"Do you remember how we started, brother?"
"How can I forget, Raúl?"
"July 25, 1953... six years ago--"
"It looks a lifetime..."
The Castro brothers walked, alone, in the empty and dirty streets of Havana. The celebration had ended less than half an hour ago. Tomorrow, Cuba would wake up a new, fairer and better country. But right now, the country slept while the sun was getting ready to rise.
It would take many more years before Fidel and Raúl could walk those empty streets again. Peace was beginning for Cuba, but it was ending for them.
"Moncada," said Raúl. He closed his eyes and saw the gruesome scene of the attack.
"We had no idea what we were doing. It's a miracle we didn't die," the images were vivid in Fidel's memory.
"Not everyone was as lucky as we--"
The brothers held a minute of silence in memory of all the dead, especially Fidel's second-in-command, Abel Santamaría.
"The jail," said Fidel, going back to his walk.
"Are you forgetting the trial? What were your words again?" Raúl taunted the brother.
"Condemn me; it does not matter. History will absolve me," Fidel looked at Raúl; there was sadness, but, at the same time, there was happiness in his eyes. "I've spoken literally for hours, and everyone remembers only one phrase."
"Who could remember the entire speech?"
"I do."
Raúl chuckled, "Big brother, you are crazy."
The Castro brothers laughed.
"What's on your mind?"
Fidel smiled; he never could keep a secret from Raúl. The little brother could read him as if he was a spotless glass, "I'm worried about the mobsters and the US. They made billions by enslaving, corrupting and stealing from us."
"I know, we started all this to free our country. You don't need to tell me." Raúl put one of his hands over his brother's shoulders; they stopped and hugged. "The Americans already left Havana; the mobsters went before them. We did the impossible-- Fidel, look at me," the brother looked deep in each other's eyes, "we did the impossible. We freed Cuba! There is no one else here to question us. Tomorrow, we'll lead a free Cuba."
Fidel smiled; a tear rolled down his cheek, "A free Cuba..."
Neither Raúl nor Fidel could believe those words. It didn't matter; after all the enslaving, corruption and stealing, Cuba was finally truly free.
THE END
*****
The Cuban Revolution (Spanish: Revolución cubana) was an armed revolt conducted by Fidel Castro's revolutionary 26th of July Movement and its allies against the military dictatorship of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. The revolution began in July 1953 and continued sporadically until the rebels finally ousted Batista on 31 December 1958, replacing his government. 26 July 1953 is celebrated in Cuba as the Day of the Revolution (Dia de la Revolución). The 26th of July Movement later reformed along Marxist–Leninist lines, becoming the Communist Party of Cuba in October 1965.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution
