Efraín remained for a long moment with his hand resting on the luminous rock. He
didn't know if seconds or minutes had passed. Perhaps more. There, at the top of
the hill, theTime seemed to have stood still. The soft breeze caressed his face like
a constant whisper, and the moon shone directly above him, as if observing every
detail with divine attention.
The question continued to resonate within her heart:
Arewilling?
She had answered without thinking, from the depths of her being, but now… now she
had to understand
what it really meant to be willing.To the
rock.
To the call.
To the
mission.
He took a deep breath and dropped to his knees in front of the stone."Lord," he murmured, "if you have made this place an altar today, then receive my
life as..."Offering. Just show me the way.
A solemn silence filled the air. There was no light, no voice, no tremor. No sudden
miracle.
Only a deep peace began to expand within her chest, like fireslow, warm, stable.
It was at that moment that he felt
it.A pulse.
Not on the
rock.In it.
As if his heart had received a new rhythm. Steadier. More alive. He
placed his hand on his chest, surprised. It wasn't pain. It was strength.
Something was awakening.
After a while, she got up. There was something in the air. A change. As if theThe
hill itself would have made a decision at the same time as him.
Then he noticed a thin crack in the rock's surface. It hadn't been there before. Or
at least he hadn't seen it. It looked like a thin cut forming a vertical line. He
crouched down to get a better look.
The crack was perfect, as if it had been made with an invisible tool.
"What is this?" he whispered.
He moved a little closer and, accidentally touching the edge, the line opened a
few millimeters, revealing an inner glow, faint but deep, like light filtering under
a door in the middle of the night.
Efraín took a step back.
The crack widened on its own, without any noise, until it was open like aa hole the
thickness of a finger.
Inside the rock there was… something.
It looked like a piece of paper.But it wasn't ordinary paper. It had a pearly sheen, as if it were made of living fibers. I
couldn't peel it off with my fingers; it was embedded in a strange way, likeas if it
were part of the rock itself.
He felt an impulse.
A gentle but clear call.
"Take it," said his heart.
Efraín carefully placed his hand on the paper and pulled very slowly. Against all
logic, the paperHe left without resistance, as if he had been expecting it forever.
When he held it between his fingers, the crack closed immediately. The shine
disappeared.The rock became smooth, ordinary, and silent once more.
Efraín remained motionless.
—What are you…?
He looked at the paper in the moonlight. There was no visible ink, but when he
tilted it, letters began to slowly appear, as if they were emerging from within the
material.
They were not human letters.
They seemed carved from light, formed by harmonious, curved lines.
However,When Efraín looked at them completely, his mind understood the message
automatically, without needing translation.
And he read it.
"He who lights the first light must walk without fear, for he does not walk
alone.What you will receive is not a burden of man, but a covenant of the
Spirit.
Endure, for shadows will come. Remain,
for revelation will come. Speak, for the
word will come."
Efraín felt his knees tremble.
The message did not speak of a common
duty.He was talking about a pact.
A spiritual pact.
"With me?" he whispered, not believing it.Her eyes welled up with tears.
He, who just weeks before had felt dull, directionless, worthless…He,
who had been doubting even his own faith…
Was God calling him to make a covenant?
The wind blew stronger at that moment, as if confirming the idea.
Efraín wiped away his tears and kept the paper next to his heart, in the inside pocket
ofhis shirt.
It was the most sacred message he had ever received.
The descent was different. There was no fog. There was no cold. There
were no shadows.Just clarity.
But when he reached the halfway point, something
changed.The wind stopped.
The temperature dropped suddenly.
And a strange, heavy, almost oppressive silence enveloped the
path.Efraín stopped.
"No," he murmured. "It's not like before."
He felt a tingling at the back of his neck.
There was something there.
Something that did not come from God.
A shadow moved from behind the trees.
Quickly.
Silent.
Too big to be an animal.Efraín took a step
back.
"Who's there?" he asked firmly. There was
no answer.
Another shadow crossed the path a few meters
away.One more.There were several.
Efraín felt the urge to run, but something inside him—perhaps the recent pact—
stopped him.received— reminded him that he should not be afraid.
That same message was on the paper:
"Hold on, for shadows will come."
The shadows moved shapelessly, like human figures made of dark smoke. They
didn't advance toward him, but slowly circled him, as if testing him.
Efraín closed his eyes and raised his voice.
—In the name of the Lord, I am not afraid. He is with
me.One of the shadows stopped.
Then
another
one.And
another
one.
The air vibrated.
An invisible pressure receded.
And one by one, the shadows broke apart into small pieces that dissolved into the
air.
Silence returned.
But this time it wasn't
threatening.It was clean.
Efraín opened his eyes.
"Thank you, sir," she
whispered. And continued
descending.
When he reached the foot of the hill, dawn was beginning to paint the sky with a
soft hue, somewhere between blue and pink. And there, just a few meters away, he
saw a figure waiting for him.
Samuel.
The shepherd
.
She was standing with her arms crossed, as if she had spent the whole night looking
for him."Efraín," she said with relief. "Where were you? I looked for you along the way.
Camila said that..."
He saw you go up, but you didn't come back…
Efraín took a deep breath. There were too many things to explain… and too many
that
He still didn't understand himself.
"Pastor," he said firmly. "I need to talk to you. I know what's going on."
Or… at least, I know where to start.
Samuel watched him with surprise.
Are you okay? What happened up there?
Efraín looked down at the pocket where he kept the shiny paper.
"God spoke," he replied. "Not as I expected... but he spoke."
The pastor frowned, confused.
—What did he say to you?
"That the light begins here," Efraín said, touching his chest. "And that I must be
ready for what's to come."
Samuel took several seconds to respond.
But when he did, his voice was full of respect.
—Then, son… get ready. Because when God makes a covenant, nothing is ever the
same again.
equal.
Ephraim looked up at the hill.No,
nothing would ever be the same
again.
He knew it.
And it was ready.