The Covered Lady (Ecuador)

Many years ago, I was a young and handsome man. I was considered one of those men who could conquer the heart of any woman if I wanted. No one was better than me in this art.

My life was fantastic, full of women and success. I was unstoppable. I was climbing into the corporate world extremely fast. However, one terrible night, I will recall for the rest of my life!

It was a Friday 13^th in 1994 when the CEO promoted me to General Manager of the organization. I felt so amazing I invited my best peers to the December 6^th Bar in English (Bar 6 de Deciembre in Spanish) in Portoviejo. It was the best night in many years with several beautiful women, the finest beers, and the best music in town, what a memorable night should have been, but it was not.

After I had left the bar, I was dead drunk. I could barely recognize where I was. So many beers that I lost count when I was on my tenth one. However, my guts were telling me that this was an abnormal night and that I should order a taxi. I ignored them and followed my “path” because I was a man, but more than a man, I was the new General Manager.

The night was clear, with no stars, and was really silent. After several minutes of walking around, I wanted to take a short nap in an alley not so far from a shop. I was too tired to keep walking to my house because it was a little bit far from the city center. Maybe it was after midnight; I am not so sure, to be honest. I just needed to rest.

Suddenly, when I was resting on the wall in the alley, a seductive, tall, white, and black-haired woman appeared from nowhere. She looked like someone from the high class. She greeted me, but I could not see her face because a gentle mantle covered it. Also, her perfume was so exotic I felt hypnotized. I just wanted to go next to her, hug her, and kiss her. My male instincts were betraying me. I knew this was wrong, but I could not stop myself. I needed to have her!

She started to run, and I just chased her blindly until we reached the outskirts. Suddenly she stopped, and I was able to hug her. At that moment, I felt a very stinky smell similar to rotten eggs. I looked up because I wanted to kiss her regardless of the smell. Suddenly, I saw that her face was a skull (figure 1), in fact. I realized this was not a common woman. It was the mythical Covered Lady (La Dama Tapada in Spanish)! I fainted immediately.

Figure 1. The Covered Lady.

The next morning when I was sober, I decided it was time to return home. I could not stay here any longer. She could return at any time.

My body hurt very badly, and it was hard to move. I felt as if a truck had hit me. I could barely walk, but when I finally returned to my city, I went directly to the church. I requested to speak urgently with the local priest. The priest was somehow angry because he was meditating, but he agreed to speak with me for a few minutes.

I thanked him for his time and shared my experience. Then, he looked at me very seriously and shared the following anecdote.

“In the 1700s, many men died in our country (Ecuador) because of a woman whose face was always covered. We, the Ecuadorians, called her the Covered Lady.

No one was sure where she came from, but everyone agreed she shows up to drunkards in not-very-crowded urban alleys at midnight.

In these places, the Covered Lady always appeared and gave off a pleasant fragrance that drove every man crazy. She made some polite gestures so that they could follow her blindly. However, she never allowed them to come very close.

After a few minutes, they walked for several km until they were far away from the city center. They always reached some remote areas where she stopped and let the men come close. At this moment, she uncovered her face, and the men always felt a foul-smelling that contaminated the place. In front of them was a corpse in the putrefaction process and had eyes like flashing balls of fire.

Many tried to run, but most of them died of convulsions and foaming at the mouth. Others died from the fright of seeing her face-to-face, and some died from the foul stench that the spectrum emanated when she revealed her true face. Very few survived that were called Scoundrels (Los Tunantes in Spanish). These men are more vulnerable to her effects if they ever encounter her again.

Some of us still believe the Covered Lady still roams through the urban alleys and streets of our country at midnight.”

“Hopefully, you understand my son that this is a serious topic. You were lucky, you are one of the few survivors, and you are from this day a Scoundrel. You need to fix your life once and for all. You could join our local Alcoholics Anonymous group. I am sure they can support you to overcome your addiction. If you need any extra support, you can always come to speak with me. Also, you can say to the group that I sent you.” Said the priest before returning to his meditation.

I was shocked, but I understood that from that day, I had become a Scoundrel. I would be more vulnerable to her effects. That’s why I stopped drinking and joined my local Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) group immediately.

Five years later, my life changed. I had never drunk a single drop of alcohol. Also, I had switched my role in the AA organization from someone who received a lot of support to a very active speaker every odd night.

My new role has helped several men to avoid my missteps with alcohol. Some of them had already become Scoundrels like me. It was hard to support them because they did not want to leave the alcohol for good. They cried on my shoulders since they knew their destiny. Some of them followed my advice, while others I never saw again. Personally, I want to minimize that anyone else ever encounters the Covered Lady. Hopefully, you can share my story with more people and protect them from the Covered Lady!