Unhappy Christmas by Miguel Campion

Author:Miguel Campion
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Babelcube Inc.
Published: 2017-09-21T04:00:00+00:00

End of part one.

PART TWO

Chapter 1

Jacob's family

Everyone seemed to be tucked away snug in their houses that night. Natalia and Jacob walked slowly in silence through the empty streets of a ghostly, arctic Madrid. It seemed that there were no other souls in the world apart from the white vapour of their breath. Natalia noticed that Jacob’s features, which had previously seemed surly to her, had strangely softened.

Before she knew it, they had arrived at a street close to Calle Embajadores, where there was a seemingly abandoned house, among other completely normal houses with lights in their windows. The house that Jacob stopped in front of was different: its windows were boarded up and there was an estate agent’s sign stuck to the façade, announcing its imminent demolition due to dilapidation and upcoming construction of luxury dwellings.

‘Do you live here?’ asked Natalia.

‘Yes, but don’t be scared. The bit about it being unsafe is a lie made up by the owners. This house belongs to some very well-off people who inherited it from some relatives. They plan to knock it down even though it’s in perfect condition, so they can build a newer one and make even more money. They deserve to own this house just as much as I do. If they don’t need it and I do, until they demolish it I’m staying. What do you reckon?’

‘Great,’ smiled Natalia.

The door to the building was sealed with iron bars that seemed impossible to budge, but just to one side, on the ground floor, were the remains of what seemed to have been a shop. One of the metal shutters was sealed with bars as well, but a small door had been cut into the shutter. Somebody had put a padlock on the small door. Jacob took some keys from his pockets and opened it.

‘Welcome,’ he said, inviting her in.

Natalia thanked him and went through the door with a smile on her face. Jacob followed and locked the door behind them. Natalia was submerged in total darkness. Jacob quickly felt his way along the wall and something lit up the room. Natalia turned and saw Jacob holding a candle that he had just skilfully lit in the dark. They were inside an old shop where all she could see was a dusty counter, empty shelves and abandoned cardboard boxes. The air smelt of damp.

‘This is just the entrance, don’t worry. Come on, my house is this way.’

Jacob led the way holding up the candle. They went through the back door of the shop and entered a long, dark corridor. Natalia was a little wary, more because of the setting than the fact that she was entering a beggar’s squat. She trusted Jacob entirely, but the feeling of cold, darkness and decay took over her.

In no time they reached a wooden staircase that creaked under the weight of their steps as they started their way up. After climbing a couple of floors they reached a landing with two doors. Jacob lit one of them up with the candle and unlocked another padlock.

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