The Monastery - El monasterio

The Monastery

At the witching hour, the monastery loomed against the fading light as an exhausted traveller approached its gate. He grasped the heavy iron knocker and struck the ancient door. Then he waited. And waited. Finally, he knocked again. Slowly, the hinges groaned as the massive door creaked open.

A small man, his face deeply pitted by smallpox, peered out from beneath the hood of his habit and silently beckoned him inside.

"I am Fray Ernesto, from the Abbey of Cadbury. The prior is waiting for me."

"The prior died this morning. We are keeping vigil over his body. Tomorrow he will be buried here."

Brother Ernesto, out of his mind, replied to the friar:

"It's not possible! He was having to give me some very important documents."

"Come with me and you will see for yourself."

They passed through the dark cloister, dimly lit by the torch carried by the friar.

The room, a naked cell, housed the lifeless body of a young man. His closed right hand showed something metallic inside that the friars had not managed to snatch from his hand.

As if it were a spell, when Fray Ernesto approached the corpse, his hand let go of a flash drive, which fell to the ground.

With a quick movement, Fray Ernesto took it.

"This flash drive will tell us who his murderer is! And besides, we will know all the abuses committed in this monastery, and whose perpetrators have even committed murder to conceal them."

One of the friars prevented him from leaving, while another tried to snatch the device.

He could not leave the cell. They locked him inside with the corpse until he died.

Months later, they were buried in the monastery cemetery.

El monasterio

A la hora bruja, el monasterio dejaba ver su imponente silueta al caminante que, exhausto, se acercó a la entrada.

Con la pesada aldaba golpeó la puerta y esperó. Esperó. Volvió a llamar.

Chirriaron los goznes y la puerta se fue abriendo muy despacio.

Un hombrecillo dejó ver su rostro picado de viruela debajo de la capucha de su hábito, y con un ademán le invitó a pasar.

-Soy Fray Ernesto, de la abadía de Cadbury. El prior me espera.

-El padre prior ha muerto esta mañana. Estamos velando su cuerpo. Mañana será enterrado aquí.

Fray Ernesto, fuera de sí, le contestó al fraile:

-¡No es posible! Tenía que facilitarme unos documentos muy importantes.

-Acompáñeme y lo comprobará usted mismo.

Atravesaron el oscuro claustro, iluminado débilmente por la antorcha que portaba el fraile.

La estancia, una celda desnuda, acogía el cuerpo sin vida de un hombre joven. Su mano derecha, cerrada, dejaba ver en su interior algo metálico que los frailes no habían logrado arrebatar de su mano.

Como si de un hechizo se tratara, cuando Fray Ernesto se acercó al cadáver, la mano dejó escapar un pendrive, que cayó al suelo.

Con un rápido movimiento, Fray Ernesto se hizo con él.

-¡Este pendrive nos dirá quién es su asesino! Y además, descubriremos todos los crímenes cometidos en este monasterio, cuyos autores han llegado incluso a asesinar para ocultarlos.

Uno de los frailes le impidió la salida, al tiempo que otro intentaba arrebatarle el dispositivo.

No pudo salir de la celda. Lo encerraron con el cadáver hasta que murió.

Meses más tarde, los enterraron en el cementerio del monasterio.