Jeremías estaba recién graduado de maestro por allá, en los años mil novecientos treinta y tantos..., tenia que ir al campo de trabajo. Por aquellos años se acostumbraba que en los primeros años, los recién graduados, debían ir a provincia a algún pueblito, donde necesitaran un maestro, mínimo era un año de estadía donde se le mandara.
Le asignaron un pequeño pueblo, de los mas lejanos del país, había sido un lugar donde hace muchos años, hubo una revuelta muy sangrienta, por las tierras de aquel lugar, era un pueblo donde en los alrededores, habían muchas haciendas donde siempre, se había criado ganado y se sembraba muchas hortalizas que se llevaban a la ciudad.
Jeremías, muy entusiasmado, comenzó a preparar su viaje, todas sus cosas, libros, ropas y enseres personales. Pronto, se embarca en su nueva aventura, su primer empleo. Tuvo que agarrar varios tipos de transportes, un bus que lo iba a llevar a la entrada de aquel pintoresco pueblo y a medida que se iban acercando todo se tornaba casi que paradisiaco.
Muchos arboles, animales y grandes sembradíos al llegar a la entrada del pueblo, le toco bajarse del bus, esperando al emisario que según le iban a mandar para buscarlo. No tuvo que esperar mucho, pues pronto llego un atolondrado chico en un viejo burro, al llegar se presento y le pregunto si era el maestro, Jeremías en el acto respondió que si. Obvio, no había nadie ms parado por aquel sitio.
De una vez, tomó la cosas de Jeremías, las apeo en un lado del burro y le dijo al maestro que se subiera en el, porque para él, el camino iba a ser largo. Para el chico no, ya esta acostumbrado a caminar largas distancias. Al llegar, fue directamente con las autoridades del pueblo. De una vez le ayudaron a instalarse en la vieja escuela.
Eran personas, muy sencillas y pobres. La escuela a duras penas, se mantenía en pie y junto a ella, había una habitación bastante amplia, apenas con lo necesario, una cama, una pequeña cocina, algunos enseres propios, para habitar el lugar y algunas velas. Las personas eran un tanto calladas, no dadas a charlar mucho.
Las primeras noches, todo transcurrió con normalidad, lo único era que no había electricidad, para eso eran las velas. En el día, todo transcurría con normalidad, Jeremías se propuso a hacer mas propio aquel lugar, para los niños, se empezaron hacer las reparaciones necesarias y la gente estaba siendo mas amable con el, al ver su desprendimiento con todos.
Lo que si notaba, era que, luego de cierta hora las personas pronto se retiraban del lugar, específicamente al ir cayendo la noche y por mas que el les insistiera que lo acompañaran, siempre se terminaban excusando y se retiraban. Entonces Jeremías, empezó a tratar de entretenerse hasta que le diera sueño. Prendía una vela y empezaba a leer un libro, de los tantos que trajo, así hasta que le daba sueño apagaba la vela y se acostaba.
Una noche de tantas, como siempre empezó con su rutina, prendió su vela, tomo su libro y empezó a leer, ya era de noche bien entrada, cuando empezó a oír como si vinieran hombres cabalgando con gritos aterradores, gritos con tono de mando, llantos de mujeres y niños, como si estuvieran corriendo por todo el lugar. En un principio pensó, si algo había pasado en el pueblo.
En un primer impulso, trato de ver que pasaba, pero intentaba prender la vela y se le apagaba, por mas que lo intentara, no entendía lo que estaba pasando, pero si lo que intuyo, que sea lo que fuera, no era normal, así que lo mejor, que se le ocurrió fue arrimar su cama a la puerta de entrada y esperar, muerto de miedo, oyendo los gritos desgarradores de las personas que se sentían afuera del lugar. Pasó la noche en vela.
Cuando el menos pensó todo aquello ceso, sin ninguna explicación. Al amanecer, se fue directo al pueblo y busco de hablar con la autoridad, le dijo lo que había acontecido, que algo extraño había ocurrido, que revisaran para verificar cualquier anomalía. Fueron con el, pero todo normal, Jeremías si notaba que las personas le rehuían la mirada, el no se lo explicaba.
Pasaron varias noches con normalidad, cuando una noche nuevamente se repitió todo aquello, los gritos, el sonido de caballos, le tocaban las paredes, la puerta y hiciera lo que fuera se quedaba en penumbras. Ya el lo tomó esta vez, con la idea de investigar lo que en realidad pasaba, pero no se atrevía a salir cuando eso pasaba, se quedaba mudo, tieso en el lugar esperando que pasara.
Al siguiente día, fue con el cura del pueblo, este se compadeció de el y le ofreció la casa parroquial para que durmiera y le explicó lo que había pasado hace muchos años por ese lugar. Le contó que unos forajidos asaltaron, violaron y robaron a los campesinos para que el lugar quedara a su merced y cuando llegaron las autoridades solo habían conseguido los rastros de sangre y sin cuerpos presentes por todo aquello.
Jeremías, se quedo helado pensando que seguramente esas eran las almas atormentadas, reclamando un lugar de reposo santo, para poder descansar en paz. Así pasaron varios meses, Jeremías no dormía en su habitación, si no la casa parroquial. Pero un día, le mandaron a un supervisor de la zona y se vio en la obligación de dormir en el lugar y tuvo que quedarse con el en la habitación, rogando que nada pasara.
Pero que equivocado estaba, cuando mas confiado estaba pensando que nada pasaría, vio que la vela se apagó de súbito y se empezaron a oír los caballos en plena carrera, los gritos de dolor y espanto. El pobre supervisor, no soporto todo aquello y por mas que Jeremías, le advirtió abrió la puerta de par en par y salió corriendo a Jeremías no le quedo mas remedio que seguirlo, viendo solo sombras negras circulando por todo aquel paraje.
Cuando se percato, aquel supervisor del terror que tenia, cayó como en un cañaveral y al intentar levantarse no podía, arrastrándose se topo con un cráneo humano, que lo "miraba" fijamente. Ese hombre cayó en total histeria a Jeremías tuvo que tomar la situación en sus manos y le dio un bofetón, al hacerlo caer en si, lo tomó de la mano y salieron como pudieron a refugiarse en la habitación hasta que amaneció.
Cuando amaneció, aquel hombre se fue del pueblo sin omitir palabra, solo le dijo a Jeremías -¿te vas o te quedas?- este le dijo que se quedaba. El hombre agarró sus cosas y se fue sin mirar atrás, todavía algo aturdido. Jeremías lo primero que hizo fue notificar a las autoridades lo del cráneo que se habían conseguido y las personas, ya en pleno día fueron hasta el lugar y empezaron a excavar todo ese terreno.
Allí estaban todos los cuerpos desaparecidos, procedieron a darle cristiana sepultura, en el campo santo a realizar varias misas, por el descanso de sus almas y mas nunca se volvió a sentir ninguna presencia ni hecho sobrenatural entonces, Jeremías decidió quedarse en la escuela y su habitación contento de haber podido ayudar a esas almas atormentadas que solo pedían, poder descansar en paz y que se les diera cristiana sepultura.
Jeremiah had just graduated as a teacher back in the nineteen thirties..., he had to go to the work field. In those years it was customary that in the first years, recent graduates had to go to the provinces to some small town where they needed a teacher, a minimum of one year's stay where he was sent.
He was assigned to a small town, one of the most distant in the country, it had been a place where many years ago, there was a very bloody revolt for the lands of that place, it was a town where in the surroundings, there were many farms where cattle had always been raised and many vegetables were planted and taken to the city.
Jeremiah, very excited, began to prepare his trip, all his things, books, clothes and personal belongings. Soon, he embarked on his new adventure, his first job. He had to take several types of transportation, a bus that was going to take him to the entrance of that picturesque town and as they were approaching everything became almost paradisiacal.
Many trees, animals and large crops, when he arrived at the entrance of the village, he had to get off the bus, waiting for the emissary that they were going to send him to look for him. He didn't have to wait long, because soon a giddy boy arrived on an old donkey, when he arrived he introduced himself and asked him if he was the teacher, Jeremiah immediately answered yes. Obviously, there was no one else standing around that place.
At once, he took Jeremiah's things, put them on the side of the donkey and told the teacher to get on the donkey, because for him, it was going to be a long ride. Not for the boy, he was used to walking long distances. When he arrived, he went directly to the village authorities. At once they helped him to settle in the old school.
They were very simple and poor people. The school was barely standing and next to it, there was a room quite large, with just the necessities, a bed, a small kitchen, some household goods, to live in the place and some candles. The people were somewhat quiet, not given to chatting much.
The first nights, everything went normally, the only thing was that there was no electricity, that's what the candles were for. During the day, everything went normally, Jeremiah proposed to make that place more appropriate for the children, he started to make the necessary repairs and people were being more friendly with him, seeing his detachment with everyone.
What he did notice was that, after a certain time, people soon left the place, specifically as the night was falling and no matter how much he insisted them to accompany him, they always ended up excusing themselves and left. So Jeremiah began to try to entertain himself until he got sleepy. He would light a candle and start reading one of the many books he had brought with him, and until he felt sleepy he would extinguish the candle and go to bed.
One night, as usual, he started his routine, lit his candle, took his book and began to read, it was already late at night, when he began to hear as if men were coming on horseback with terrifying screams, screams with a commanding tone, cries of women and children, as if they were running all over the place. At first he thought, if something had happened in the village.
In a first impulse, he tried to see what was happening, but he tried to light the candle and it went out, no matter how hard he tried, he did not understand what was happening, but he sensed that whatever it was, it was not normal, so the best thing he could think of was to pull his bed close to the entrance door and wait, scared to death, listening to the heartbreaking screams of the people who were outside the place. He stayed awake all night.
When he thought the least, all that ceased, without any explanation. At dawn, he went straight to town and tried to talk to the authorities, he told them what had happened, that something strange had happened, that they should check to verify any anomaly. They went with him, but everything was normal, Jeremiah noticed that people looked away from him, he could not explain it.
Several nights passed normally, when one night all that happened again, the screams, the sound of horses, they touched the walls, the door and whatever it was, he remained in darkness. He took it this time, with the idea of investigating what was really happening, but he did not dare to go out when it happened, he remained mute, stiff in the place waiting for it to happen.
The next day, he went to the village priest, who took pity on him and offered him the parish house to sleep in and explained to him what had happened many years ago in that place. He told him that some outlaws assaulted, raped and robbed the peasants so that the place was at their mercy and when the authorities arrived they had only found traces of blood and no bodies present for all that.
Jeremiah froze, thinking that surely these were the tormented souls, claiming a holy resting place, so they could rest in peace. Several months passed, Jeremiah did not sleep in his room, but in the parish house. But one day, he was sent to a supervisor in the area and was forced to sleep in the place and had to stay with him in the room, praying that nothing would happen.
But how wrong he was, when he was more confident that nothing would happen, he saw that the candle suddenly went out and began to hear the horses in full race, the screams of pain and terror. The poor overseer could not stand all that and even though Jeremiah warned him, he opened the door wide and ran out, Jeremiah had no choice but to follow him, seeing only black shadows circulating all over the place.
When he realized, that supervisor of the terror he had, fell as if in a reed bed and when he tried to get up he could not, crawling he ran into a human skull, which "stared" at him. That man fell in total hysteria and Jeremiah had to take the situation in his hands and gave him a slap, when he made him fall, he took him by the hand and they left as best they could to take refuge in the room until dawn.
When dawn broke, the man left the town without saying a word, he only said to Jeremiah, "Are you leaving or staying? The man grabbed his things and left without looking back, still somewhat dazed. The first thing Jeremiah did was to notify the authorities about the skull that had been found and the people, already in the middle of the day, went to the place and began to excavate all the land.
There were all the missing bodies, they proceeded to give them a Christian burial, in the holy field to perform several masses, for the repose of their souls and never again felt any presence or supernatural event then, Jeremiah decided to stay in the school and his room happy to have been able to help those tormented souls who only asked to rest in peace and to be given a Christian burial.