The familiar smell of grilled meat and fried plantains wafted through the air as Dario walked into the place he called his second home.
The Ruiz family restaurant "La cocina de la familia Ruiz" was just starting to fill up this evening. Nothing grand or fancy, just a local spot popular amongst Centro Havana's working class folks. Many of the customers recognized him and yelled out greetings which Dario courteously returned.
With Camilo behind him, Dario headed straight for the kitchen. Pots and pans lined the walls. A few helpers in aprons stood by a long table to the left side, chopping up vegetables with precision. Over the darkened stove on the right stood a stocky middle-aged lady stirring up a huge pot of what he suspected to be black bean soup.
"Mama!" Dario shouted.
Mariana Ruiz turned around, her weathered face breaking into a smile upon the sight of her beloved only son.
"Oh mijo!" Mariana stopped her stirring, pacing over to plant a kiss on her son's cheeks. "And Camilo too!"
"Good evening Tía!" Camilo greeted. "You look as ravishing as ever! And might I say, your black bean soup smells absolutely amazing."
"Oh, Camilo, you have such a way with words."
Camilo grinned in response.
"Where's Papa?" Dario asked.
"He's gone out for the night."
"I see. Do you need help in the kitchen for the evening?"
"Hmm... I think it will be alright. Since Camilo is here, you can spend some time with him."
"Thanks Mama, we will be outside if you need anything." Dario said, before exiting the kitchen with Camilo behind him.
They took their seat at their usual spot, which was thankfully empty, at the corner table beside the bar counter. Dario looked around at the busy tables. An old couple eating side by side, studiously bent over their steaming bowls of soup. A group of middle-aged men in greasy shirts laughing with lit cigarettes in hand. Students collapsing with helpless giggles as a stern woman dining alone nearby frowned. A family with their little children. The noise level was high. The smoke level as well. But it did not bother Dario at all. It was home.
"So, my friend, keen to join the student movement?" Camilo said with a wry smile once they got seated.
"Not this again..." Dario sighed. Ever since Camilo had joined the movement a year upon his attending of Havana University, he had been constantly trying to get him on board, with no success.
"Why! You should really join up, my friend. You hate Batista, don't you? I can easily introduce you to the rest of the guys. You would fit right in!"
"I... I do not feel I can commit to the movement."
"Why?"
Camilo's dark eyes assessed Dario for a short moment. A little pan of disappointment flashed across his face as Dario turned away.
In truth, Dario disapproved of his friend's involvement with the underground movement. He felt that the situation in Havana was a little too precarious to be involved in anti-government activities. There were a few arrests here and there and some minor clashes with the police so far, but Dario suspected it will not be long before Batista clamped down hard on them in brutal fashion.
"Camilo, don't you ever fear that this may become real?" Dario asked in a shaky low tone, sidestepping the question.
Camilo raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"Don't you feel that things may get out of hand? Don't you feel there's a very real possibility that Batista will decide to eliminate you and the rest of your gang for rousing rebellious sentiments against him?" Dario raised his voice slightly.
Camilo did not reply immediately, his gaze on the floor and shoulders shrunken. He exhaled slowly, and turned to his friend with a slight curl on his lips. "You are worried about my safety, aren't you?"
"Well, of course! You are practically like a brother to me."
Camilo leaned forward and his face came inches away from Dario's.
"Of course I am scared, Dario. We all live in fear all the time. What if this happens? What if that happens? But fear is not an excuse for allowing our country to slide into the abyss with Batista."
Camilo paused, before continuing, his tone softer this time.
"I understand your sentiments, brother. And I appreciate them. But this means a lot to me. I can't stop, even if I know this will lead me down a very rocky path. Those "what ifs" are always at the back of my mind and sometimes, alone, I wonder..." Camilo stopped mid-sentence. The rest need not be said.
"Camilo..." Dario wanted to open his mouth, to perhaps offer some words of comfort to put his friend at ease. But his mind went blank. The friendship between the two ran deep, back from when they were but mere children. However, now, even as Camilo revealed a vulnerable side of himself, Dario found that he could not respond in kind. Instead, he looked down at the table, fiddling with his cutlery in silence.
Sensing this, Camilo's face relaxed into a grin. "Now that turned morbid quickly." He broke into a throaty fit of laughter that filled the tense silence.
One of Mariana's helpers, a young boy, brought dinner to the table. A plate of delicious looking grilled pork, accompanied by fried plantains and a large bowl of the specialty black bean soup was placed on the table. Dario and Camilo gave their thanks to the boy before tucking in.
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Camilo, being Camilo, managed to steer the conversation away with ease, actually making the whole affair rather enjoyable for Dario. Mariana joined them halfway as the restaurant's crowd died down into the night. As the meal neared its end, the conversation somehow drifted to the subject of romance as Camilo remarked on the fact that Dario had been single for quite some time.
"Camilo is right! You really need to find yourself a nice girl, and stop making your old mother worry. You are already twenty-two!" Mariana chided.
Dario shot Camilo a dark glare that was met another cheeky grin. "I am trying. Really, I am. Don't worry too much, Mama."
"Trying? You are always so quiet and aloof in classes!" Camilo scoffed, reaching for a fried plantain. "Tía, I can't count the number of times I try to set him up, and he never ever tries to make the time with those girls remotely bearable!"
"Hey!"
"Hey what! Remember the last time with Isabella? After that ordeal, she complained that you did not even try to start conversation, just responding with one-liners to whatever she said."
"I didn't like her! Besides, it's still better than you, changing girls like people change their underwear!"
Mariana interrupted the building argument. "Oh my sweet son. You should at least try. Bring a nice girl back home for once, will you? Promise your Mama?"
Dario was getting a little frustrated. "Yes, yes, yes. Alright Mama."
Mariana smiled and moved to get out of her seat. "Oh, that should put my mind at ease for a while! I think I have to get back to the kitchen. Do see kind Camilo out once he's done, will you?" With that, she walked back into the kitchen, leaving the two friends alone, a playful tension in the air.
Dario sighed, his face in his palm. "You never fail to give me headaches."
"Why! It's for your own good. You are such a gloomy person at times. A girl ought to cheer you up!" Camilo said, while munching on the last piece of fried plantain. He really enjoyed teasing his friend.
"Oh shut with that nonsense."
Camilo finished the plantain, and after casting furtive glances to the left, slowly leaned in on his elbows towards Dario.
"Look to my left. See that girl?"
Dario took a peek in the direction Camilo was referring to. Sure enough, there was a girl sitting alone several tables away, wearing a blue button shirt that seemed to hide her lean figure. Her long black hair was tied up into a bun. He could not catch her face as she was hunched over a few pieces of paper, deep in concentration, pencil in her hand and a finished cup of coffee by her side.
Suddenly, as if she sensed something peculiar, her face lifted up from her paper. Her almond shaped eyes met Dario's for a brief eternal moment. Dario quickly avoided her gaze and turned it back to his friend, his face now slightly tinged with red.
Camilo continued in a low voice, "She's been sitting there alone for quite some time."
He put an arm over Dario's shoulder, their backs now facing the lone girl.
"Why don't you, you know, chat her up or something?"
"You're being ridiculous," Dario replied sharply.
Camilo shrugged. "Suit yourself then," he said, before standing up. "I think I have to go now. Got some work to do in preparation for tomorrow."
Dario stood up as well to walk Camilo out. The streets of Centro Havana were almost deserted in the night around the area, as far as he could see, which was not very far at all. The neighbourhood was poorly lit and a little dilapidated compared to the grandeur of the casinos, theaters and hotels of the upscale entertainment districts like Vedado. Occasionally, a car would drive by, its headlights temporarily illuminating the well-worn cobstones.
"I shall see you tomorrow then?" Camilo said. "You don't need to be a permanent member. Just being by my side will hearten me greatly. Just think about it, okay?"
"Okay, I will think about it."
Camilo grinned. "Thanks for the meal. Do convey my thanks to your mother, alright?" he said, before adding, "Oh, and don't forget to chat up the fine lady." He winked, and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Dario just stood there and shook his head, smiling at the evening he just had with his enigma of a best friend.
"Dario! Sweep the floor please!" It was his mother shouting from the kitchen.
"Okay!"
The restaurant was almost empty by then with just a few people remaining. The girl that Camilo was talking about included. Dario grabbed the broom and dustpan from the kitchen and started sweeping the floor.
He thought back to Camilo's words about chatting her up and shook his head immediately. Ridiculous. As he swept the floor, he could not help but cast frequent glances at her. He cursed Camilo under his breath for planting the idea in his head. He tried to banish all thoughts of the lone girl to the back of his mind but failed. Subconsciously, he found himself sweeping the areas closer to her.
"You were looking at me," a demure voice broke his thoughts.
He froze in his tracks, like a child being caught red-handed stealing sweets. Did she notice?
"Were you talking to me?" he asked, trying as hard as possible to seem nonchalant about it.
The girl put down her pencil, lifting her face to meet his gaze.
Dario could now see her face up close. Gorgeous black eyes stared out of an apple-shaped face which was accompanied by a sharp upturned nose and angled jaw. He could almost hear his heart beating fast in his eardrums. She looked... stunning, even in plain clothes and her hair tied up in a bun. He tried hard to recall the last time he had been so excited by a girl but his memory yielded nothing.
"Yes, I was, if it wasn't obvious enough, Dario." Her voice was smooth like churned butter and airy like a cloud. She paced her words deliberately. The mention of his name got Dario confused. He felt pretty sure he had never met her before. He would definitely have remembered.
"How did you know my name?"
She cocked her head, lips curling ever so slightly. "Well, your mother was calling you earlier. Quite loudly I might add."
"Oh, right," he muttered, unsure as to how to reply. The girl merely maintained her gaze on him.
A moment passed by before he realised she was waiting for him to speak. He let out a breath he did not know he was holding.
"I...er...yes, I was looking at you," he stammered.
The girl just continued her blank stare.
Feeling the air getting a little heavier, Dario mumbled, "Sorry."
The girl broke her gaze and giggled softly at his flustered attempt at an apology, the sound warm and melodic, filling his stomach with butterflies.
"Mijo!" It was Mariana again, shouting from the kitchen. "Can you clear the trash out back?"
"Okay Mama! Coming!" Dario hollered back.
The girl rose from her seat, keeping her papers into a black letter bag.
"Bye Dario."
He did not know how to respond to that at all. Looking at her retreating figure, he was intrigued. He opened his mouth to say something resembling a farewell but realised something. He did not know her name.
"May I know your name?" he blurted, flushing immediately.
The girl paused in her steps, and turned around, the same playful smile gracing her lips.
"It's Juanita."
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Dear Readers,
Anddddd that concludes the second chapter of Freedom Fighters! What did you think of it? Hope you liked it! I will continue posting two chapters a week for now. So yeah I will be working overtime with my army commitments over here to deliver.
Oh, by the way, tía is spanish for aunt, not necessarily with familial relations. Camilo and Dario aren't related by blood. For uncle, it is tío. Mijo means son.
Once again, if you enjoyed the chapter, please do consider casting a vote! It is heartening knowing there are people out there enjoying my work. ^_^
Things are about to get interesting... from here on, so sit tight, because Dario's journey has only just begun.....
Yours sincerely,
SyllabusPearl