The keyword of the week: Spooky (by @gertu) || Horror at Home.

The two-week vacation was sadly over: the inescapable moment to say goodbye to family and friends, and at the same time, to leave behind the festive evenings with their usual episodes of joy; it was time to return home, restart their daily activities and get back to work.

The return trip, with all its setbacks and difficulties, seemed to be longer and more exhausting than anticipated. Few active fuel stations and a flat tire, along with unfavorable weather with its intermittent rains most of the way, ended up extending the six-hour return trip to almost ten hours. To make matters worse, the worst was yet to come.

When he finally arrived home, he pressed the remote control button to open the garage, but the door didn't open. Strange," he thought; the first sign that something was wrong. He got out of the vehicle, manually opened the garage door and put the car away. Then he prepared to enter the house.

He immediately opened the front door; the first thing he did was to flip the light switch in the living room, but the light did not come on. Then, as usual, he tried to turn off the alarm, but there was no point: it was deactivated. “This is not right,” a bad omen took over his thoughts.

Upset by what he was experiencing, he headed back to the garage with the intention of looking for a flashlight; he was to check the electrical fuse box. He soon discovered that the wires had been intentionally cut; fortunately, his technical skills allowed him to solve the problem.

After restoring power, it was time to check inside the house. When he turned on the lights, all he observed was chaos: things strewn across the floor, open shelves, displaced furniture and a broken window. “Damn it, I've been robbed,” he exclaimed. The house had been outraged while he was away; nothing could be worse, at least he thought so at first.

However, the putrid aroma that permeated the atmosphere was something that had him terrified. Some conjectures circulated through his thoughts, not at all encouraging possibilities. He wanted to call the police, though his own curiosity predominated; “I must make sure before I call the authorities,” was what he said to himself.

He steeled himself and mentally prepared for the worst-case scenario. He followed his nose and walked in the direction of the kitchen and as he got closer, the smell of dead and rotting flesh intensified. “Damn...it smells awful,” he mentally said to himself; a few flies swatted his face as he opened the door, and at the same time he almost puked his guts out.

After turning on the kitchen light, the scene that was drawn in front of him was horrifying. He put his hand to his face, and with it he covered his mouth and nose as he watched: plates and broken glasses scattered on the floor, the doors of the drawers and the refrigerator were wide open; all jumbled up in a chaotic image, although he had yet to witness the worst.

The 200-liter freezer, which he had in the kitchen to refrigerate the protein and large enough to freeze even a large animal, was surrounded by flies. The intense smell was coming from inside, and his hunch was about to be confirmed.

Without thinking, he flung open the freezer door. As soon as he lifted it, the prutid smell of rotting meat entered his nostrils and his stomach churned violently; he couldn't take it anymore. The spasm and gagging were the prelude to the gush of vomit that ran up her throat.

The appearance in the freezer was more disgusting and difficult to explain than the smell itself; the meat was not only rotten and full of maggots, but some pieces were covered with a hairy fungus. The twelve-kilo leg and head he had stored in advance for the Christmas holidays was such a grotesque sight that it made his skin crawl; all the pork had spoiled from lack of refrigeration.

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• Royalty free image generated with Gemini.
• Fiction story originally written in Latin Spanish, my native language and translated for Dream Steem with Deepl.com (free version).
• The Spanish text was appended for those who want to enjoy the original version... The translated version simplifies words, phrases and many of the expressions I use when writing.

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![Original Text]

Horror en el hogar.

Las dos semanas de vacaciones, tristemente, habian concluido: el momento ineludible para decir adiós a familiares y amigos, y al mismo tiempo, dejar atrás las noches festivas con sus habituales episodios de alegria; era el instante de volver a casa, reiniciar sus actividades cotidianas y volver al trabajo.

El trayecto de regreso, con todos sus contratiempos y dificultades, pareció ser más extenso y resulto más agotador de lo anticipado. Pocas estaciones activas para surtir combustible y un neumático ponchados, junto a un clima desfavorable con sus lluvias intermitentes en la mayor parte del camino, terminaron por extender las seis horas de regreso a casi diez. Para colmo, lo peor aún estaba por suceder.

Cuando finalmente llego a su hogar, presionó el botón del control remoto para abrir la cochera, pero la puerta no se abrió. «Que raro», pensó; la primera señal que le indico que algo estaba mal. Bajó del vehículo, abrió de forma manual la puerta del garaje y guardo el carro. Después se dispuso a ingresar a la vivienda.

Inmediatamente abrió la puerta principal; lo primero que hizo fue accionar el interruptor de la luz de la sala, pero esta no se encendió. Luego, como de costumbre, intentó apagar la alarma, aunque no tenía caso: estaba desactivada. «Esto no está bien», un mal presagio se apoderó de sus pensamientos.

Molesto por lo que estaba viviendo, se dirigió nuevamente a la cochera con la intención de buscar una linterna; debía revisar la caja de fusibles de la electricidad. Pronto descubrio que los cables habían sido cortados intencionalmente; afortunadamente, sus habilidades técnicas le permitieron resolver el problema.

Después de restituir la electricidad, era hora de revisar el interior de la casa. Cuando encendió las luces, todo lo que observó fue caos: cosas tiradas por el suelo, estantes abiertos, muebles desplazados y una ventana rota. «Maldita sea, me robaron», exclamó. La casa había sido ultrajada mientras estuvo fuera; nada podía ser peor, al menos eso pensó al principio.

Sin embargo, el aroma putrefacto que impregnaba el ambiente era algo que lo tenía aterrado. Algunas conjeturas circularon por sus pensamientos, posibilidades nada alentadoras. Quiso llamar a la policía, aunque su propia curiosidad predominó; «Debo asegurarme antes de llamar a las autoridades», fue lo que se dijo a sí mismo.

Se armó de valor y se preparó mentalmente para el peor de los escenarios. Siguió su olfato y camino en dirección a la cocina y, a medida que se acercaba, el olor a carne muerta y podrida se intensificó. «Rayos.. huele horrible», se dijo mentalmente; algunas moscas golpearon su rostro al abrir la puerta, y al mismo tiempo casi vomitó las entrañas.

Después de encender la luz de la cocina, la escena que se dibujó frente a él resulto espeluznante. Se llevo la mano a la cara, y con ella se cubrio la boca y la nariz mientras observaba: platos y vasos rotos regados por el piso, las puertas de los cajones y del refrigerador estaban abiertas de par en par; todo revuelto en una imagen caótica, aunque aún le faltaba presenciar lo peor.

El congelador de 200 litros, que tenía en la cocina para refrigerar la proteína y con suficiente tamaño incluso para congelar un animal grande, se hallaba rodeado de moscas. El intenso olor provenía de su interior, y su presentimiento estaba a punto de confirmarse.

Sin pensarlo, abrió de golpe la puerta del congelador. Apenas la levantó, el olor prutefacto de la carne en descomposición ingresó por sus nasales y su estómago se revolvió con violencia; ya no pudo más. El espasmo y la arcada fueron la antesala para el chorro de vómito que subio por su garganta.

La apariencia en el congelador era más desagradable y difícil de explicar que el mismo aroma; la carne no solo estaba podrida y llena de gusanos, sino que algunos trozos estaban cubiertos por un hongo peludo. La pierna de doce kilos y la cabeza que había almacenado con antelación para las fiestas navideñas eran un espectáculo tan grotesco que le erizaban la piel; toda la carne de cerdo se había estropeado por la falta de refrigeración.

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