4'
Sin diálogos
Ecuador
Clyford continues flying between apartments and houses, searching for his first meal. Like a bird that instinctively knows how to fly upon leaving the nest, or a cat hunting anything that moves, Clyford is drawn to human suffering. As he passes a house he is about to disregard, he hears what sounds like a loud argument ending in the sobs of a girl who runs [...]
Clyford continues flying between apartments and houses, searching for his first meal. Like a bird that instinctively knows how to fly upon leaving the nest, or a cat hunting anything that moves, Clyford is drawn to human suffering. As he passes a house he is about to disregard, he hears what sounds like a loud argument ending in the sobs of a girl who runs heartbroken to her room and throws herself onto her bed. Clyford watches through her window—her name is Leah—and senses a powerful aura of sorrow despite her small size. He watches until she falls asleep crying in the early morning, like a lion stalking its prey, deciding to analyze her to see if she’s worth consuming.
Leah sleeps past the time for school. Her mother, Cecilia, storms into her room, yelling, and snatches away her pillow to prevent her from sleeping any longer. Just as suddenly, she slams the door on her way out. Leah, irritated, gets ready without haste, puts on her uniform, ties a poorly done ponytail, and leaves her room. Her father, Hugo, is passed out on the living room couch from drinking the night before. In the kitchen, her mother takes some pills. Leah leaves without breakfast—neither parent bothered to make her food. Clyford observes her routine until she walks out the door and begins to follow her.
Leah arrives at the bus stop, surrounded only by adults since it’s late and all the students are already in class. She boards the bus, and Clyford follows her from the air. She reaches school in the middle of a class about to end. The teacher barely acknowledges her, as it’s common for her to be late. She sits down, and shortly after, the bell rings for recess. Leah has no friends and poor grades because she sleeps through class, due to the hostile environment at home that prevents her from resting. Despite clear signs of distress, both classmates and school authorities ignore her, labeling her simply as odd or lazy. To them, this is just who she is—practically invisible, something Clyford begins to notice throughout the day.
In the cafeteria, everyone sits together except Leah. In the last class, she falls asleep again, and even the teacher doesn’t bother to wake her—he just walks out, slamming the door. After school, Leah decides to walk home slowly, trying to delay her return. As the sun sets, Clyford flies behind her.
She finally arrives home. Her father is at work, so he isn’t there. Leah walks directly to her room. On the way, she sees her mother in the bathroom taking more pills. Though she notices Leah’s arrival, she chooses to ignore her. A while later, Leah is lying face-down on her bed, still in uniform, when her mother bursts in, startling Clyford, and starts yelling at her for coming home late. Leah pulls a pillow over her head to ignore her, as she’s used to the screaming.
That night, Cecilia prepares a type of soup so unappealing that even Clyford shudders at the sight. When the food is served and both Leah and her mother are seated, Cecilia calls Hugo to eat. He stumbles to the table and drops a nearly empty bottle of alcohol on it. After tasting one spoonful, he immediately throws the bowl and yells at Cecilia for the bad taste. They start shouting at each other across the table—a regular scene. Leah gets up, leaves her plate untouched, and goes to her room. Clyford follows her, beginning to feel pity.
In her room, Leah sits on her bed and stares at a poster of an angel on the wall. For her, the angel represents hope, her safe space. After a while lost in thought, she begins to cry and doesn’t stop until she falls asleep. While she sleeps deeply, Clyford sits on the edge of her bed, watching her with sadness. He glances at the poster and thinks maybe he could help her—just this once. Instead of feeding on her sadness, he starts to absorb it and decides to spare her.
Several nights pass like this, with Clyford witnessing Leah's suffering. Each time, he chooses to help rather than consume. Eventually, he’s no longer with her out of hunger but out of affection—he truly wants to help. But he doesn’t realize Leah is getting worse: her dark circles deepen, her mind grows more chaotic, just like her increasingly messy room.
One day, Leah is alone at home, sitting on the living room couch with Clyford. She notices one of her father’s beer bottles, hesitates, but then, driven by years of silent suffering, drinks it all. Though Clyford doesn’t fully understand alcohol, he senses it’s dangerous, but he can’t stop her. After some time, Cecilia returns and finds Leah with the empty bottle. She starts yelling. For the first time, Leah yells back. Her mother is shocked but then snatches the bottle and argues with her. Hugo arrives carrying more alcohol, and Cecilia lashes out, blaming him for Leah inheriting his alcoholism. She hits his chest with the bottle. Hugo gets enraged. Amid more shouting, Cecilia throws the bottle, shattering it on the floor. Everyone is stunned—Clyford is scared. For Leah, not only the bottle breaks but also the last thread of emotional stability she had. She runs to the bathroom.
Inside, she’s overwhelmed, holding her head, crying and trying not to scream. Then she remembers where her mother “hides” her pills. Knowing a high dose can be lethal, she makes her decision. She opens the cabinet, knocks everything down, finds the bottle, and swallows as many pills as she can.
Not long after, Clyford enters the bathroom and finds everything in chaos—Leah collapsed on the floor, breathing faintly. For the first time, he touches her, lifting her in his arms, realizing she won’t make it. In her fading state, Leah sees Clyford—but not as a demon. In her eyes, he appears as the angel from her poster—the one who gave her hope. She believes he’s come to save her. She closes her eyes, at peace at last.
Clyford, heartbroken, gently touches Leah’s chest and captures her soul, transforming it into a glowing halo that will accompany him forever. From that moment, Clyford chose to become an angel—to help other humans the way he couldn’t help Leah.
