For this edition of The Scribe, students enrolled in Mrs. Rodriguez's AP Spanish class were tasked with writing an original legend. Please read these unique stories below!
"El Hombrespejo"
Nayla Gonzalez-Costa
La leyenda del Hombrespejo toma lugar en Brasil. Fue creado en 1995 para los niños que tienen dificultad de amarse por causa de las opiniones de otras personas. Esta leyenda dijo que una noche, un hombre escuchó que tenía un espejo en el árbol y si usted quería cambiar algo de su cara o cuerpo porque no le gustaba, necesitaba ir al bosque por la noche adonde queda este árbol y espejo.Durante su camino al árbol, el hombre escucho muchos ruidos extraños y estaba con miedo. Después de un tiempo, el hombre que se llamaba Carlos, llegó al árbol y él dijo para el espejo así,
“¡Espejo espejo, por favor cambia mi cara para ser un hombre guapo con dinero!”
¡El espejo empezó a cambiar de forma y después Carlos empezó a levitar y en cinco segundos, el espejo tomó su alma! Después de este día, nadie lo volvió a ver Carlos de nuevo y él nunca regresó. Pasó un tiempo y una niña que se llamaba Charlotte fue al bosque para cambiar su apariencia porque sus colegas dijeron cosas malas sobre su apariencia. Entonces, ella fue al árbol con el espejo y dijo.
“¡Espejo espejo, por favor cambia mi cara para ser una niña bonita!”
¡Después, ella empezó a levitar y el espíritu de Carlos le enredó el espejo! Algunas personas dicen que desde cuando Carlos preguntó el espejo para cambiar su apariencia, el espejo respondió en una manera que Carlos nunca más puede mirarse de nuevo. Ahora, Carlos vive atrapado dentro del espejo y chupa el alma de todas las personas que preguntan para cambiar su apariencia. Esta leyenda es una lección para los niños amarse y nunca dar importancia a las opiniones de otras personas sobre su apariencia porque todos son lindos y únicos en su propia manera. Si no te amas a ti mismo, no vivirás una vida feliz.
"Leyenda Original"
Gerick Napoli
En un pueblo pequeño de México, había un chico llamado Marco. Marco ayudaba en la granja de su tío y limpiaba los espacios de los animales. La granja estaba cerca de un pantano y los padres de los niños pequeños los amanecían para evitarlo porque había una criatura desconocida. Como adolescente, Marco no creía en su consejo, pero siempre caminaba con cuidado si estaba al lado del agua oscuro. Una día, cuando contaba los animales, se dio cuenta de que una oveja había salido. “¡Ay no!”, gritó Marco. Buscaba en la granja, las calles, y en el bosque, pero no podía encontrarla. Había solo un lugar que no había buscado: el pantano.
Marco sabía que habría un problema si su tío supiera que una oveja fue perdida, así que decidió buscar en el pantano. Como caminaba en el agua, él oyó un ruido acerca. No sonó como la oveja, pero él persiguió la dirección de ruidos. Lo que encontró fue sorprendente y lo haría creer en los cuentos de los padres: ¡Había una criatura grande que comió las ovejas! Marco estaba asustado por este avistamiento. El monstruo, no, el extraterrestre era muy grande y podía llevar una oveja en cada mano. Sus dientes eran afilados, su boca llena con la sangre de su presa. Marco sabía que necesitaba correr, correr para escapar.
De repente, la criatura vio dónde él se escondía. Asustado que lo encontraría, Marco corrió con todo su esfuerzo, y nunca miró al reves. ¿Cómo explicaría que había visto este monstruo? Cuando volvió a la granja, él intentó hablar, pero la imagen del monstruo quedaba en su mente, así que no podía contar su historia. Después de regañar sus sentidos, Marco vio un ovni que voló abajo de los árboles en el pantano. El ovni levantó al extraterrestre que él se enfrentó y lo llevó antes de salir al espacio. Marco eligió mantener su secreto, pero siempre amanecía los otros niños para nunca ir al pantano. Había otros avistamientos que describieron una criatura simular, pero no había una razón directa para explicar porque quedaba en la Tierra. ¿Quién sabe que podríamos ser su próxima presa?
by Clara Dicks
“Boo.” I heard from behind me and I practically jumped out of my shoes. I whirled around and came face to face with my cackling best friend Michela, shining a flashlight in my face.
“Michela!” I shouted. Michela just laughed.
“I totally got you,” she cackled.
I rolled my eyes. “No you didn’t,” I replied.
“No, no, I definitely did,” Michela said. I sighed and shook my head. Michela is exhausting but she’s my best friend. She’s the only person who knows about my abilities. And I trust her with my life.
“What are you even doing here?” I asked.
“Found a letter in my math folder. It said you’d be here at 11:45 and that I should be too.” Michela gestured to the waterfall and my backpack, which was full of the things from Dad’s box.
“A letter?” I repeated.
Michela nodded. “It was just tucked in the folder,” she explained.
“I wrote it,” Margaret said, materializing next to me. I flinched. Margaret, out of all my ghost friends, has a fondness for scaring me. Michela clearly saw me flinch.
“Is someone here?” she asked.
“Just Margaret,” I replied. “She says she’s the one who sent you the letter.”
“Hi Margaret,” Michela said. She couldn’t see my friends but always said hello to them anyway.
“Hi,” Margaret replied.
“She says hello,” I added. Elias, Jack, and Addie stepped out from behind the waterfall and Elias waved.
“Hey guys,” I said.
“Who else is here?” Michela asked incredulously. She denied it but I always knew she wished she could see ghosts like me.
“Jack, Elias, and Addie,” I answered. Michela smiled.
“Hi.” She said. Jack smiled and clapped his hands together.
“So…” he started. “Are we going to put some magic rocks in a circle or what?”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” I replied and translated for Michela, who nodded in agreement. I followed Elias behind the waterfall and Michela followed me. It was a fairly large stone cave that was exactly what the name said. A hollow space behind the small waterfall. It was dark and Michela shone her flashlight around, illuminating the space. The light bounced off painting pictures on the wall of all sorts of ghosts and spirits. Other than that, though, the space was largely empty. I walked to the center of the room and carefully put the rocks in a circle like the latter had said. Michela and I sat beside each other on the outside of the small ring.
“Is there anything else in here?” Michela asked. “Anything I can’t see?” I shook my head.
“Just Jack, Margaret, Addie, and Elias,” I replied, gesturing to where my friends were sitting on the other side of the ring, Elias faintly glowing in the dark. Some ghosts could glow in the dark and some couldn’t. I never understood why.
“What time is it?” I asked. Michela glanced at her watch.
“11:58,” she replied.
I smiled and leaned back, looking at the ceiling. There was a painting on the ceiling too. A circle that was the sun on one side and the moon on the other, surrounded by stars. I was admiring the painting when Michela’s watch started beeping. A blinding white erupted from the center of the ring, filling the hollow. I couldn’t see anything. It was so bright. I heard what sounded like someone ripping a piece of paper and a low rumble. I could hear screaming and a deep voice whispered: “Taibhsi a fheiceail.” I felt a heat inside me, which dimmed as the light went away. Michela blinked and rubbed her eyes and Jack, Margaret, Addie, and Elias were on the floor, but seemed otherwise fine. It’s hard to hurt a ghost. Only salt can really do it. And certainly not a strange light. I blinked, readjusting to Michela’s flashlight, when I noticed the man in the center of the ring, looking around in a daze. There was no doubt in my mind the man was a ghost. He was faintly glowing and his flannel shirt had large blood splatters and a pinkish substance I couldn’t recognize. He had green eyes and the same tousled brown hair as me. He caught my eyes and wildly grinned. I gave him a leveled glare.
“Hey Luke,” the man said, smiling. I crossed my arms.
“Hi Dad,” I replied. I saw my friend's eyes widen. I’d never shown them any pictures of my dad, even though I had them. I just told them he looked like me with green eyes. Dad looked at me surprised.
“You don’t seem surprised at seeing a ghost,” he observed. I just shrugged.
“It’s nothing new,” I replied. “I’ve always been able to, for as long as I can remember.”
“Well, how about that?” Dad smirked.
I just sighed. It felt very surreal to me, seeing my dad as a ghost when I barely ever saw him when he was alive. The last time was when I was ten and had just moved to Hollow Creek from Boston. We have been unpacking with Uncle Nick’s (mom’s best friend who helped raise me) help when dad showed up. I really thought Uncle Nick would punch dad, but he and mom managed to stay civil. Dad said he was in town for work (true) and saw mom’s car and thought he’d stop by and say hi (true). He said he had a girlfriend (false) and would be leaving town soon (true). We had pie and dad left and I never saw him again until that night in the cave.
“You got a lot of explaining to do, you jerk,” Jack said, stepping forward and glaring at dad.
“Luke, who’s this?” Dad asked.
“This is Jack, he’s one of my best friends,” I replied. “And that’s Addie, Elias, and Margaret. And this is Michela. She can’t see ghosts.”
“Luke,” Michela said, speaking up for the first time since dad first appeared. I turned around and met Michela’s wide eyed gaze. “I can see him.” She was telling the truth.
“What?” I asked. Michela nodded.
“I see Jack and Addie and Elias and Margaret,” she added. Dad smiled.
“You can see ghosts because a hole in the veil opened. It happened to me, too,” he explained. “It’ll go away in a few months.”
“Dang it,” Michela complained.
“You’ll probably still be able to see more powerful ghosts,” Dad added. “Onryo, strigoi, dybbuk. The spirits who travel from beyond the veil. Basically any vengeful spirit. They’re really dangerous though, so if you see one, I’d recommend going in the other direction, don’t acknowledge it, and wait for it to go away.”
“How do you know all this?” I asked Dad.
“I’m a ghost hunter. Or I guess I was,” Dad replied simply. I glanced at my friends, confused. Jack and Margaret looked just as confused as me. Elias looked like he was trying to remember something, and Addie looked terrified, her fists opening and closing and she was slowly backing away from my dad. I rushed over to her.
“Addie, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“Ghost hunters trap ghosts,” Addie replied shakily. “They trap any ghost they find in jars and kill more dangerous ghosts with silver and iron and salt. They tried… they’ve tried…” Addie started to cry and stammered off. Margaret knelt down and hugged Addie. I glared at dad, who was shuffling his feet. I threw the dagger at his feet.
“What was that for?” I demanded. “To teach me to hurt innocent ghosts? To teach me to be a monster? You left, Dad. And then you die and only then do you come back into my life. I came tonight because you sent me a package two months after you died and I thought that would be important. But no. You show up and act like you saw me just a few days ago. It’s been six years, Dad. And now you want me to be a ghost hunter and you gave me a dagger to hurt people.”
“I gave you a dagger to protect yourself!” Dad shouted, his voice reverberating in the hollow. “I know I made a lot of mistakes. And I’m not expecting you to forgive me. I’m so sorry I left. But I’m not a monster. I only hunt ghosts who actually hurt people. And only once I have definitive proof they’re dangerous. Not everyone likes that. Your friend is right, some hunters trap and hunt any ghost they find. A lot of hunters didn’t like my way of doing things. And most dangerous ghosts didn’t like me.”
I could tell Dad was telling the truth. I also thought he was also hiding something, but I decided not to press.
“I left to protect you and your mom. I feel so bad about it. And I’m so sorry. I’m not asking for forgiveness, but I’m asking for an opportunity to maybe build a bridge to understanding. I was hoping to teach you to protect yourself and your friends. But if you don’t want to, I’ll go.”
I looked back at my friends. Dad hadn’t lied once in the entire time in the cave. And he was really sorry about leaving. Jack smiled and nodded, as if he was approving of what I was about to do. I stepped forward and picked up the dagger, weighing it in my hands.
“Dad,” I said. Dad turned around and looked me in the eyes. “I want to protect my friends.” I gestured to Michela, Jack, Margaret, Addie, and Elias. “Maybe you can show all of us how to fight.”
Dad smiled. “That would be great.”
******
I never really knew my dad before he died. But I know him a lot better now. He likes reading and Metallica and wore too much flannel. He’s training me, my best friend Michela, and my ghost friends Jack, Margaret, Addie, and Elias how to fight dangerous, vengeful spirits. Onryo, lemures, keres, strigoi, dybbuk, mogwai, you name it. I still haven’t told my mom. I think I’ll tell her soon. I get the feeling Dad still has secrets – about his enemies, how he died, and where my abilities came from. I haven’t told him about the voice I heard when the veil opened and I’m not going to. Not until I find out what it meant. But I’m glad I’m rebuilding my relationship with him. And I'm glad I’m going to be able to protect people. I’m going to visit Uncle Nick in Boston next week and maybe I’ll be able to protect people from vengeful spirits there. Until next time, this is Luke Keiran Cohen signing off.