My name is Reese Reed. In 1998, I decided to go to a Swiss village located on the edge of a cliff that, during sunsets, glowed with an emerald hue. My trip was motivated by countless rumors and stories told by its visitors. Many claim that it is a magical place that heals the sick.
Numerous stories tell how a man suffering from Alzheimer's went there and, upon returning home, was cured. Other stories tell of a lady suffering from depression caused by the premature death of her son, who was cured by visiting this "magical land". She was so completely cured that many say it was as if she had never had the child.
However, others tell stories of people getting lost, not literally, but individuals have been found in the vicinity and villages adjacent to the site who do not even remember their own name or where they came from. The most frightening thing is that they do not even exist for civil registries or worldwide databases.
It is because of these rumors that I, journalist Reese Reed, decided to go and document this village, its history and its mysteries in February 1998.
I arrived in Switzerland on February 17, 1998 and headed for the emerald cliff village. I remember that day well: I took the train at 08:00 hours and, as the stops were passing, a lady of about 86 got on. Her appearance was carefree, as if she had not combed her hair for years. She had a hump I had only seen on camels, and her teeth were practically gums, but I don't judge, I'm carefree looking myself.
Anyway, this lady decided to sit next to me on the train. After a few minutes, she asked me with a smile that went from ear to ear, "Where are you headed, young man?". Respectfully, I replied that I was heading to a village on the edge of a cliff to document certain events happening there. When I told her, her smile instantly faded and she took on a serious and displeased expression. She said to me in a worried and frightened tone, "Stay away from that place, it is cursed, and the mere fact that you want to go near it will already curse you, your family and the world."
Her words left me totally unsettled. As I was assimilating what she had told me, the lady left apologetically, saying she didn't want to get caught up in that "curse". I thought about the words she had said to me during the rest of the trip. I pondered whether it was really worth going to document such a mysterious place. But I was already arriving at the site, so I decided to throw all my worries out the window. I got off the train and headed for a small hotel at the entrance of the town. There I could only stay in room number 4. This, for many, will not be something important or relevant, but for my maternal family, coming from China, it was always a bad omen. However, there was not much I could do. So, after settling into my room, I decided to grab my camera and go for a walk around this mysterious town.
Leaving the hotel, I ran into a local villager with whom I struck up a small conversation. Before doing interviews with the locals, I decided to tour the town, so I asked him about the most important places. He pointed out three: a small park with abstract art, a restaurant that served their most exquisite dishes, and the emerald cliff, lacking security but with the most beautiful views during sunsets.
I decided to go to the art park. There were several works of all sizes and colors on display, but one stood out above the rest: a sculpture made of a black material similar to marble. In it, you could see how hundreds of hands came out of the pedestal and held a person in pieces. I felt it was kind of creepy, but I wanted to try to find a meaning for this work. My first thought was that it could be a representation of how, despite life's ups and downs, there will always be someone willing to extend a hand and help you up. But I wasn't convinced. I also came to interpret that what the author was trying to portray was the desperation or fragmentation of the individual's mind. But the only one who knows the true meaning is the author.
So I dedicated myself to taking pictures and recording this art and my appreciations in my diary. By the time I finished, it was getting late, so I decided to go to lunch at the restaurant I had mentioned earlier. When I arrived, it looked to be a lively, bustling place with a good atmosphere. I sat down at a table and called the waiter, who handed me the menu. As I glanced at it, I was surprised to see that it had countless dishes from all over the world. It seemed that they were prepared for all kinds of visitors, with separations in the types and places of origin of the various foods they offered.
But there, a section marked "local food" caught my eye. A dish called "cliff hands" captured my interest. I asked the waiter what it was, and he explained that it was a kind of cliff-dwelling mollusk covered in pesto. Tempted by the exoticness of what seemed like a unique dish, I decided to order it. When my dish arrived, I couldn't help but be surprised. They were strange-looking black mollusks; if I had to describe them, I would say they looked like hands, as they had a body with one end larger and flatter than the other and five protuberances that resembled a hand. Their taste was similar to that of an oyster, but more bitter, and they left an aftertaste and a gritty, dry sensation, as if when you swallowed them they took the moisture from your mouth. To be honest, I didn't like them and the price was not cheap to say the least.
It was 2:00 pm and not long before sunset, so I took a couple of pictures of the establishment and decided to head towards the cliff to capture a picture of the sunset.
It was 4:00 pm and the sun was starting to go down. The view was something indescribable: the beautiful forest reflected the sun's rays, causing the sky to take on an emerald color when they were projected towards the cliff. This phenomenon was astonishingly beautiful as well as disturbing and meaningless. Perplexed by what I was seeing, I took pictures and wrote down my experiences in my journal.
As it was getting dark, I decided to go back to the hotel. But when I turned around, I felt a presence behind me. "How is it possible?", I wondered, motionless in the same place, not looking back out of fear. I began to move forward to get away from the cliff and that presence, until I woke up in my room. I assumed that, from fear, I had run so fast that when I got there I fainted from the pressure.
It was 9:00 the next day. I went down to the hotel dining room to have breakfast and to start writing my report on the things I had seen and experienced. But when I arrived, I noticed something: some of the guests looked pale and devoid of feelings. I wondered what was wrong with them, but I didn't dare ask, so I got to work.
When 12:00 noon arrived, I headed to the restaurant to have lunch. On the way, I ran into the guy who had previously recommended the places to visit. There I formally introduced myself and he told me his name was Lukas. I asked him if I could interview him and he agreed. I started by asking him if he was born in the village, which he denied, commenting that he had moved two years ago from a nearby village. I asked him how he felt about the town and if he had experienced any strange events in those two years. He nodded and said, "Sometimes I feel a presence behind my back, as if someone is riding on it and trying to get my attention." Startled, I decided to inquire if he ever turned around to see what it was. He replied that he did not. I noticed him uncomfortable, so I decided to thank him for his time and go on about my business.
As I was pulling up to the restaurant, there it was again, that presence making my back feel heavy. Someone, not something, wanted me to turn around, but my instinct told me not to. When I realized, I was eating pesto spaghetti in a restaurant. I wondered what was going on. "How did I get here?" I didn't know what had happened or remember anything from the past few hours. After I finished my meal, I left the restaurant and started thinking about what was the last thing I had done. What did I do? I arrived in town, checked into the hotel and talked to a guy who recommended three places to visit. Oh, I know, I came to the restaurant to eat. I assumed I didn't remember anything because I was tired from the trip, so I decided to go to the two places I missed: the art park and the cliff edge.
My next stop was the art park. There were various works of all sizes and colors on display, but one stood out above the rest: a sculpture made of a black material similar to marble. In it, you could see how hundreds of hands were coming out of the pedestal and holding a person in pieces. I felt it was kind of creepy, but I wanted to try to find a meaning for this work. My first thought was that it could be a representation of how, despite life's ups and downs, there will always be someone willing to extend a hand and help you up. But I wasn't convinced. I also came to interpret that what the author was trying to portray was the desperation or fragmentation of the individual's mind. But the only one who knows the true meaning is the author.
After these appreciations, I decided to take out my diary to write them all down... and what I saw made me freeze. The very words I had been thinking were already written in my journal. Not only that, I also had reviews of the restaurant and appreciations of the sunset that I had not yet observed. At that, I felt a presence on my back. It weighed on me, someone was behind me. I was so scared I couldn't turn around, and then I heard someone calling out to me. It was the boy from before. At that moment, the presence disappeared and I walked towards him. I decided to formally introduce myself and ask him if he would let me interview him. When he said, "Again?", I was cold. I asked him what he meant and he said, "Yesterday we met and I recommended places to visit and a few hours ago we formally introduced ourselves and you interviewed me, don't you remember?". I got anxious when he mentioned the presence thing, but I didn't want him to leave thinking he had offended me."
I was lost, I didn't remember any of it, what do you mean yesterday? I arrived today, I told the boy and he denied it, claiming I arrived yesterday. How was that possible? I had already seen the sunset and interviewed this guy, and I didn't remember anything. I didn't know what had happened or why I didn't remember anything. At that, the guy asked me if I had taken pictures. I remembered that I had my camera, irrefutable proof that I had been here before. I decided to look at the photos and when I saw them I was stunned. Pictures of an emerald sunset began to appear in the images, and I remembered the boy mentioning a strange presence. Could it have been the same one I felt today? I didn't know, but I knew how to find out what it was.
I met with Lukas and asked him if I could borrow a mirror. I told him my plan: to place a mirror to one of my profiles and, when I felt the presence, take a picture without looking directly at it. The guy offered to accompany me, but this presence only appears when you are alone. When I felt it in the art park, it disappeared when Lukas appeared, which means it only appears when the individual is alone. I set my trap in the art park and waited. And I waited. Then I started to feel my back heavy. I kept looking straight ahead as I took the photo, aiming as best I could without looking to the side or back. The instant I took the photo, the presence disappeared. I decided to go develop the photos in my room and invited Lukas.
Once we were together, I explained to Lukas how to develop a photo and we started to develop the photo I took of the presence. When we developed it, Lukas took it and looked at it, and at that very moment he shouted, "AHHHHH, IT CAN'T BE!". Then, dark hands came out of the floor and took his soul from him. His soul struggled to return to his body, but it fragmented and only half of it was able to return to his body; the other half was taken by the hands.
Stunned by what I witnessed, I grabbed Lukas and laid him on my bed, waiting for him to wake up. When I asked him, "Lukas, are you all right?" he responded with a cold, dry, "Who is Lukas?" At that moment I understood. I tied the threads together with these experiences and my journal entries and discovered the mystery of the emerald cliff village. In it dwells a presence that, if it chooses you as a victim, you will feel a presence behind you and, if you observe it in any way, it will attack you in an attempt to take your soul.
I have two theories based on how much it consumes from the soul of the beholder. The first is that it can only take a percentage or is somehow limited. The second is that the percentage of the soul it takes from the observer is proportional to the individual's will to fight. As you gradually lose your soul, your memories will diminish to the same extent, making it easier for it to eventually consume you completely, as you will no longer have 100% of the memories or experiences you had before that allowed you to fight this presence.
My theory on how it activates or attacks is that it is independent and can only attack one individual at a time. That's why it doesn't attack when you are in a group. The attack on Lukas was an exception for one of two reasons: either it doesn't want anyone to know its form, which I doubt, since it would have attacked me, or it activates automatically when someone observes it, no matter the form, be it a photo, turning around when it decides to attack, or a reflection.
While I was assimilating this information, Lukas, or whoever he used to be, decided to go to the photo and pick it up. I still remember that day, "Hey, here, you dropped this on the floor." Apparently, he went back to look at the photo because the presence came up again and took the rest of his soul. When I saw him, he looked like a shell devoid of feelings. He came out of my room and left. I didn't know what to do or how to help him, so, knowing all this, I put the photo away very carefully and decided to return home with all this data and information.
As I left town, I felt the presence grow stronger and stronger behind me, until, when I reached the train station, it disappeared and I made my way home.
in conclusion, in Switzerland there is a village on the edge of an emerald cliff in which dwells a presence that, if it chooses you as its victim, you will feel something similar to a weight on your back. If you decide to turn around, this presence will manifest hands from the ground that will try to take your soul to an unknown place. I don't know how much of my soul they took, if I will be able to get it back or if I already have. There are experiences that I do not remember, but I know that I lived them from my diary of that trip.
If someday you decide to go to the town of "The Emerald Cliff", remember this and always try to be accompanied, so the presence will never attack you. And, for the love of God, don't try to look for it. It's not worth the risk just to forget your past; you may lose yourself with it too.
Author:
-Reese Reed¿?