Free Hell Calling by Enrique Laso

for this moment since time immemorial.
    “What sort of things?”
    “Well, perhaps it would be better if we spoke about Alicia first, then I can tell you about other things that have happened to me.”
    “And why do you want to talk about Alicia now?”
    “Ana, I think she was hiding some things from me. I believe that she knew things about Laura that she didn’t tell me, for whatever reason.”
    The woman averted her gaze, and he knew straight away this meeting was by no means going to be in vain.
    “It’s true, Alicia was hiding things from you.”
    “And?”
    “She wanted to protect you. And perhaps, she also wanted to protect herself, I don’t know...”
    “Protect me from what? Protect me from who?”
    “From Laura.”
    Ana spoke those words with a conviction, in such a way that was almost like a judge passing sentence, almost with a hint of anger in her voice.
    “From Laura...”
    “You’re not surprised?”
    “Like I said, some strange things have been happening to me over the last few weeks. Hardly anything surprises me anymore. But please, what could Laura have done to me?”
    “In the beginning, it was a slow process, although it sped up progressively as the months went by. At first, Alicia didn’t want to talk about it, but then she began confiding in me about everything. Next thing I knew, she was having to take Laura to the school psychologist.”
    “I know; I’ve spoken with her.”
    She paused before proceeding. She passed her long and manicured hands over her face.
    “Somehow, Alicia was afraid of distorting reality, and that’s another reason why she didn’t tell you. She believed Laura was going mad, and that’s very tough for a mother to deal with. In a way, she was going to extreme lengths to avoid you noticing anything.”
    Carlos suddenly felt responsible, and in that moment he missed his wife with an intensity that he had only felt just after finding out about her death.
    “I’ve been so far away from her; so far from both of them...”
    “Carlos... Alicia was convinced that Laura wanted to kill the two of you; that your daughter had lost her mind and hated you both with all her soul... although not all of the time...”
    “Not all of the time?”
    “No. Initially, it was just every now and then, although it was becoming increasingly more frequent. Laura had bouts of hatred, and they were reflected in different ways, whether they be in terrible drawings, or words written in her diary, or with direct threats.
    He immediately reacted to those last few words, because they would fit in with the dreams he had been having, and with the experience in his own car.
    “What kind of threats?”
    “I was never able to witness any of them, but Alicia told me that there were occasions when Laura had terrible convulsions that contorted her body and face. And then she spoke with a voice that seemed to not be hers, and she screamed out that the demons were going to take her to Hell...”
    “But then she wasn’t threatening... she was asking for help!”
    “Carlos, there were other times when she threatened Alicia directly, looking her straight in the eye and screaming that she was going to kill her; that she was going to kill you both.”
    Carlos gripped his coffee cup tightly. For a moment, his thoughts moved away from where they were, and the conversation they were having, and for a few seconds his mind drifted.
    “It’s not possible. Although everything fits, Ana; it’s all starting to fit.”
    Ana looked back at him with severity, along with a certain affectation, before saying:
    “Carlos, it is possible. I’m convinced that what happened to Alicia was no accident. In the end, her fears were valid. I’m convinced that Laura killed her.”
    XXXV
    He could not sleep a wink. He had spent almost five hours tossing and turning in bed, every now and then knocking into Elena, who was sleeping deeply.
    ‘This woman must be starting to get fed up of this.’
    Once again, he appreciated