The Lingering Residue

he old Spanish cemetery, known locally as the Sanctuario de los Recuerdos, lived up to its ominous reputation. Wrought iron gates, rusted with age and adorned with skeletal figures, creaked open as we pushed them aside, revealing a sprawling expanse of weathered mausoleums, moss-covered tombstones, and statues of weeping angels shrouded in shadow. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth, decaying flowers, and a silence so profound it felt like the very breath of the dead.

As the sun began its slow descent, casting long, eerie shadows across the silent city of the departed, we followed Silas's map. The symbol marking the potential nexus point led us to a particularly ancient section of the cemetery, where mausoleums stood like forgotten sentinels, their stone surfaces eroded by time and the tropical climate.