The tale of "La Chificha"

When I was a child, I spent much time with my grandmother. I still remember how she used to place her rocking chair to watch the sunset, and I, holding with my hands a glass of hot coffee, sat down to watch and listen to her while she told me many stories, some of her youth, others of the history of our town and many horror tales. Her voice and gaze, which at that time were not as muted as now, made me always feel like the protagonist of these stories. It is said that there are stories that should not be told, but this one should not be forgotten; it must transcend in time and in the minds of new generations since "a town is kept alive thanks to its children who tell its story."

Source:https://aminoapps.com/c/creepypastasamino-1/page/blog/la-chificha-leyenda-ecuatoriana/Rr4z_5PMTwuwjkeMq8aG11azD2eqL85JqW1

Legend had it that in Cayambe, there was a widower and a feeble man. Despite that, he had two children, a boy and a girl. They lived in a very humble way, practically with the basics to survive. Although the man had his children, he felt unfortunate and missed his wife. This was about to change, they never imagined what would happen to them, and this was the beginning of the end.

One day the man met a gorgeous woman, and he was totally in love with her beauty. Without hesitation, he proposed to her to marry him immediately. For any reason, he would pass up this opportunity. The woman accepted, and the man was on cloud seven because he thought that between the two of them, they would take care of his children and form a family full of love. How dodged the man was! The children suffered a lot; they did not eat all day, their clothes were dirty and full of patches, and they were totally neglected. The husband, noticing this, became angry and complained to his wife for not taking care of their children, but she did not care - they are very lazy - she mentioned.

The more the children complained to their father, the angrier the stepmother became. So that the husband would not believe the testimonies that his children suffered from hunger, she used to soak their clothes with food scraps and then say, "your children are well-fed; just look at them; they still have the remains of all the food that they have eaten." The lies, punishments, and hatred of her grew day after day until she took courage and mentioned to her husband - I do not want to have your children here anymore; I cannot stand them! Go and leave them in the forest, or I will leave you! - The man tried to negotiate and calm her down, but she did not change her decision. That was her last word.

After giving it very little thought, the father agreed to do that lest his wife abandons him. The following day, the father took his two children to the forest to cut down some wood; that was what the innocent children thought, at least. On the way to the forest's depths, the father cried. Upon arrival, he told his children, "I will be back soon; I am going to cut down some wood; you wait for me here and do not move" The little ones remained in that place, but what was the father's strategy to make his young children think that he was going to be around all the time? It was to tie a lid from a pot he had brought home to a tree so that it would make a sound every time the wind blew. Sadly, your idea worked.

The children, hearing the sound of the tree, thought that the father was still there. Thus, sitting by a stream, the hours passed. As expected, they began to feel hungry and cold, but the girl, who was the oldest, was hoping that her father would return soon so that they could all go home and have dinner. When it began to get dark, and the father did not return, the children started to look for him. They followed the sound coming from the tree and got very surprised when they found it, very sad to better say it. As it was already night, they decided to wander since there were wolves, bears, and many dangerous insects in the forest. Suddenly, the children saw a bright light but could not recognize what it was but went there. They had already walked a lot, but finally, they could see a house in the distance.

They knocked on the house door, and when it opened, they found an old lady with a pleasant and tender appearance. The old one was very happy to see the children; she hugged them and offered them a roof to sleep on. The children felt confident as the lady treated them with love and care. They told their story; no one was looking for them because their father had abandoned them. One day, the old woman said - children, could you please remove the lice from my head? - The children were surprised but accepted it as a sign of gratitude. However, the old woman mentioned - but DO NOT touch my neck because it hurts!

At dusk, the boy went to sleep with the lady inside the house, and the girl slept outside. At dawn, the girl heard a scream, but she thought it was just a dream, so she continued sleeping. The next day, the girl was looking for her brother because he did not appear anywhere. The old woman told him to calm down - he had gone to play and would be back soon – exclaimed. Even so, there was something not going well; the brothers never separated and less without mentioning where they would go. In the afternoon, the old woman asked the girl again to remove the lice from her head. This time, the girl noticed something had moved on the back of the old woman's neck. Despite this, she decided not to touch that place.

The girl also found it curious that the old woman had a lot of meat in her house but no animals to raise. Little by little, he began to suspect the worst. Despite everything, she decided to wait to find out what had happened to her little brother. She waited until the old woman had her great meat feast and fell asleep soundly. When this happened, the girl entered the house very tiptoed, she started looking for her brother, but she could not see much. After a while, she saw her brother's hat and "poncho"; the clothes were lying on the floor. She lifted them and felt that they were wet. As he approached a candle, she saw his hands were soaked with blood.

The old woman woke up and started chasing her through the lush forest. One way or another, she thought the old woman had eaten her brother, but she had no teeth. How could that have been possible? Then, he remembered something strange in the old woman's head, in that part that children should not touch. The scared girl approached where the lady was sleeping, slowly parted her hair, and saw another face, a disfigured one with large fangs that still had meat. Immediately, the girl ran to ask for help.

To make matters worse, it was raining cats and dogs. The girl ran without looking back. She could only hear the old woman approaching her. After a couple of hours, the sun rose, and her feet were swollen and bruised. She knew it was her end; she was tired and had run out of energy. She was just about to give up.

While resigned, she saw another house and a man working on his plow. She got closer to the man and said that a witch had eaten her brother and was chasing her - please, I beg you to help me - she mentioned. The man decided to help and hid her in his house. When the old woman was walking around, she asked the man - dear gentleman, have you seen a girl pass by here? She is a thief, and I am looking for her to give me back what she stole- - Yes! I had seen her pass by. She had gone that way. Catch her, ma'am, there are more and more thieves in these lands, and they deserve to be punished. I am afraid I will not be able to go with you because my cattle are loose in the meadow, and they can get lost, or someone can steal them too- replied that man. The old woman went down the road, the man suggested, but the girl was safe at home.

When the girl felt better, she decided to continue to the village. The man pointed out all the paths so she could not get lost. After so much walking, avoiding dangerous animals, and, more importantly, avoiding meeting the old witch, she arrived at the town. She immediately told her story to the city men who believed in her since many children had disappeared. All the inhabitants, with torches, sticks, and other artifacts, decided to go and kill the old woman once and for all. The men arrived at the old woman's house, where she could not defend herself and shut herself up. They took advantage of this to set fire to the house with the old woman inside. While she was burning, she screamed - My curse will be that they live full of lice all their lives-. Thus, they could end the evil, but not before the old woman had expressed her last wish.

The evil was gone, and the father, upon discovering that his daughter had survived such a tragedy, regretted what he did and, on his knees, asked his daughter for forgiveness. He affirmed that he would never leave her alone again and always cared for her with his life. This could be a challenge. The man was punished by everyone in the town and was forbidden to be with his daughter; she would go to live with a family that would love and takes care of her. In this sad way, the man lost his two children, but that was not all. After all the town looked at him with hatred and contempt, his wife decided to leave him to go with another man. Now, he had lost everything.

This story made me think that we often act out of impulsiveness and do not consider the consequences that our actions could bring to us and those around us, whether they are good or bad things. There are often no second chances, simply, what we let go of will never come back, so it is better not to risk losing it. Every action has its reaction, and I am very sure of that. Act in a good way, with love and honesty. Now, you can relive this story and share it with your acquaintances, but be very careful; maybe the fact of reliving the report will also revive the evil "chificha."