Damn those priests! Thirty miserable pieces of silver for a lifetime of guilt and repentance. Not even for all the shekels on earth should I have accepted them.

Since that moment, that being keeps appearing to me in different parts of the potter’s field. Every time I walk down that road, I see him in his tunic. I see the way he looks at me, even though I cannot see his eyes or his face. He makes my hair stand on end, and the instant I look away, he disappears from sight.

This cannot go on. Today I went to the temple, but those filthy indoctrinates of the Sanhedrin did not even want to take back their dirty payment. They only sought to shame me and deepen my guilt. Even so, I left the cursed coins there, hoping the remorse and these visions would stop haunting me.

I thought everything would be resolved, but as I returned home, I saw him again—this time closer. He was standing still, watching me from beneath the shadow of that tree. For a moment I froze, then ran until I was out of breath.

Only then did I notice something jingling in my pocket. How can it be? I remember perfectly throwing the coins into the temple…

What’s happening to me?