El Altrean
El Altrean is a duplicitous creature that feasts from the desperation and sorrow of those with a broken heart. Unfortunately, Consuelo, a recently heartbroken girl who would do anything to regain her lover, finds herself as the creature’s latest target. Will Consuelo’s mother's warnings be enough to stop her from forging a deal with El Altrean?
Word Count: 1324 Words
EL ALTREAN
Consuelo combed her hair, staring at the moon. With her eyes full of tears and her heart broken in half, Consuelo rocked back and forth outside of her house. She could not comprehend what she had done for her man to turn on her, to replace her with someone else. She loved him, even if it was clear that his feelings for her were not as strong as they once were. But, there was still hope, she thought.
“It’s getting late, my girl,” her mother said. “Come inside. You wouldn’t want El Altrean to take advantage of your weak state.”
“El Altrean?”
“Legend says that during starless nights, unfortunate and lonely souls clinging to their last strains of hope for love will receive a visit from El Altrean. Tall, wearing silky white clothes that accentuate his muscular body and a mask resembling the man the heart of the soul being visited so desires, El Altrean will silently offer a deal. He will open his hands towards the loveless. His left hand will produce a dense pink smoke desperately trying to escape his grip by dancing and combusting around his fingers. His right hand will turn into a beast’s hairy paw with long, thick claws covered in dirt and dry blood. With that, the offer has been made. Love or revenge, that is what the offer is all about.”
“‘Love or revenge, that is what the offer is all about.’ What is that supposed to mean, Mama?”
“Those are the two choices he gives. To choose one, the loveless must kneel and kiss one of El Altrean’s hands. After this, El Altrean will hand the loveless an orchid and disappear, leaving no other trace of his visit. A kiss on his left hand will make the man you love all yours. A kiss on his right hand, however, will grant El Altrean permission to take on his true form, and your lover will suffer the consequences.”
“Why should I be wary of a deal that could help cure my broken heart? If El Altrean will bring my lover back, I should welcome him in.”
“Rejected by all, loved by none, El Altrean died alone. Rejected by all, loved by none, El Altrean’s soul was not even loved by the greatest God. Rejected by all, loved by none, El Altrean was forced to aimlessly roam.”
“He’s just like me, a loveless creature.”
“Control your cynicism. You don’t understand, my child. His insides burn with hatred and vengeance, only visible to those unlucky enough to encounter his true form. A form so atrocious that only the Devil himself could be behind its creation. His monstrous right paw is nothing compared to what’s hidden behind his mask and clothes. He lurks in the darkness, looking for easy targets to confuse with his offer. I beg you, my child, do not make yourself an easy target.”
Consuelo could not comprehend her mother’s worry. The choice was quite simple. She would choose love over revenge. El Altrean would help her return things to how they once were.
“You’re right, Mama,” Consuelo said. “Let’s go inside.”
With that, she acceded to her mother’s plea and returned to the house. However, her plan was to wait for her mother to fall asleep and then seek out the masked stranger.
“Eat some bread with milk. It will do you good. You’ll see. You’ll see. I only want what is best for you. El Altrean is not someone you should trust.”
The two went inside, split a loaf of bread, and drank milk. Consuelo’s mother stood behind her daughter and began to comb her hair.
“Why is it that you hadn’t mentioned El Altrean before? How is he different from the tales you so often recite to the rest of the village?” Consuelo asked.
“Some tales hold more truth to them than others.” Suspecting her daughter would be unsatisfied with that answer, Consuelo’s mother added, “Perhaps I thought that mentioning his story would act as an invitation. But, a part of me recognizes that he is bound to roam through our lives regardless now that your heart aches, which is why my warning comes at the time it does.”
Consuelo turned around to face her mother, “You might fear him, but guess what, mother? I don’t.”
Consuelo’s mother began to caress her daughter’s head, delicately turning it until Consuelo’s back was turned to her mother once again. She resumed combing her daughter’s hair. “He’s not like you or I. His humanity is long gone. Love or revenge, that is what the offer is all about; that’s what they say. Regardless, the result is always the same.” Consuelo’s mother kissed her daughter on the cheek and whispered to her, “I can’t stand the thought of that happening to you.”
Soon, silence ruled over the house, interrupted only by the impatience of the wind and the insistence of the rain. A thunderstorm was coming.
“Oh, my child. The truth is…” her mother said, “no matter what choice you make, nothing will be the same as how it once was. You also must be careful. Once you have both choices in front of you, jealousy and rage might take over, turning love into hate and making revenge define your lover’s fate. While tempting, the love El Altrean offers is nothing more than an illusion, a ruse! Your heart will tell the difference immediately, making guilt take over your body. Your heart will stop beating for good. While tempting, the revenge El Altrean offers is destined to eat you from the inside out! Your heart will feel responsible for unleashing a fierce creature into the wild, making guilt take over your body. Your heart will stop beating for good.”
Consuelo was about to object, but her mother knew her well and spoke again. “No, there are no exceptions. No matter what choice you make, guilt will take over your body, and your heart will stop beating for good.”
“What if I refuse to kiss him?” Consuelo asked.
“Only the strongest of hearts can. As much as it pains me to say, such power might prove difficult for you to ignore.”
“You are wrong.”
“I wish I was. I can’t physically stop you. So, I beg of you to listen instead. Don’t seek him out; there’s still a chance he might overlook you. That’s my hope, at least. I know you are heartbroken. So, please, Consuelo, do not make yourself an easy tar—”
“I understand,” Consuelo interrupted her.
No more words were exchanged between the two, and after a while, they both went to bed. As the night became darker, thunder and lighting took over the sky as if trying to spook away the Devil’s work. Despite the commotion happening outside her home, Consuelo’s mother slept through the night.
…
Oh, lord of mischief and opportunism. Granting illusions to then only feast on misery and regret. No one loved him, and every laboured step he took was burdened by that fact. His only motivation is to cause pain no matter what choice people make. As a victim in his own mind, he is hungry for power. His climax comes when the loveless kneel to him, and their lips caress his flesh. From the summit to the shore, all soil liberated by Bolivar is not safe from El Altrean.
Most are unaware that El Altrean has faced rejection from loveless souls, and he hates that, as it reminds him of his past. But beware because even then, he will try and get his revenge by targeting the rejectors' firstborns. Mother Earth will try to warn the parents of the dealmaker's presence with a thunderstorm. Please let this warning be known to those who need it.
…
The following day, Consuelo’s mother saw an orchid on her night table. Terrified, she searched the house for her daughter but to no avail. Consuelo was gone. The love of her life was gone.
CHALLENGES
This section highlights the three main challenges I encountered while writing “El Atlrean” and how I overcame them. This is my way of sharing my problem-solving skills and reasoning behind some of the choices I made while writing the story.
1) To create an interesting and unique character that could have a place in Colombian Mythology.
When I decided to write my take on a Colombian Legend, the thing that excited me the most was coming up with a character. After all, Colombian mythology is defined by its characters, these mystical and supernatural creatures that roam through the land, punishing and pranking those who encounter them. I needed to create someone interesting, with a back story and motivation that aligned with other legends. So, to help me with this task, I used tales like "La Patasola," "La Llorona," and "El Hombre Caiman" as inspiration for my legend, "El Altrean." Ultimately, by following trends in Colombian mythology plus my ideas, I wrote El Altrean as a vagabond spirit who seeks gratification and revenge at the expense of heartbroken people.
After struggling to develop the character's physical design, I decided that it would be interesting to follow a pattern found in female-presenting characters but apply it to a male-presenting one. This pattern is the sexualization of the characters, as in many depictions, they can shapeshift into beautiful women or grotesque creatures, which creates a savage and scary image that can also be seen as sexually desirable (For example, La Patasola is sometimes depicted as having a monstrous face but a seductive naked body). So, I wanted to achieve something similar with El Altrean by giving him a muscular body, revealing clothes, and a flirtatious undertone when he is in his seducer shape. His monstrous shape is scary and repulsive to achieve the duality found in other legends. Finally, I also wanted him to have something unique: The mask, which the reader (or listener) could imagine by themselves. I figured that by making the mask take the face of the victim's last lover, those encountering the story would place a familiar face to the character, making them, in a way, put themselves in the shoes of El Altrean's victims.
2) To have a semi-poetic flow in the story.
One of my biggest concerns when writing the story was that the language would not feel mystical. Colombian legends are full of mystery and magic, and the language used when writing/telling the story further intensifies those elements. So, I decided that the best way to achieve that connection between the language and the themes being explored in my story would be by using poetry. As a non-poet, this decision was scary. But I saw it as an opportunity to try something different. This decision is why Consuelo’s mother has a rhythmic tone to everything she says. Likewise, I tried to use imagery and the rule of three (strongly present in fairy tales worldwide) to resemble the language used in Colombian legends. Examples of this include referring to the thunderstorm at the end of the story as an attempt from Mother Nature to alert about El Altrean’s presence and the repetition of the sentence “Rejected by all, loved by none” in Consuelo's Mother’s explanation of who El Altrean was.
3) To maintain an “old” feeling in the story.
Most contemporary versions of Colombian legends are set during early post-colonialism. As such, the characters, communities, and social structures have an “old” feel. Since my goal with “El Altrean” was for it to fit in with the stories found in Colombian mythology, I needed my story also to have that feeling. To achieve this, I avoided mentioning technology. Likewise, the story is set in a rural village instead of a city to give the narrative a feeling of isolation most Colombian legends have. Finally, I made Consuelo’s mom a storyteller to honour the way most Colombians hear about legends, orally.
Reflection
“El Altrean” was a great opportunity to experiment and learn. I originally wanted to write a fairy tale as a way to write something different, but the text quickly evolved into the type of story I grew up listening to, a legend. I wanted my story to feel like it had been taken from a compilation of Colombian legends, with its intriguing main character, mystery, and warning at the end. “El Altrean” was my first attempt at writing my take on a defined cultural genre, and I am satisfied with the result as I believe I was able to mix my style with the structure of a Colombian legend. Likewise, while I initially had second thoughts about the language I wanted to use to tell the story, I found that it had a nice flow and also fit with the story's mood. Ultimately, “El Altrean” showed me that using Colombian mythology to inspire my writing can lead to unique and fascinating stories. It would be interesting to not only expand this universe by creating new characters and new stories but also to reimagine some of the existing tales. Colombian mythology is an underutilized body of tales despite its tremendous potential and plentiful themes worth exploring, which furthers my interest in working with it.