Evil Things

You never heard about the cucuy?

That guy in there just told me I was going to die.

It had been a long time since I'd heard that sound.

I swear, I felt a chill run down my spine.

You have a lovely home.

Oh, my god.

This time, I was sure it wasn't my crazy imagination.

Something just felt wrong.

The mask doesn't work.

There is a woman in the house.

I saw her with my own eyes.

synced by dom.smrc

My mother used to tell me that I got

my crazy imagination from my grandfather.

And growing up on an old ranch...

Well, let's just say it didn't help.

I guess all teenage boys torture their little sisters.

You're such a jerk.

But my brother, Manny, he was more sadistic than most.

Manuel, what are you doing in here?

Shh. It's all right.

It was just a mask.

You're in big trouble!

He knew I was afraid of pretty much everything,

and he wasn't happy unless I was in tears.

You're mean.

You think I'm mean?

The cucuy is what you should be worried about.

What's cucuy?

You've never heard about the cucuy?

The boogeyman?

Shut up.

Well, it's like a boogeyman, but a woman.

She goes from roof to roof and eats children who don't behave.

Trust me... You'll see her soon enough.

After that, I heard every sound that old house made...

Footsteps on the roof,

music echoing down the hallway at night,

things in my room.

I ended up sleeping in my parents' bed almost every night.

What the hell, papa?

What are you doing?

Your stupid cucuy story made it so

your sister can't sleep in her own bed.

And that means that I can't get any sleep.

So, from now on, every night she wakes me up,

you get two waters in the face.

What do you want me to do?

Figure it out.

You know why I got this mask?

To scare me.

No.

I got it because, well, see, what a lot of people

don't know is that the cucuy,

she's only powerful if you're scared of her.

But really, she's scared herself.

That's why she does what she does.

So, all I did was, I put this mask on one time,

when I thought I heard her coming.

And she ran so fast.

She's never come back.

It's true, Adriana.

So, I don't even need it anymore.

So, all you got to do is, keep it by your bed,

and if you get scared, put it on.

She'll never bother you again.

Thanks.

Goodnight, sweetie.

Goodnight.

I still heard sounds, every night, that terrified me.

But I was convinced that the mask would protect me...

And that my father would never lie.

I couldn't wait to get out of that creepy house.

And I finally got the chance when I turned 18.

Daniel, come on. We're gonna be late.

- Did you make me lunch? - I didn't have time.

Eat the school lunch.

The school lunch is gross.

Come on, hon. We really got to go.

Thank you.

I left Santa Fe to follow the love of my life

to Los Angeles, and by the time I was 25,

I was a single mother, struggling to survive

in one of the most expensive cities in America.

I was working 60 hours a week between two jobs,

but it still wasn't enough.

I was in a ton of debt, and I kept digging myself in deeper.

- Hi, mom. - Hey, hon.

Sorry about the phone tag all day.

That's okay. What's going on?

Well, your father and I have some news.

Okay.

We're moving to Sarasota.

Florida?

We're just too old to take care of the ranch.

The house is a mess.

We just can't do it anymore.

They found a retirement community 3,000 miles away

and just bought a place.

And here's the other thing I want to talk to you about.

Mom?

You can work at a grocery store anywhere, right?

Yeah, but I don't plan to work at a grocery sto...

What was that?

Earthquake, maybe?

Everyone okay?

Yeah.

Yeah.

How much is your rent?

Too much.

Eventually, we got to what this was all about.

She wanted me to move back to new Mexico with Daniel

to take care of the ranch.

My brother lived just a couple hours away from them,

but with all the trouble he'd been in,

they just didn't trust him.

I figured I could find work there,

live rent-free for a while,

and finally get ahead financially.

When we arrived a couple weeks later, my mom was right.

The place wasn't the same.

They sold all the livestock except for a single horse

and my dad slapped some boards over a broken window.

But at the same time, having that big house

and the big yard would be a nice change for Daniel, I hoped.

I knew it would take some getting used to.

My parents had pretty much left all their things behind.

Inside, the house looked like it always did.

Like, they had left with just the clothes they were wearing.

I got hired as an assistant manager

at a big-box store in town.

It was paying double what I was making in L.A.

Things were looking good.

Mom!

Oh, my god.

What's going on? What's wrong?

Daniel, you can't sleep in here every night.

That was the third night in a row that Daniel

came to my room to hide.

You have to get used to your own bed.

Did you have a bad dream? There's a woman in my room.

Wait. What?

You never heard about the cucuy?

Trust me. You'll see her soon enough.

We're just too old to take care of the ranch.

Mom!

You have to get used to your own bed.

- Did you have a bad dream? - There's someone in the house.

Wait. What?

Daniel exaggerated, but he was no liar.

In my room.

What do you mean?

I swear, I'm not lying. There's a woman in my room.

Stay here.

It had always been a creaky old house.

The floors and the walls were always making sounds.

Daniel, it's fine.

There's nothing to be scared of.

I thought I knew what he was going through.

You just have that crazy imagination.

I called my mom the next day for advice.

Mom, you don't understand.

He wasn't like this back in L.A.

He's really scared.

Remember what worked for you when you were little?

I hadn't thought about it in forever.

Yeah.

My mom told me I had a box of stuff in the storage room.

It had been a long time since I'd heard that sound.

I told myself that Daniel must have turned it on,

then left the room.

I was afraid to ask him and scare him even more,

so I just let it go.

I gave Daniel the mask that night

and told him what my brother told me.

If you get scared, put it on.

It'll never bother you again.

Thanks.

And that's when I realized,

I never told Daniel about the cucuy.

So, why was he also seeing a woman in our house?

Daniel, what's the matter with you?

You scared the hell out of me.

The mask doesn't work.

You have to give it a chance.

I did.

Honey, what happened?

I don't know. Why am I bleeding?

Stay here.

I want to go with you.

Stay here.

Take it.

I thought about calling the police,

but what was I gonna tell them,

a Mexican folklore monster

was playing music in our house?

I didn't know what to do.

The needle wasn't even on the record,

but I know I heard it playing,

and Daniel heard it, too.