I Promise!

Full Fictional Memoir

I Promise

"We have finally reached Santiago de Cuba. Santiago will be the new capital of Cuba. This measure may surprise some people. Admittedly, it is new, but the revolution is characterized precisely by its newness, by the fact that it will do things that have never been done before. The Revolution Begins Now!"

I was only 10 years old when I first heard this. That morning, I went to the city with Miguel, my oldest brother, to go buy some food for my parents.

"Who is this man?" I asked my brother.

"His name is Fidel Castro, he's the man mama and papa often talks about."

At that point, I had the feeling that our lives were about to change. I was young, but really mature for my age.

***

Our lives didn't change much until 1964. I was 15 years old. I remember this day like it was yesterday. I must say that it was the worst year of my life.

Our family was a regular Cuban family. We were 6 in the family, my brother Miguel who was 18, my brother Sebastian who was 16, my brother Xavier who was 10, my parents and I. Being the only girl was difficult at times, but it was also rewarding.

The day that everything changed was on the day of my 15th birthday.

"Elena, it's time for you to wake up," I heard my mama say at 7:10 a.m. on a Saturday morning.

"I'm up MAMA!" I yelled back.

I was excited to go in the living room, since I knew that my whole family was waiting for me to arrive to say happy birthday, but that morning, something was not right.

"Happy birthday Elena," I heard my mom say.

"Where's dad?"

"He had to go to work early today. He said that he will arrive earlier tonight and that he will make you your favourite supper," Sebastian said.

I was disappointed that my dad had to go to work on a Saturday morning and especially on my birthday, but I knew that money was needed since the revolution in 1959. Only I did not know that we were in such need of money that he had to work overtime.

I opened my present, which was a typical Cuban dress like I get every year.

Today was my day off and I planned on spending it with Beatriz and my other friends. First, we went to meet Nicolas, my boyfriend at is house, which was not too far from mine. After that, we went to the field close to my school to play soccer. All day I had forgotten about my rough morning.

When I got home for supper, my dad was still not home. I was getting more worried than mad. I assumed that he had a lot of work to do, which was unusual because my dad was a journalist and since Castro took over, his job was not as popular as before. At around 10, my dad got home. He looked very tired.

"Happy birthday mi Niña," he said as his face started to light up.

"Gracias papa."

That night, we spent a couple of hours talking about things that he had missed and he began to look less tired. It was a great way to finish off my birthday.

***

For the next couple of weeks, I realized that my dad was not home often. I really wondered why his job was more important than his family.

"Mama, are we out of money?" I asked my mom one day.

"What do you mean?"

"Well papa has been working a lot these days and I thought it was because we needed money."