The Cadejo
It was around 10:30 PM, and I was coming back from the wildest party of my life when I heard some strange sounds. Something was close by, but I couldn’t see it. I stopped for a moment and turned around when a pair of red eyes were glaring at me from the top of a hill; the eyes looked like embers (figure 1).
Figure 1. The Black Cadejo. ¹
Holy mother of God! I thought. What are these eyes? My God, get me out of here! This must be the Cadejo!
Vreeew! There was a loud whistle that I had never heard before. It looked as if an animal was whistling far away, but it was actually in front of me. Suddenly, the animal became huge and then small. It was black, the size of a big pooch, but instead of paws, it had four hooves at the end of each leg.
Vreeew! There was a loud whistle that I had never heard before. It looked as if an animal was whistling far away, but it was actually in front of me. Suddenly, the animal became huge and then small. It was black, the size of a big pooch, but instead of paws, it had four hooves at the end of each leg.
In a blink of an eye, I got paralyzed. I could not move, I felt that it was on quicksand, and I was sinking into it. I felt hypnotized, I could not stop looking at the embers in its eyes, and as I stood there staring, it stared right back at me. For a brief moment, the Cadejo turned back, and there was a clatter of sticks. Then another whistle again, vreeew! And it vanished in front of me as it appeared.
I ran towards my house, but when I arrived, I was suffering from a terrible fever. I felt as if I had run for 100 km because I felt my feet were extremely swollen, and my mouth was extremely dry. I just fainted in front of my door.
The next day, when my fever had subsided, my mother was very agitated and asked me: “Chepe, what happened?” I told my mom everything that happened that night.
My mom started to speak aloud: “Alas! May the Lord deliver and protect us! If it was the very same Cadejo that appeared in front of you! Do not come back so late tonight. It is watching you, and you will be so unlucky again the next time. Try to continue sleeping and drink the chicken soup that I made. Meantime, I will work on some protection.”
I struggled to sleep, I was shocked from meeting the Cadejo face-to-face, and that it had followed me that night. Trust me, it’s never the same, talking about the beast that meeting it. When I was extremely tired of worrying, I slept.
“Look, Chepe,” my father said:
“Your mother already told me everything that happened last night. You must be very careful this animal is already stalking you.
There is something disorderly in your life, and it will not stop preying on you until you stop. Plus, if you see it again, do go uncrazy, and try to attack or bullfight it because it will jump over you, and we will never see you again. If you do not do anything about it, it will only accompany you.
However, you will not get rid of his presence until you stop going along the bad path you are on. It’s like a ‘warning’ for your behavior. You are already a grown-up man. You must be careful. Keep in mind that there is even a white Cadejo for women! This is not a joke. What happened to you was just a warning.
The Cadejo is a spirit, and no one knows what is suffering from it. It is a poor soul captured here with us.”
However, as the stubborn Salvadoran, I’m, I told my dad: “Dad, since I was a small child, everyone has told me that story, and it never happened. Why should it be different this time? Where does it come from? Why does it come out?”
“Oh! That is an old thing that only the elders know,” My dad told me. “Maybe Mr. Enrique, Alfredo’s grandfather, can tell you something more. He has always been aware of the history and traditions surrounding this area.”
I’ve been always a very curious guy. You can define me as the embodiment of the saying curiosity killed the cat. But since I was a tiger, I didn’t care about it.
I left my home determined to meet Mr. Enrique. I managed to find his place and find out that Mr. Enrique was very deaf, and it was difficult for him to understand what happened to me. After many attempts, he understood. I then started asking him questions about the Cadejos. Perhaps, I was very foolish because I didn’t stop asking him again and again until he said:
“Look what you want to know is a very old story. I barely remember it, and perhaps I may have even invented it. I have to take some time to recall as much as I can because my brain does not work as in the old days. I find it very hard to remember anything. I suggest you return in eight days. I will try to recall as much as I can, and we will see if I will have it ready by then.”
Eight days later, I returned, and Mr. Enrique was waiting for me at the door of his house.
“Hmmm! So, you are back! For a brief moment, I thought you were not going to return, but I see you are like the bitter shell that the healer heals!” He told me.
Go on, Mr. Enrique without fear, at least we are going to be entertained for a while and thus conceal the fear that I still had.
“Okay,” Mr. Enrique told me. “Let’s see what I remember,”
Many moons ago, when none of my parents was born, two twin brothers lived in this town. They were very rebellious and mischievous. They were the worst of the worst. One of the twins was as dark as coal, and the other was an albino with skin and hair as white as ivory, and with that luck, they were called “the Black” and “the Blonde.”
“Look at the Black, he looks completely different from the Blonde, how is this possible?” The people said all the time.
They had come out well-encouraged, handsome, healthy, and forts. However, they didn’t use their skills at all. They were the biggest loafers in their town. They didn’t help their elderly parents at all. They were so lazy that not even water could bring them home. Their sole pleasure was to frighten people.
The twins spent their days doing nothing, but when it was night, they hid in the bushes, and when any person passed, they jumped and made them believe they had heard spirits or that a dead person had appeared to them. Nevertheless, you know you shouldn’t play with these things, should you? Because spirits are spirits, and you must leave them in peace.
Their parents advised them to do something more productive; to abandon these foolish games, but they never heard them.
One day, they were already at their place on the top of a mountain, waiting for someone to scare them when they heard someone coming. Suddenly! He appeared in front of them!
“Good evening,” said a smiling old man.
“Good evening, sir,” they replied, a little perplexed because they did not recognize how he had come so fast.
“What are you doing so late around here? Are you lost? Because we’ve never seen you around before.” They asked him.
“Exactly! I was seeking some herbs for a job that I have to do, and I fell down a ravine not so far from here.” Said the old man.
“I have been somewhat disoriented and without a clear course,” He said. “And you?” He asked them.
“We’re collecting firewood for our house,” the Blonde lied.
The Black told him the night had already caught us.
After those words, it began to flash and thunder very loudly.
“We are going to be caught in a storm! If I recall correctly, before coming here, I saw an abandoned cabin not so far away. We could spend the night there.” Said the old man.
“It’s true, that’s Mr. Bernard’s old house.” Said the Blonde.
“Well then, in this bad weather …” said the Black.
When they reached the cabin, the old man asked them if they could bring some firewood for a small campfire because the twins had lied, they were collecting some kindling before the rain. They left the house but went into the woods and sat down. They did not want to do anything because they were accustomed to doing nothing. Plus, they wanted to see what the old man would do after a while.
The Blonde suddenly complained: “Come on! This old man wants to make a campfire, and he wants our help! I am not going to collect any firewood for anyone.”
“Neither will I,” mentioned the Black.
At that moment, they saw the old man collecting some firewood from a pile already stacked in front of the house.
“What!!! I was there, and there was nothing,” said the Black. “How did this old man get them?”
“You must not have noticed it,” said the Blonde, “you were probably daydreaming. Let’s go inside because the old man has already lit the fire.”
However, the Black couldn’t shake the thought.
“Hmmm,” He said there was nothing there …
The old man must have seen them lagging, or he already knew they wouldn’t help him.
“Curse these twins! I’m already getting to know them. I was sent here for something …” The old man said.
When the twins came into the house, the fire was already blazing. The old man put on some coffee and gave them some pieces of cheese from his bag.
“Well … We’re going to eat. There are some tortillas and beans over there. At least, we will not starve to death.” The old man said.
The Black, still meditating on the thought that the firewood was not there when they arrived. They ate and stared at the old man. Ultimately, the old man asked him: “Well, why do you look at me so much? Do I have something on my face?”
The Black was scared and didn’t know what to say because he thought the old man didn’t notice he was looking at him.
“Nothing!” He replied.
“Hmmm … Of course! You want to know something! Spill out the beans!” The old man said to him.
The Black was even more frightened, but he did not want to ask him.
After some minutes. He said, “The truth is, I want to know what you were doing here so late at night?”
“I told you I was picking up some herbs for a job,” he said.
“And what kind of work?” Said the Blonde, who was listening.
“Why do you want to know? There are some things we are better off not knowing,” He told them and continued eating.
“Oh, no! You are going to leave us as simple fools.” the Blonde told him.
“Yes, you asked me. Now, you have to tell us.” Said the Black somewhat emboldened.
“It seems you are very curious. Anyway, I work to protect against what we cannot see, but what we sometimes feel – he told them,” he told them.
“When the Black heard that, he remembered the firewood, and his fear returned.”
“It’s better to leave the old man alone. He should be exhausted, and we should go to sleep.” The Black told the Blonde.
However, the Blonde was a fool, and he wanted to know more, so the Black stayed there. He did not have a strong enough spirit. He always did everything Blonde said; therefore, they listened to the old man and went to sleep after midnight.
The next day, when they awoke, the old man was gone. He had left them some coffee in the fire.
While he was drinking some coffee, the Blonde said aloud: “Look, Black, the old man is gone! He didn’t even say goodbye. However, everything he taught us last night. Hmmm, we’re going to be powerful!”
Well, the old man was one of those men who knew how to cure and protect people from bad spirits. He told them many of his secrets, and with the hooligans they were, they were not going to use their new knowledge for good.
So, they drank their coffee and went back home. They found their parents well-afflicted because they had been unable to sleep.
“You two afflicted us so much yesterday night, and how did you already eat your breakfast?” They spoke.
Later, the boys told them everything that happened.
“Look. Be careful. What happened to you is not a good thing. It did not rain here yesterday. Look, the land is arid.” Said their father.
“Yes, forget everything, and do not entertain yourself by frightening people. Leave that bad habit once and for all!” Said the mother. “Maybe last night was a warning from the beyond. Pay attention and remember that maybe the true God uses tricks, you know? Maybe he’s not omnipotent. He’s just been around so long he knows everything.”
However, their parents’ words fell on deaf ears. Since it was daytime and they were in their house, they trained their new skills and prepared to go to the mountain at night.
They were desperate, and when it was dark, they went out to the mountain where they waited silently. It turned out that there was a celebration in another town that night; therefore, it was showtime. Of course, many people had gone out to celebrate. However, sooner or later, they would return home.
The Black told the Blonde you take care of the women, and I am going to take care of the men. As they agreed, when a man passed, the Black jumped out and frightened him, and if it was a woman, the Blonde jumped. They did this all night. They heard people saying:
“Look, at these animals, they are worse than spirits! May, the great power protects us! Oh! Look into his eyes! I saw a black animal! I saw some embers on it!”
After many hours, they got bored and went back to their house. However, suddenly, their mother was yelling out of fear and calling their father.
“Close the door! Do not let these animals in! Look at their eyes! That is not a good sign! Turn the clothes over, and put them upside down! Come and burn hot pepper to protect us!”
The Black and the Blonde wanted to come in, but they could not because something stopped them.
“Calm down! Do not be scared, Mom,” they said.
“Oh! These animals do not bark, but only whistle and their whistle sounds like it comes from afar, but there they are in front of us!” They said their mother said.
“Look, they look like a pooch, but they are not (figure 2)! Look at their paws! They’re devils! One is black, and the other is white. Look at their eyes, they are embers! However, one has red eyes and the other blue ones!” Said their father.
Figure 2. The Cadejos. ²
For a while, the two frightened twins looked around from one side to the other looking for these animals but could not see them. They wanted to enter their house and could not. They just heard the screaming of their parents.
At that moment, the Black looked back, and behind him, there was the old man!
“What is happening to you today?” He asked them.
“Ah … My mom and dad have gone crazy and do not let us enter the house. They say they see animals and they cannot see us. And as much as we speak to them, they cannot hear us!” the Blonde said.
“Oh, yeah?” Said the old man.
At that precise moment, more people started to arrive, but when they approached the house, they shouted: “Here are these animals! These we saw in the mountain before! Do not approach them!”
At that moment, the Black looked back, and behind him, there was the old man!
“What is happening to you today?” He asked them.
“Ah … My mom and dad have gone crazy and do not let us enter the house. They say they see animals and they cannot see us. And as much as we speak to them, they cannot hear us!” the Blonde said.
“Oh, yeah?” Said the old man.
At that precise moment, more people started to arrive, but when they approached the house, they shouted: “Here are these animals! These we saw in the mountain before! Do not approach them!”
The Black and the Blonde looked at the old man, and the Black remembered the firewood.
“You! You cursed us! How can you see us? And they cannot? How can we talk to you, and you can understand us while they cannot?” The Black told the old man.
The old man answered:
“Well, didn’t you want to know everything? I told you that there are things that are better not to know, and you ignored my advice.
You had not led a good life and wouldn’t have used what you know for good things. However, you wanted to be powerful. You wanted to know how to frighten more people. And I granted your wish.
From today, you can scare as many people as you want, for eternity!
You can see your parents, but they cannot see you, they see what you have already heard. They see two animals, one black and one white, who are the size of a hound but are not hounds. These animals cannot bark, but they whistle; also, they grow big and small, and they have blue or red eyes in the shape of embers.”
“Come on! Get rid of this!” Said the Black.
“Don’t you understand? Even if I wanted to, I cannot take it away from you. It stays forever!” Said the old man.
“But how?” Shouted the boys.
“I told you and you ignored me. Also, your parents advised you and you ignored them. I only comply with what the spirits entrusted me. You have frightened people by making them believe you were spirits and with us, you do not play. You must leave us alone. Now, you are not very scary, right?” he told them.
“From now on, you are going to take care of the unfaithful men,” the old man said to the Black. Later, he looked at the Blonde and said: “And you, you’re going to take care of the unfaithful women.”
The old man continued: “Every night when you see unfaithful men or women returning late, an unknown force is going to force you to freak out and accompany them for a time.”
“Well, didn’t you want to know everything? I told you that there are things that are better not to know, and you ignored my advice.
You had not led a good life and wouldn’t have used what you know for good things. However, you wanted to be powerful. You wanted to know how to frighten more people. And I granted your wish.
From today, you can scare as many people as you want, for eternity!
You can see your parents, but they cannot see you, they see what you have already heard. They see two animals, one black and one white, who are the size of a hound but are not hounds. These animals cannot bark, but they whistle; also, they grow big and small, and they have blue or red eyes in the shape of embers.”
“Come on! Get rid of this!” Said the Black.
“Don’t you understand? Even if I wanted to, I cannot take it away from you. It stays forever!” Said the old man.
“But how?” Shouted the boys.
“I told you and you ignored me. Also, your parents advised you and you ignored them. I only comply with what the spirits entrusted me. You have frightened people by making them believe you were spirits and with us, you do not play. You must leave us alone. Now, you are not very scary, right?” he told them.
“From now on, you are going to take care of the unfaithful men,” the old man said to the Black. Later, he looked at the Blonde and said: “And you, you’re going to take care of the unfaithful women.”
The old man continued: “Every night when you see unfaithful men or women returning late, an unknown force is going to force you to freak out and accompany them for a time.”
Later, the old man vanished in front of them, but he laughed one more time. They never saw him again because he was the only one who knew they had become these animals. What would they do? They stayed like that, and their parents never saw them again.
“Thank you, Mr. Enrique,” I said. Now, I comprehend what happened. I need to leave because it’s extremely late, and I will not let this animal chase me again!
“Hmmm! This boy is clever. Not like the twins …” Mr. Enrique thought while he was vanishing in the air.
Special thanks to Emily from Canada, who helped me improve the translation of this legend and enrich my English knowledge.
Inspired by the book “Leyendas Cuentos y Adivinanzas de El Salvador, Bancasa, Banco de Construcción y Ahorro, S.A.” © All rights reserved 1995.
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