Perhaps it would be pertinent to mention, at this point, that it wouldn't be the first time Leandro appeared in my dreams. What was indeed novel was that, once I had awakened, my childhood friend continued to be there, not as a vision but as an inexorable presence of flesh and bone.

What had just happened and why was I in his arms? I wasn't even at home anymore, but under the faint autumn sun, somewhere in the mountains that I couldn't initially identify.

I tried to sit up, and although Leandro didn't stop me, he didn't move away immediately either, perhaps fearing that any dizziness I might feel would make me land back on the ground. A prediction not far from reality, as even though I managed to stand up slowly on my own, I couldn't claim to be feeling very well after what seemed to have been another nocturnal escapade.

"Where are we?" I asked somewhat embarrassed, brushing dust off my clothes, though a quick look around allowed me to discern with more or less precision the answer to that question.

"I'm in the middle of the Valverde path, not far from San Amaro," Leandro replied truthfully. Indeed, from where we stood, I could see the silhouette of the chapel about fifteen or twenty meters away through the foliage. In a way, it was a relief, implying that in my delirium, I hadn't ended up in a remote area far from civilization. It would have been troublesome for someone I knew to find me in such a state, sprawled out like a vagabond anywhere, but still preferable to waking up alone in the middle of the woods.

"Can you walk?" Leandro insisted at that moment, always eager to help in any way he could. "It's not long since dawn, and my house is nearby. I think it would be best if I took you there so you could rest, even if just for a while."

He paused after that last sentence, with some hesitation, perhaps sensing that despite how tempting the offer was, I would likely refuse. My workday would begin in a couple of hours, so I needed time to walk the nearly four kilometers home, clean up, put on my uniform, maybe grab some breakfast, and then promptly report to the barracks, without showing too much that I was dying inside.

"No, it's not very feasible," I replied. It was probable that arriving late at the barracks wouldn't be a major issue, given my relatively minor role in that small community where disturbances requiring my immediate attention rarely occurred. However, I would still face reprimand, and I wasn't sure if my feet or my brain could endure whatever punishment the lieutenant might impose.

"Maybe it's not such a good idea..." I added.

"It would only be for a while, while you recover from the walk," Leandro insisted, well aware that I had likely been wandering all night. "I have a car, so later I can drive you to the barracks myself. It won't take more than twenty minutes if we leave now."

"I wouldn't want to impose. Don't you have work to do, or are you expected at the office?" I asked, seeking clarification. "And why were you walking around here at this hour?"

It was quite a coincidence that it was Leandro who found me before anyone else, even though we were so close to his village. Given how early a farming village wakes up, I wouldn't have been surprised if someone had passed through this area just before.

"I'm in no hurry. I have a meeting with some colleagues by the Ribera, for work-related matters, but that won't be until after ten. I have plenty of time. As for what I was doing around here, I was looking for you."

"So you didn't stop by my house yesterday after all, did you?" I asked, uncertain because I had the impression I had fallen asleep at some point after Sabino left but long before I thought to call it a day of study.

"I did, but you weren't there anymore," Leandro replied, noticing my confusion and explaining further. "Maybe it was my fault; I got delayed after talking to that woman, Delia, and by the time I reached your house, it was already dusk. I thought maybe you had stepped out briefly, so I waited... Then I suppose I fell asleep."

"Did you stay there all night?"

"Mostly. When I realized you weren't coming back, I went out to ask if anyone had seen you. When I had no success and it was already dark, I decided to go back to your house and keep waiting. That went on until this morning when I decided to walk back home, hoping to find you on the way."

Indeed, it had been fortunate that he was the one who found me. Although I worried about what I might have been doing during those hours I couldn't remember, I appreciated the habit of these villages to always leave their doors unlocked during the day.

"If you come with me, then?" my friend asked again, with an insistence unusual for him, revealing that he had no plans to leave me unsupervised regardless of my answer. "I could take the opportunity to tell you the news I found out yesterday, as that was one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you, even though I knew it was already late."

That seemed to be Leandro's final gambit. Knowing he might not give in despite what my body told me, the idea was to appeal to my inherent curiosity, if only to give me an additional reason to accept his offer without my pride getting in the way.

Such a thing was unnecessary. After standing there for five minutes, considering all this new information being given to me, it was already clear that I didn't want to spend another minute exposed to the elements. With or without an additional reason, I was going to accept what was being offered to me.

And so, less than ten minutes later, I found myself in Leandro's apartment, with a welcome cup of coffee in hand and a desire to continue the conversation we had left hanging about the Santa who wasn't going to be entirely well received. Talking about that topic had again been just an excuse to bring me to the village and rest for a few moments. Despite whatever my friend had to share, he would be reluctant to do so until he was sure I was whole and in good spirits.

Unfortunately, at least one of those two things was impossible at the moment. And if it was true that time was running out for me to rid myself of the Santa, it didn't make much sense to deny him the word either.

So, with some hesitation on his part, Leandro proceeded to tell me what he knew.

"Delia seems to have a memory quite similar to yours, regarding what happened to her in the fields. I’m not saying I believe her completely, but based on her reaction when I brought it up and later, when she started talking to me about her experience, I’d say that at the very least, she’s convinced that what she saw is real."

"Has she also been wandering around at odd hours where she shouldn’t be?" I asked, trying to downplay the matter.

"According to what she explained to me, she had just spent the afternoon with some relatives and was heading home, in the same village, when she noticed something strange," Leandro continued, preparing not to leave out any details that could be useful. "She knew that it would have been wise to walk faster and get into her doorway, but at that moment, she didn’t expect what she saw to be the Santa. The streets had filled with fog in a matter of minutes, and although she could hear footsteps, anyone would have preferred to believe that they belonged to a group of neighbors making the same walk home. That’s certainly what Delia thought, until the procession got too close and it was too late to run."

"They must have passed the cross to her there. Could she identify the person who did it?"

"No, she couldn’t. She did see that the person in question was a man, and she gave me a more or less useful description of the details she could make out, but it wasn’t anyone she knew."

"And I suppose you couldn’t guess who it was based on that description?"

"I'm afraid not, it was too vague—a man of average height, dark hair, a checkered shirt, and work pants. She didn’t mention anything about his face: Delia was too far to distinguish it, and when the man got close to pass her the cross, she must have already been in a trance, so she didn’t remember much else."

"It’s unfortunate that not everyone who falls under the curse, once they’re freed, takes a moment to talk to the next accidental victim to warn them of the danger," I considered, now appreciating more than ever the kindness Delia had shown me. "Though, I suppose there was no obligation to do so. Given how grim this whole affair is, wanting to run without looking back once the chains are broken seems like another very respectable decision."

"Whether it’s respectable or not, the fact that we don’t have a clear description could complicate things. Delia has assured me that if she saw that person again, she’d recognize him, but until that happens, we’ll have to rely on what little she remembers and investigate from there."

"Or we could approach it differently, aside from doing that," I suggested, knowing that if the description was as vague as Leandro made it seem, it might take too long to get results. "What if, instead of focusing on Delia, we think more about who passed the cross to Joaquín?"

"But was he the one leading the procession?"

"I can’t say for sure, but it’s possible. It would at least explain why he could see in the middle of the night; maybe he wasn’t fully conscious when he passed by the Ribera. Now, thinking out loud, I’m not sure if this would be worse than trying to find the mysterious walker Delia saw. I mean, who’s going to admit that they've seen or had contact with a supernatural entity?"

"No, it was already difficult to get her to talk to me. If I hadn’t mentioned you, I don’t think she would’ve even let me set foot in her house."

"Not to mention that everyone knows Joaquín’s death isn’t fully explained. If they saw a police officer asking questions, no matter how crazy or irrelevant they might seem, wouldn’t that raise suspicion? No, maybe it would be better to speak to the family again. If Joaquín was the victim of some curse, they should have noticed something."