babel Cabin

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Apart from the stars and moon in the night sky, it was the only visible light source for kilometres. The dark woods, or Montes de Málaga, were a far cry from the brightly lit city of Málaga just a few kilometres away. At certain parts of the woods, you could see the city. But from the cabin, it was only tall pine trees and faint views of the stars that could be seen. But even so, Málaga was what remained in Mateo’s mind all throughout that evening and into the night. For in Málaga, was this strange but wonderful Irish girl called Eilis.

Teaching English to ungrateful kids, he thought to himself, she could have gone anywhere but she chooses Spain. Her Spanish is very good, almost fluent. She'll leave me here to rot in Spain. Maybe I should have taken that job in… “Hey, Mateo!” A sudden feminine voice called out “You got a light?” Mateo turned around, he recognised that louder than it needed to be voice from anywhere. It was Beatriz, the half Argentinian half Portuguese girl. Her Parents met in Cadiz, two immigrants working odd jobs in tourism. Her father had unfortunately died young. “Beatriz, I always have a light, here you go.” Mateo said as he handed her his lighter. “So, both Juan and Lucas are sleeping, yet here we are awake” “Yea, It’s summer Beatriz.” Mateo responded “Yes, it is. Why did we choose to do these hikes in summer anyway?” Said Beatriz in a playful slightly ironic tone. “Yea, In Andalusia of all places” Mateo responded in the same tone “Yea well, Andalusia is our home” “Yea well, let’s hike in Britain next time. At least Britain has the occasional cloudy day” Mateo said with a slight sense eagerness. “Yea, mainly rain. And anyway, you’re the only one who went to that fancy pants tea drinking British school. You think Juan can speak English? He can just about manage Spanish. He’s more interested in that ball shaving thing he has. I mean, my Portuguese isn’t great.” Beatriz responded with a sarcastic tone. “What can I say, I like the place”

The two fell silent for a moment, just looking outside the widow of this cabin they stumbled across in the middle of the woods. “What do you think this cabin is anyway?” Mateo asked “It’s a cabin Mateo” Beatriz responded in a deadpan voice “No I mean…” Mateo started speaking before being cut off “ I know I know, let’s get your mind off Eyelish” Beatriz said in a slight smile “Not eyelish, it’s Eilis” Mateo snapped back. The only response Beatriz game was laughter. “What are you laughing at?” Mateo asked, very much annoyed. “Mateo” Beatriz said, pausing her laughter “I’ve met a few girls who’ve made me feel, but wow this girl has you on the ropes my friend.” And as soon as Beatriz finished speaking, she began laughing again. “Oh haha, just because You and Maria didn’t work out…” Mateo said, before being interrupted again “Oh leave Maria out of this. I broke up with her…” Beatriz was about to say more, when all of a sudden, she stopped speaking. Her cigarette was on the ground and her hand was grabbing Mateo’s arm.

“What?” Mateo asked, puzzled as to why Beatriz was acting so strange. Beatriz in response just looked at him and shushed him. “What?” Mateo asked again, whispering this time in a slightly aggressive tone. Beatriz once again stayed silent, as if unable to speak. A few moments went by, and there was seemingly nothing to be afraid of. So, what had spooked Beatriz so much? Mateo puzzled this in his mind for a moment, then decided it was time to speak up. “Beatriz, what is going on?” Mateo asked once again, to a blank look on Beatriz’s face, as if she didn’t understand what he was saying. “Beatriz! What’s wrong?” “Por que você está falando inglês? Mateo?” Said Beatriz, in some strange language “What is that language?” Mateo asked, it somehow sounded familiar to him. “Linguagem? Espanhol!” Beatriz responded aggressively. “That’s not Spanish” Mateo said “Familiar but not Spanish” “O que está acontecendo?” Beatriz responded

They both looked at each other, knowing that Juan and Lucas were still sleeping. They both realised that something was going on. Beatriz knew that Mateo wasn’t one to mess around like this, and Mateo knew when Beatriz was serious about something, she seldom was but right now she certainly was very serious. They both sprinted towards the room where Lucas and Juan were sleeping.

Running towards the end of the small hallway, they both failed to spot that the candle has suddenly got brighter and was steadily becoming brighter and brighter by the second. They barged into the room, calling out to Juan and Lucas. They both immediately woke up, dazed and confused. “Juan, Lucas, we what language am I speaking?” Mateo screamed, pointing towards his mouth. Juan was first to get his bearings together, whereas Lucas just looked confused. Juan sat up quickly, and angrily responded.

“anglais crétin” As Juan spoke, Lucas quickly sat up himself. “Juan, warum hast du das auf Französisch gesagt?” Lucas asked, slightly confused. Juan had failed French at school and repeatedly called it a stupid language spoken by gabachos, or filthy hairy savages. But Lucas’s response had only confused Juan. Lucas had never mentioned being able to speak German. It didn’t make much sense to him.

“Pourquoi parlez-vous allemand Lucas?” Juan asked calmly. Mateo looked at Beatriz for a moment. “Sprichst du Französisch, Juan?” Lucas responded. They both looked at each other confused, both wondering if they were still asleep and still dreaming some strange scenario. Mateo stood up in front of them and began to speak. Acting out every word he was speaking and talking very slowly. “No one is speaking Spanish!” He exclaimed “Was?” “Quel” “No Spanish. Nein Spanish errr….. spreken errr… parler nein, no.” Mateo said, struggling to explain the situation. “No idea why”

Juan and Lucas immediately got up, both looking at Mateo as if he had sort of answer. Mateo looked down, trying to work out the situation. Suddenly, Eilis wasn’t on his made anymore. Mateo composed himself. From the group, who called themselves the Los excursionistas andaluces, he was the smartest, or at least seen as the smartest, as he was the only one who had been in a private school growing up. He never felt like he was the smartest, but he was apparently speaking English, which was the language most in the group would understand.

“Beatriz, you are speaking Portuguese” Mateo explained, trying his best to act out every possible word. “Speak Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazil, Porto, Lisbon” Beatriz nodded her head, seeming to understand. Mateo wondered for a moment; Portuguese was more similar to Spanish than English was. He looked around and saw the book that Lucas was reading laying on the floor. He picked it up, it was a book called El amor en los tiempos del cólera. “Can anyone read this?” He asked, pointing at the book. Lucas immediately took the book and looked through it. He only spent a moment looking through the pages before the shocking revelation became much clearer to him. “nein, es ist auf spanisch, aber es sieht einfach aus, na ja, fremdländisch” Lucas responded in detail, as if forgetting for a moment that it wasn’t Spanish he was speaking. He attempted to re explain in English “No, I can’t read ze book”

They passed the book around, but no one could understand it. Their own native language had somehow become foreign too them all. They all stayed for a moment is silence, confused. All of a sudden, they all heard a voice call out.

“Veni ad principale cubiculum, ego te sanabo a daemonibus peste” A voice called out. As soft as a whisper but as loud as a roaring engine. Each knew it was a 5th language, it sounded sort of Italian, but not quite Italian. No, Latin. Who was speaking Latin? They all reluctantly followed the mysterious voice to the main room of the cabin. In the main room, was a terrifying figure made up of what appeared to be the light from the candle. It was a ringed sort of demon, 6 rings rotating around each other, each ring filled with eyes that seemed to stare in every direction. In the middle, was a floating eye, the biggest eye of them all. It gave them all a piercing look. Juan Immediately panicked and ran outside, as he did, the light spoke.

“Juan! Noli currere” It screamed as light as a whisper. Juan didn’t even seem to notice it calling his name, he just ran and ran. The other three stood, frozen in place. Terrified. “Nolite timere. Ego sum angelus hic in tua protectione. extra est daemon temptans te ad gehennam” The Light spoke once again, softly, as if it were an instrument like a harp. None of them had any idea what the light was saying. They just stood there, all shocked and confused. “sta, donabo tibi hanc linguam” The light continued. As it approached them, Beatriz and Lucas immediately grabbed a hold of each other, looking into each other’s eyes and having the same idea. Run, Find Juan and get back to civilisation as soon as possible. They both bolted towards the door. But Mateo, he stayed where he was. As if accepting of his fate that stood before him. To Beatriz it appeared that way at least. As she ran away, she noticed Mateo didn’t join them. She ran back to the door, only poking her head through, not daring to fully enter the cabin. She looked at Mateo and screamed what she thought could be her final words to her friend, her closest friend. “Mateo, please.” She looked at him for a moment, before Lucas’s hand touched her back. Lucas looked at Beatriz, giving at sad but commanding look. A look that said I want him to run too, but he has made his mind up. I’m sorry. They both took one last look at Mateo, then ran into the woods together.

Juan didn’t stop running, He hadn’t the time to get changed. He was only wearing his underwear and a t-shirt. He had his shoes on at least. He had put those on when he was awoken. He was sprinting through the woods but was mostly blind. Then just like that, bash. He had run straight into a tree. He immediately fell over, not realising at first that he had fallen over. He felt dehydrated and was panting relentlessly. What was that? He thought to himself. Oh God I just left the others? What is wrong with me? Juan looked back in the direction in which he ran, not sure where the cabin was now. Darkness surrounded him. Then, all of a sudden, he heard a voice and there was light in the distance just ahead of him. So far away yet somehow so close. The voice became clearer and clearer to him.

“Juan” It spoke in French “You moron. That’s all you are, a moron. Always have been and you always will be. That’s why I gave you French Juan. You looked such an idiot trying to read it, sounded like such a dunce trying to speak it and such a fool trying to understand it. It’s a romance language like Spanish, how could you struggle so much? Your maths, huh what a joke. You still don’t know your times tables Juan.” The voices words sent shivers down Juan’s spine. It was all true after all.

“Juan, I saw you looking at Lucas’s book. Sorry it wasn’t hungry hungry caterpillar Juan, maybe you’d understand that Juan” The voice spoke, chillingly. Juan had no idea what to do, he could only see light ahead of him. He wondered if he should approach it. Suddenly, a softer voice began to speak.

“Run from that Demon Juan, come to the light, I will protect you, Juan.” It spoke. Juan didn’t trust the other voice, but he trusted it more than the other voice at least. He had made his decision; he would head towards the light, but slowly, biding his time. To him it seemed better to move than to stay still at least.

Lucas and Beatriz were running, holding each other’s hands so as to not lose each other. They were both taking turns to scream out Juan’s name. But to no response. Lucas’s screams became weaker and weaker. Beatriz took notice, turning as they were running to look at him, only to see that he wasn’t looking right. He had the look of someone who had the 1000-yard stare.

Beatriz stopped, pulling at Lucas to make him stop too. They both looked at each other, confused and unable to communicate effectively. Suddenly, Lucas collapsed to the ground, exhausted. “Lucas!” Beatriz screamed, immediately bending down to aid him. Lucas was dehydrated and was struggling to keep focus. He was screaming something in German. Beatriz had no idea what. Then, all of a sudden, a light appeared. Beatriz looked towards it and saw what appeared to be an angel. A winged naked man stood before both of them. Beatriz thought that perhaps demons were tormenting them, that demon in the cabin that took Mateo. Oh Mateo, Beatriz thought to herself, why didn’t you run. In amidst all the confusion and adrenaline, she hadn’t fully comprehended what had just occurred to her, and to Mateo. She couldn’t find Juan and Lucas had just collapsed. Was she alone now? Is the angel a delusion? Beatriz had no idea what to do, she just fell to the ground and began to cry.

“Beatriz, the crying little bitch again? this isn’t the first time you’ve felt alone ain’t it Beatriz?” A dark voice spoke, seemingly emerging from nowhere to torment her “Ain’t the first time you’ve felt so helpless huh Beatriz?” Beatriz heard the voice, and immediately stopped crying. “you tell everyone you’re half Portuguese half Argentinian. Why do you lie to everyone Beatriz? You know you’re just a Favela whore’s daughter. Your father could be any nationality Beatriz, why do you say Argentinian Beatriz?” The voice spoke again. Beatriz looked around, as if to look for the voice. All she could see was the angel. Was the angel the one speaking? The angel turned towards Beatriz and began to speak.

“You know we can’t accept your kind into heaven’s gates Beatriz. With your filthy homosexual acts. Did you feel ashamed when you told Mateo, when he asked you out, you know he wanted to see your whole body from day one. You know he still wants you to be straight for him Beatriz.” The angel spoke. Beatriz was so taken aback by everything, that she didn’t notice the difference in voices between the invisible voice and that on the angels. To her it was the same voice. Beatriz was confused and said nothing. She looked over at Lucas, who was now reaching his hand out toward the angel. She looked away from Lucas, knowing there was nothing she could do now. Was she about to be killed? Purged for who she was? “Repent that you would ever commit such vile acts to me immediately, and I might just let you into heaven’s gates Beatriz.” The angel called out. Its voice wasn’t soft, it was sort of, chilling in a way.

The run seemed so effortless for Lucas. Like he wasn’t running at all. He felt like he had entered a new zone of consciousness. Everything was seeming like a blur to him. He was calling out Juan’s name, but he could feel his screams becoming fainter and fainter. Something came into his vision, who was that? It looked like him but, he was wearing a uniform of some kind. Suddenly, Beatriz stopped. He looked at her for a moment, when he heard a voice, seemingly inside his head.

“Lucas Rokicki, or should I say Lucas Holder?” A voice called out. Lucas was looking at Beatriz, but her face was changing. It was changing into the face of a man, in a uniform. It was a… Oh Christ no! It was an SS uniform. Lucas collapsed to the ground. He knew what this meant. “You recognised that man Lucas? That was you great grandfather. He butchered many people and raped your great grandmother. When did you find out Lucas?” The voice asked “Last year” Lucas responded “My grandmother’s old things when she passed away, we went back to Szczecin to sort her things out and bury her. That’s when” Lucas responded, thinking he was speaking softly. “At least you’re not a liar Lucas. Do you feel shame? Shame that your blood runs cold with the evil that butchered your people?” “I’m not him!” Lucas screamed back at the voice. In this moment of his screaming, he didn’t notice Beatriz staring down at him, but rather the angel in the distance, yet seemingly so close at the same time. He reached out towards the angel, assuming it was there to cleanse the sins that swam through his blood.

Mateo was standing still, not out of fear, not out of an odd sense of panic, not even out of a sense wanting to die. No, He stood still out of faith. When this light appeared, the first thing that came to his mind wasn’t what he saw before him, or the fact that he had lost his ability to speak or understand Spanish. What came to his mind was Eilis.

A rare rainy day in Málaga, for the tourists this meant it was time to find refuge in the closest café or public building. But for tourist attractions, it meant it was quite time. So, for Mateo, it was going to be a rare quite Saturday. His English language tours of the cathedral had become so mundane, so repetitive. He sat down, wondering how he ended up here. Why did he ever leave Sevilla? Beatriz; Juan; Lucas; Valentina; Lucas A; Hector; Marta and Pilar were all in Sevilla. Here in Malaga who did he know? Just two people; Bruno and Davide.

He wondered how this could ever happen to him, maybe it was the pandemic that made him want to get away. He wanted to go to Britain, but what with them leaving the EU it just became complicated. Far too complicated. He had an opportunity for an internship, but it was only for 3 months, and he needed more money that it was offering, which was basically nothing. Life just seemed to come to a screaming halt for him. Then all of a sudden, as he was looking down and feeling sorry for himself, a woman appeared.

“Hello, could I have a tour of the cathedral please?” The woman asked in Spanish, but with an accent. Mateo looked up to see, Beatriz? No, she looked a lot like Beatriz. But unlike Beatriz, she wore glasses. She was also slightly taller, and her eyes were blue rather than hazel. “Ok” Mateo responded after an awkward moment “Full tour with the tower?” “Of course!” The woman responded “I’m Eilis” “Oh hello Eilis, am I getting that correct?” Mateo asked, slightly taken aback by her being so upfront. “That’s right! It’s Irish” Eilis responded with a wide smile, looking slightly nervous. “I can do the tour in English if you prefer” Mateo responded “No, Spanish please” Eilis responded in Spanish “Your English is very good though , are you British?” “No, I’m Spanish, I went to a British school long enough to get the accent” Mateo responded. He looked at her for a moment that suddenly realised something “Oh, My name’s Mateo”

Mateo spent most of the tour speaking to Eilis about anything and everything. It just felt like he could talk to her about everything and anything. They would repeatedly switch between English and Spanish. Eilis even taught Mateo a few words in Irish. ‘Tá mé chun mo uimhir a thabhairt duit’ was something she told him but wouldn’t translate. It stuck in his mind for whatever reason. It was more than likely some odd gibberish. At the end of the tour, Eilis turned to Mateo.

“So, you going to ask me for something?” Eilis asked in a slightly cheeky voice. “Did you enjoy the tour?” Mateo responded quickly and slightly panicked. Eilis said something to herself in Irish, then asked Mateo something in English. “Ask me for something Mateo” “Ok, do you like coffee?” Mateo asked, slightly terrified this time. “I’m an evening girl” Eilis responded, tilting her head slightly to the side and giving Mateo a grin. “Aw come on, give me your phone” As soon as Mateo unlocked his phone, Eilis snatched it out of his hand and put her number in. “WhatsApp me later” she said, handing Mateo’s phone back to him.

Mateo didn’t understand why this came to his mind. Perhaps it was just going to be a nice final memory. Perhaps he thought himself and Beatriz had fallen asleep, and this was all some sort of dream. He just stood there, staring straight at the light.

“It was a nice memory was it not?” The light asked, this time in a language Mateo could understand. Mateo just stood there in silence, as if what he saw In front of him had just registered in his mind. The light spoke once more “Why did you think of this day of all days?” it asked “it felt special” Mateo finally responded “I’d never been chased by a girl like that before” "Good memories make all the bad ones worthwhile” The light responded “We don’t have long, I’ll quickly explain. I am an angel sent by God to protect you and your friends, you stood still long enough for me to implant a good memory into you, and then as you remembered it, I gave you this language so we could communicate. I can give you back Spanish, when we chase away those demons. Find your friends, give them your language, then return them to the cabin. They’ll be safe with me” Mateo took in every word, although he wanted to ask more, he knew that his friends still weren’t safe. He nodded at the angel and bolted through the door.

Mateo didn’t know whether or not he should trust this apparent angel. But something about the tour with Eilis made him trust it. The whole tour was a blur to him, every memory of it blended together. What specifically made him trust this apparent angel? As he looked for his friends, the memory of that day streamed through his head.

Lucas and Beatriz were both on the ground now, but both had different ideas. As Lucas tried to approach the angel, Beatriz was trying to hold him back. “por favor Lucas. Não posso ser o que não sou. O inferno pode me levar, mas por favor não me deixe em paz” She attempted to scream at him, but through the tears she found it difficult. Lucas had no idea what she was saying, but all the while he could see in her eyes that she didn’t want him to approach the angel, so he stopped trying to approach it. The angel turned around, turning his back to the two hikers trapped on the ground. All of a sudden, a voice called out that they both recognised.

“Beatriz! Lucas! Trust the Angel! It gave me a way of speaking to you both, resist the voice and approach the angel!” The voice screamed. They both looked towards the voice. Juan! Juan was safe, he was standing right there! Lucas and Beatriz both looked at each other..

Mateo was still pondering what that memory meant, and why it made him trust that apparent angel. “The eyes of the angels see all” Eilis’s voice spoke; echoing through Mateo’s mind. This was on his mind until he came across a man leaning against a tree. Mateo recognised him from the back of his head. “Juan!” Mateo screamed out. Juan immediately turned around. Standing still, leaning against the tree, exhausted. Mateo approached him, touching his head with both hands, and pushing his head into his, gently.

“What was your memory, Juan?” Mateo asked. “You knew I had a memory? And we can speak to each other now?” Juan responded, confused. Mateo just gave a shrug, Juan smiled and finally responded “I was back in the Betis Academy” “Oh, the shitter team in Sevilla?” Mateo responded with a slight laugh “Who won the Copa del ray?” Juan responded. “Come on, lets find the other two”

Juan and Mateo walked towards the light; Juan had told Mateo about seeing an angel. “Why did you not approach the angel?” Mateo asked “I got a hat-trick of assists that game. The coach told me I was set to get a professional contract. I was released the following week. People deceive you with great promises” “You worked that out without the memory Juan?” Mateo asked “Well, I never believed in God” Juan responded “Wait, there they are Mateo” “Juan” Mateo whispered, pointing towards the other Juan. They both looked at each other. Then before Mateo could say anything, Juan started walking towards himself. Mateo couldn’t stop him in time.

“Beatriz and Lucas!” Juan screamed as he walked towards the other Juan. He stood next to this sort of reflection of himself and went to punch it. His hand went straight through. Beatriz and Lucas looked at each other, confused about seeing two Juans next to each other. Juan looked back at them, realising that they weren’t fully convinced yet, he looked towards them, and pulled down his underwear. “You both asked for it, look at that, as trimmed as when I was born!” Juan screamed out, turning towards the reflection of himself as he did so and pointing towards his area. Beatriz and Lucas immediately realised that this was the real Juan. Only he would prove a point in this way.

Beatriz and Lucas both got up and walked towards Juan. Mateo approached Juan and the group. They all looked behind them and noticed that now three figures stood behind them. They were green, with hoof like legs and giant teeth. They then started to approach the group.

The group immediately bolted, but with Juan’s underwear between his legs, he fell over. Lucas Immediately stopped to pick him back up and help him put them back on. Mateo and Beatriz did not carry on running, instead waiting for Lucas and Juan. As Juan got back up, they all began running again. Beatriz taking Mateo’s hand and Lucas taking Juan’s. The demons behind them got closer and closer to them. They didn’t need to avoid the giant pine trees that adorned the woods, they would just move straight through them. But as they were running, the light appeared. It was the cabin!

They all sprinted into the cabin, with Juan being the last to enter. Juan immediately saw as they entered, that they stopped. Juan didn’t care why they stopped, instead taking the time to give these demons the finger. "Suck my balls" He screamed. When Juan turned around, he saw Lucas and Beatriz hugging each other. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, he could understand what they were saying. Juan cut off the emotions by asking a very simple question.

“What language are we all speaking entity?” He asked. “I gave you Latin, and you can keep it too. Come to me and I’ll return Spanish to you. I will stay here to scare off the demons. Ask me any questions” The angel responded.

The group all had their Spanish returned to them but were all silent for a while. Unsure what to ask an Angel in such a moment. “Would God forgive me for how I am?” Beatriz asked all of a sudden. “Beatriz, God’s forgives all. But with you, there is nothing that needs to be forgiven. You were made the way you are for a reason” The angel responded. Beatriz smiled in response. “So, God is real then?” Juan asked bluntly “God is both real and a fantasy” The angel responded, to Juan’s confusion. “Why do you look so, scary?” Mateo asked. “You know why Mateo” The angel responded “We are made this way because we are not deceivers. We see all”

The three spend a couple of hours with the angel, asking any question they could think of. But Lucas stayed alone in that room, thinking about his family history and how he could repent, thinking of something to ask.

“God forgives, even the evilest people. Would Franco and Hitler be in Heaven?” Lucas finally asked “God wishes to save every soul from hell, but it is the free will of humans that determines their fate. I only intervened because the demons did. Humans spend so long Confessing and asking God for forgiveness, that they forget to do that for each other” The angel spoke. As he finished speaking, the candle below him blew out. Just like that, the angel was gone. He was no longer needed.

Daylight hit, and the four hikers started their journey back to the city. At the coach station, Mateo said goodbye to his friends. Before Beatriz could enter the bus, Mateo pulled her to one side.

“She looks like you” Mateo confessed “That isn’t why you like her” Beatriz responded, smiling, then entering the coach. Through the window his three friends waved him goodbye.