Agueda woke up to the chilly December morning. She shivered and began to pull up the thin, tattered and worn-out blanket over her head, while the cold damp air tickled her feet. She tried to fall asleep again, but it was too cold. She sat up and looked out through the bars that separated her from the outside world. She saw beautifully decorated parols* swaying along with the gentle breeze, an old man selling premature duck eggs, a Chinese boy driving a calesa* with a Franciscan priest riding on it, women walking to the wet market and the guardia civils* doing their usual rounds through the busy chock-a-block town. Agueda released a heavy deep sigh as she stared at the images in front of her. Oh, how she longed for the freedom they possessed! Freedom from this confounded cell, freedom from the upcoming trial and execution, and freedom from the vices that plague her conscience. Her hodgepodge emotions of anger, hatred, misery, regret, fear and hopelessness began to build up in her until tears began to well up in her eyes. Her nose ran, her breathing quickened, her blood rushed into her face and her body quivered. She cried, sobbed and wailed her heart out.
"It's all his fault! Why did I listen to him? Oh-oh, why didn't I kill myself?"
"Kill yourself? Nonsense, you would have never done that you selfish little ingrate." Agueda stopped. That voice…she knew that voice. It belonged to that sinister devil who got her into all this mess. She looked up, and saw him sitting in the corner of the cell. He stood up and smiled a sardonic smile. She looked at him with daggers in her eyes. Oh how she wished that those daggers would shoot out from her eyes and stab the being that walked slowly towards her.
"Y-you, got me into this! All of this! Oh, how I wish that I continued to pray those novenas instead of listening to you! I could have lived a better life than this. I wish that I could kill you." He smirked as he sat on her bed.
"If I were human, then you could have. However, I didn't come here to have a cup of tea with you señorita, nor perform the beatitude of visiting the imprisoned. I came here to tell you that you're the one who brought all these burdens upon yourself."
"What are you talking about you devil? I never asked for any of this!"
"Ah-ah-ah," he said shaking his head and index finger in front of her. " I'm afraid that you're mistaken there my little señorita. You said so yourself, 'oh, how I wish that I continued to pray those novenas instead of listening to you!' You could have chosen to pray those empty novenas instead of embark yourself on a journey to prison, but you chose to listen me. Why did you choose to listen me anyway?"
"Because I thought that you were my angel! You lied to me you swindler! You took me away from God and turned me into this. I'm no longer the innocent pious woman I was, but the degraded ugly woman I am now. Leave me demon, I have no room for you here!"
"Oh, but you do have room for me here! See how we both fit in this cramped up cell perfectly," he said mockingly. "You hurt me Agueda dear. I never lied to you. I merely gave you double talk, and double talk is not a lie."
"LIAR! I called for my angel and you appeared. You're a devil and not an angel. Leave me demon, leave me now!" He laughed.
"My, oh my, what makes you think that devils are not angels? Didn't you read about the story of Lucifer or Satan? Didn't you know that he was once an angel? He was banished by God for his vanity and sent down to hell. Hence, he became a fallen angel or a devil to put it in your terms. Now that you know the story, I'm sure that you're aware that devils are angels, fallen angels. I did not lie to you dearest one. I merely left out fallen from fallen angel. You never asked me if I was an angel of the Lord and you never questioned my suggestions and commandments." Agueda stared at him with bewilderment and fury.
"You forced me to do whatever you said because it was for my happiness, but I'm suffering and miserable now. You're a liar! Leave me hellhound! Leave me now!"
" I did say that you'd be happy if you obeyed me, and you did become happy for a short while, but I never said that you'd be happy forever. It was your failure to see beyond my promises, and you always had a choice to choose whether you'd obey me or not."
"But you threatened me with death! You said that I'd die if I did not do what you said!"
"You would have died if you didn't obey me, but there were other alternatives to the situation you were faced with. You could have chose to do those alternatives instead of heeding to my orders. You brought about your own folly."
"I don't remember any other alternative to the situation I was faced with. You were the only one who had the solutions to my problems because you were the one who brought these problems to me. It's all your fault!" He smiled a devious smile.
"Let's see my dear señorita. Why don't we examine the past and judge your actions afterwards? Perhaps this way you'll see all the petty mistakes you've committed in the past and realize that these were all done by you, and not me…"
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*parols – beautifully decorated star-shaped lanterns hanged during the Christmas season
*calesa - carriage
*guardia civils – police officers