It Wasn't Maria

On my vacation to Mexico to visit my mom's family we experienced a couple of weird things in the "pueblo" (town) where my grandparents live. I of course did not want to believe it. They were just little things like in the night I would hear screams, more like a wail. My cousin explained to me that it was the Llorona, I just laughed it off. Some other things happened too. But, that is nothing compared to what my grandpa told one night while we (as my sister and me) sat with him on the porch of his house.

It was a nice night compared to the other ones. The weather was nice, not stuffy and hot like nights before. I had just told him about something that had happened to me that afternoon while visiting my aunt. This is what he told us: He said this happened to him when my mother was still a baby.

He had a routine made for him everyday. He would get up at 5a.m. to take his cows to the pasture 5 miles away from his house (meaning he would leave the small town). Like always my grandma was already up and had his breakfast ready for him to take with him. Now on his way out of the town he always passed one of his cousins house, his name was Mateo.
Well he explained to us that Mateo and his wife Maria were always getting in to arguments and fights. That day was no exception, he said he heard the screams and then saw Maria walk out of the house. Usually that meant she would end up at my grandpa's house. She loved to talk to my grandma and she usually used her as her confidant.

Finally my grandpa got to his piece of land in the outskirts of the town he tied his horse to a tree and sat down to enjoy his breakfast. He saw that his cows were busy already eating the grass. Now there is this river that passes through his land and he could here the water running giving him a sense of calmness. He was about to finish when he distinctly heard a woman crying. Which was odd to him because this was his land and he had come to alone. He got brave and followed the crying which came from the river's bank. That's when he saw a woman sitting on a large rock crying. He described her as a beautiful woman with long black hair. Even though her back was facing him, he actually thought it was Maria. Since she sometimes did go somewhere to be alone after an argument with his cousin. It did seem weird though since he did not see her follow him. He then called out to her, "Maria, come on now stop crying. Lets go, come on, if you want I'll talk to Mateo tonight." He said that the woman only shifted slightly but still did not face him. He once again called out for her and started walking closer to her. He said as soon as he reached her, she stood up and started walking away without ever looking at him. He, out of instinct, ran after her thinking the worst, that Mateo had finally done something really stupid. But, to his dismay he said that when he started going after her she sped up. Which was to him impossible, as he was much more fit, he started yelling out to her. That's when they reached a small hill and he saw that she was no longer running it was more like she was floating up. He quickly stopped and fell to the ground scared. That was not Maria at all, he got the courage to open his eyes and look again. The thing was still floating up and her back still toward him. But, he said then it turned around fast and that's when he got more scared. Her face was a skull with no eyes. He said that her stare felt like fire and that he started to feel like he was on fire. He said he finally broke eye contact with the thing and started to pray. That's when a sense of safety came to him and he got the courage to run.

He ran to his horse and left not once looking back. He raced home and as he walked into his house there was Maria sitting with my grandma. He told my grandma what he saw and she told him she believed him. My grandpa said he never again left alone, he always took one of my uncles with him. My sister and me got spooked. Trust me we couldn't wait to come back home to the USA.

If your wondering what had happened to me let tell you, I was visiting my aunt and after some lunch I laid down on a hammock for nap. She told me she would be outside doing some garden work. I don't remember when exactly I fell asleep, but I do remember waking up to the feeling of cold hands on my face. I woke up thinking it was my aunt and found myself alone in the house. I got up and walked out to find my aunt hanging some clothes. I asked her if she had been in the house a few minutes ago and to my dismay she said no.

I left her house without an explanation and never did I stay alone in her house. I later found out that the people that used to live there had a daughter that had died from a strange fever and was buried right outside the house.

I promise this is a true story and one that I have not yet forgotten.
Now I am more aware that there is ghost out there.
Well thanks for reading.