and Florence were in the room. Virgil looked confused for a moment, but reacted after a couple of seconds.

"Well, we are in an abandoned cabin. We are young, sexy, and horny. What do you think we should do?" Says Virgil with a mischievous grin.

Florence just smiles, she approaches him slowly and whispers in his ear: "whatever happens, I love you."

After some time Virgil meets his twin brother at the entrance of the cabin, they did not hug or give each other any sign of affection, they simply exchange a smile and start walking, after a few steps they hear Florence cry inconsolably inside the cabin, Virgil tries to return but Vincent stops him by grabbing his arm.

"I told you, you shouldn't see her in that state."

Virgil listens to him, lets go of his arm, and answers.

"I don't understand. Why does she cry? She just took my life."

"A red saguileno is one of the most misunderstood creatures of creation, she cannot stop killing because that would mean the extinction of her and her species, but her actual curse is that she must love with all her heart the person she is killing. It was not so bad for us; at least we got to die in the hands of the person we love, but she has to keep living with all these scars on her soul." Replied Vincent with tears in his eyes.

"What? So, you too? I thought you were a little slow, but you got to have sex 50 times before me." Said Virgil laughing.

"Really? From everything I just told you about your girlfriend suffering and being a rare demon, that's what you have to tell me?"

After that, the Van Petev brothers continued to walk through the forest, getting closer with each step to their final destination. Meanwhile, the windows of the old cabin in the woods were completely dark again.