Love, Lies, and Lunar Betrayal

Episode:2

María returned to the inn’s café corner, a small area tucked away by the stone fireplace. The townsfolk who gathered there each morning knew the place as well as they knew each other, a habit solidified over the years by shared coffee, long conversations, and the occasional bit of local gossip. Today, though, the air was different. A hush had fallen over the café, and the familiar faces looked strangely tense. María noticed the worried expressions and felt her stomach tighten.

The usually chatty Don Pedro was nursing his coffee at a corner table, looking grim as he stirred the cup absentmindedly. Nearby, a few other locals exchanged murmurs, their faces drawn with concern. María set down a tray of fresh cups and quietly leaned in to catch the conversation, keeping her expression neutral as she worked.

“You think it’s that same animal, then?” a woman named Rosa whispered, her brow furrowed. “The one that attacked Don Manuel’s goats last month?”

“It has to be,” answered another voice, rough with years of labor. “The tracks were the same. No regular wolf makes those kind of markings.”

“Not just markings, mind you,” Don Pedro interrupted, shaking his head. “There was blood, more than any of us expected. Not a single animal was left alive. And I heard that someone, one of the miners, saw it in the forest.” His voice dropped lower. “They said it looked like a wolf—but larger, and not natural.”

María’s hands went cold, the chill creeping up her arms despite the warmth of the morning sun filtering through the window. She kept her face blank, hoping to hide any reaction, but her thoughts raced. She didn’t need to guess at the cause of the attack, nor at the mysterious creature they spoke of. If there was something—or someone—roaming the woods under the curse, her worst fears were already coming true.

Another man cleared his throat, his voice wavering with something close to fear. “I heard it was Mateo who saw it, right? Came back to town with his face white as a ghost. Wouldn’t speak a word about what he saw, but you could tell it shook him.”

“Poor boy,” Rosa murmured, crossing herself. “He’s a good lad, doesn’t deserve to get mixed up in any of this. The forest’s always been cursed, anyway. Not a soul in Portovelo would be surprised if some ancient evil finally woke up in those hills.”

María felt a pang in her chest at the mention of Mateo. She’d only spoken with him a handful of times, but his quiet kindness had left a mark on her. The thought of him wandering near the edge of the forest, coming so close to something dangerous, filled her with a mix of dread and guilt. If these attacks continued, she feared the townsfolk might turn their suspicions in the wrong direction. Or, worse yet, they might turn them toward her.

“Hey, María,” Don Pedro said, lifting his head to meet her gaze. “You live closer to the woods than anyone else in town. Seen anything strange around your place?”

María forced a casual smile, feeling the weight of every eye in the room. “Just the usual sounds and shadows, Don Pedro. Nothing to worry about. The animals around here know how to keep their distance.”

Her response seemed to satisfy the group, but the tension lingered. The locals exchanged glances, the unspoken questions hanging in the air. María knew what they were really asking: Could whatever haunted the forest come closer, break through the barrier that seemed to protect Portovelo from the worst of the wild? Could it be something more than a mere beast?

“I’ll tell you one thing,” Don Pedro said, breaking the silence. “That old legend about the Torres family curse is starting to seem less like a tale, more like a warning.” He chuckled, but the sound held no humor. “Wouldn’t you say so, María?”

She didn’t flinch, though her heart beat painfully in her chest. Years of hiding had trained her well, and her response came smooth and calm. “People say many things when they’re frightened, Don Pedro. You know better than anyone that fear makes us imagine shadows in every corner.”

The man nodded, but his eyes lingered on her for a second too long, as if searching for something beneath the surface. Then he shrugged and returned to his coffee, and María exhaled, the tension in her shoulders easing only slightly. But the conversation had left her unsettled. If more attacks continued, even the best-kept secrets in Portovelo might not stay hidden for long.

One of the younger men in the café stood up, his face pale and drawn. “I say we should keep an eye on the woods tonight. Someone has to make sure this thing doesn’t get any closer. Maybe a few of us could take turns.”

Rosa nodded. “And if anyone sees anything strange, we’ll need to act fast. We can’t afford to let this curse, whatever it is, reach our homes.”

María could feel the unease in the room solidifying into determination, a dangerous mix of fear and purpose. She knew the villagers would do whatever they could to protect their families, and if that meant hunting down a monster, they would do it without hesitation. The threat was real and pressing, and her own secret was suddenly far more vulnerable than it had been a day ago.

After a few minutes, the crowd in the café began to disperse, and María found herself alone with her thoughts. She took a deep breath, steadying herself, trying to push down the rising panic. But she knew what she had to do.