Ismael and his friends decided to move to the countryside, because the neighborhood had become a dangerous place for boys who did not want to get into the shady side of things. His uncle had a large coffee plantation, there they would have plenty of work and would be safe. They did not know hard work, the first day was exhausting, they were in the harvest season and the three boys faced that plantation that seemed to have no end.
After a while they had a good rhythm of work and did not get tired. What began to bother them was the boredom, changing from the city to the countryside was quite drastic, the peace and silence could become overwhelming, so they played hide and seek to make the work more fun, among the plants it was easy to hide.
Ismael was hiding, when he felt someone watching him, he thought it was his friend, and felt the playful adrenaline that children feel when they are going to be discovered in that game. Slowly he moved his foot to one side, when he heard a hoarse scream, this impressed him. He looked to the sides but none of his friends were there, besides that voice was not familiar to him, he heard someone knocking, that noise came from below, he looked at his feet, and heard some groans, he jumped to the side and his heart accelerated.
Where he had his feet there was a coffee bean, it did not look like other beans, the roots that came out of it and touched the earth looked like little legs that supported it, its texture simulated the features of an old face. Ismael thought he was hallucinating, he thought quickly, so much coffee, so much sun, so much late night, so much silence. It seemed to him that the bean was looking at him, he heard the hoarse voice saying - you are a stupid boy - he knew that the voice came from the bean. "You're a stupid boy" was what his stepfather always said to him after beating him.
At that moment his friends arrived, Ismael was lying on the floor stupefied, looking at the pimple with a grimace between fear and curiosity. His friends approached, saw that his gaze was on that strange pimple, before he could say anything, the pimple looked at them. It was curious because that ghostly creature had no eyes, but the three knew when it was looking at them, neither did it have a mouth, but its guttural voice was strong and imposing.
-Your stupid friend stepped me," said coffee bean looking at Ismael's friends.
-I'm sorry - Ismael apologized immediately, the bean's authority was imposing on him.
-I could forgive you," said the bean with an unfriendly tone, "if you would do something for me," he added.
The three friends looked at each other, their faces showed their astonishment, none of them could believe it.
-I want you to be my friend," said the coffee bean, before pausing, he looked at the other two boys and corrected, "I want all three of you to be my friends.
The boys seemed hypnotized by that apparition, they looked at each other, not knowing what to say. The bean looked at them as if he enjoyed their confusion.
-You don't have to answer now, I will give you a gift and tomorrow I will wait for you right here when you finish your work day, by then you must have already made a decision - the friends accepted, the bean indicated where to find the gift, which was a handful of coffee beans already roasted, they all looked like old and haggard faces, they took them and went to the house.
They ground and drank that coffee, lay down to sleep, they all had nightmares. At dawn they were tired, they drank the rare coffee again. They did not know at what moment they moved to the field, nor when they began to work, but when they reacted it was already late and they had done three times as much work, only this time they were not married, they felt strong and renewed.
It was time to go to the appointment with their new acquaintance, when they arrived at the agreed place the mysterious bean was waiting for them. The three boys agreed to be friends with the bean, they were captivated by his magical presence, besides the gift he offered them was the best thing that had happened to them while they were there. They chatted about everything, but when they said goodbye, one of the boys asked his new friend if he could give them more of that particular coffee.
-What will you give me in return? - said the bean in a deep voice.
The boys were a little scared, but the adrenaline was running down their backs, they hadn't felt excited about anything for so long that they asked the bean what he wanted.
-I want to play hide and seek, it's just, I'm bored.
A shiver ran through Ismael's body, he wanted to say no, but his two friends had already accepted.
-I'll meet you here at midnight, you guys hide and I'll look for you.
The boys went home, but Ismael began to feel something pounding in his chest, he knew they were going to regret it. At midnight his two friends were preparing to go to the plantation, Ismael flatly refused, his friends left without him. Although he was distressed sleep overcame him, then the nightmares began, screams, persecution, his hands full of blood, the dead boys at his feet.
He woke up drenched in sweat the next morning, he realized that none of his friends had returned, he was terrified, he lied to his uncle and went to the plantation, there he waited until the afternoon but the grain never appeared. Ismael did not know if it had been real or if it had only been a product of his imagination, he thought again, so much coffee, so much sun, so much late night, so much silence. Maybe the real thing had been his dream of the night before, he looked at his hands, he didn't know if what was between his fingernails was dirt or blood. He thought of the city, of the mysterious grain, the madness is the same everywhere. He ran through the plantation until he reached the road, he knew he could not return to his uncle's house, he had no answers, no one would believe that a coffee bean had invited them to play hide and seek.
Original content by the author.
Resources: Tablet ZTE E10Q
Own drawings
Translated with Deepl.com
All Rights Reserved || @jetta.amaya// 2022
You left me intrigued haha😅, it's been a long time since I read a story that caught me and kept me attentive until the end.... I don't think I would like to be Ismael right now...how overwhelming and scary.
What a great story dear @jetta.amaya, I congratulate you and good luck!!!
I am so glad to know that you enjoyed my story!!!! Thanks for reading and for your comment, I hope to participate every week, I enjoy creating this kind of stories!!!
Hmm that's a thinker. Did he kill those boys? Was the coffee bean real or his imagination? So many questions.
“Holy men tell us life is a mystery.
They embrace that concept happily.
But some mysteries bite and bark
and come to get you in the dark.” - Anonymous