THE SPECTER OF BEING AT ASUSTAME ONE MORE TIME BAR

"Close his eyes," one of the women begged crying..." The Island at Noon," by Julio Cortazar

By Juan Montoya

Every time that Andres went to quaff a couple of cold ones at Norma's Asustame One More Time Bar, he would have her play her surveillance video.

Like clockwork, at about 3:30 a.m., the lights would come on on their own, and the surveillance tape would show a shadowy figure standing at the far end of the bar swigging on a bottle and occasionally looking up and down.

Then, almost on cue, particles of light would start emerging from the mirrors that lined the back of the bar well. Some were bright white sparkles, others were small sprites,  almost butterflies, of light that emerged and then dissipated into the darkness.

Andres would gaze on the recording on the screen in amazement. Norma warned him about telling anyone but trusted friends about the tapes, but confided in him that sometimes, when she was alone cleaning the joint, she would hear people walking in the darkness making noises.

Now, Norma, although petite and weighing barely 100 pounds soaking wet, was a tough bird. She told Andres that when she heard the noises, she would yell at them.

"Ya no esten chigando," she would yell. "Dejenme trabajar y ya vayanse a descansar."

The shadowy figure at the end of the bar intrigued Andres. It was the same place where he stood watching sports. It was a way from the middle of the bar and he was not in the way of the pool players.

One day Andres was standing at the same spot watching a game. He had stayed at Norma's longer than usual that day and was feeling a little tipsy. He nodded off a bit and then woke up to a dark bar. Everyone was gone and he thought Norma had let him sleep a bit and rest. He looked around  for her when the lights suddenly came on.

He looked up and down and could  see no one. Then, bits of light and small figures started emerging from the mirrors. He was mesmerize with them as they flitted hither and yonder and he looked up at the  to the floor as they sparked off from the mirror.

He gazed in wonder before he was overcome with sleep and he dozed off again.

The next time Andres came to Norma's Asustame One More Time Bar he asked to see the tapes again and she looked at him quizzically.

"Why do you want to see that stuff again?" she asked. "You see it all the time."

"Me quiero asustar otra vez," he laughed.

"Ok, if that's what you want" she said and got the disk to play on the screen.

Sure enough, at the given time the lights came on and the shadowy figure at the bar was looking up and down. But then Andres noticed something he hadn't see before. In the dark wall behind the figure, there were dark, evil-looking faces that he had not seen before. He was intrigued as he stared intently at them and then he noticed that there were hands coming out of the wall and grabbing the shadowy figure and pulling him into the blackness.

As the figure was being dragged into the darkness it turned toward the surveillance camera in apparent agony and trying to fight them off. His face looked directly at the camera and Andres was horrified when he saw that the figure's face was none other than his.

As he turned toward Norma, he felt someone grab him from behind. It was a strong embrace that was not his friend and he could not shake loose before he passed out.