Freedom Fighters

3. Family

The light was on when Dario and his mother reached home that night. He opened the door, revealing his father sitting on a chair hunched over some papers that were illuminated by a lone candle on the table. The only other source of light was a kerosene lamp hung from the ceiling. He closed the door behind him, the gust of wind from the impact causing the lamp to swing precariously, giving off a soft creaking sound.

His father, Sergio Ruiz, looked up from the papers, face stiffened in worry. Instantly, Dario knew something was wrong. The man in front of him had his unusually intense eyes fixated on the papers in front of him.

"Oh, Sergio, what's happened?" Mariana rushed over to her husband's side.

Sergio shook his head and exhaled. He stared at the papers laid in front of him. Dario saw that they were a mess of calculations and numbers.

"The rent." Sergio finally said with a heavy sigh. "They doubled it. A letter was sent this afternoon."

"No way!" Mariana exclaimed. "They just increased it a few months ago!"

Dario shook his head in disbelief. Those landlords... He could not believe it. How did they expect anyone to survive like this?

Sergio took one of the papers, crushing it in his hands into a crumpled ball. His veins protruded visibly, filled with white hot rage.

"It's the Mafia," he spat, every word coated with pure venom. "I met with some of the other shopkeepers earlier. It seems that all of the other shops had their rents doubled too."

Sergio paused to compose himself before continuing, "This is not a coincidence. The Riveros have a son working in one of the government departments and he says that the Mafia is planning to buy over this whole stretch and turn it into some sort of entertainment district."

"And so they had a deal with Batista, giving a cut of the profits in exchange for the cooperation of the landlords. Am I right?" Dario finished for his father, tensing his shoulders.

"Yes! Do you now see the situation we are in?!" Sergio thundered, flinging his arm over the papers. "I have tried working it out! But there is no way we will be able to keep the restaurant running if we have to pay twice the rent! And those gangsters know it too! They are doing this so that we would voluntarily leave on our own accord, saving them time and money!"

Dario clutched the side of his head, unable to comprehend all that was happening. The restaurant had been a part of his life for as long as he could remember. It was his parents' livelihood, their baby. For that to be all taken away just like that because of the greed of the Mafia and Batista was just simply unforgivable.

"We are ruined..." Mariana hung on the verge of tears, her hands trembling. "Is there really nothing we can do?"

Dario sighed, leaning against the wall, shoulders shrunken. "I don't think so, Mama. They have the money, and the power. I don't see how we can stop them." His voice sounded hoarse, an air of despondency surrounding it.

"No," Sergio interjected. "The rest of them are planning to go to the protest tomorrow. I think we should join as well."

"The protest?" Dario's jaw hung slightly open, eyes narrowed in incredulity. "How would that help? You think that bastard Batista will change his mind simply because of people protesting?"

"No," Sergio said, before raising his voice, "But it's better than sitting around, waiting for the Mafia and Batista to take everything we have away from us."

"I agree," Mariana said, looking up at her son. She wiped her emerging tears away, her face now hardened. "There will be other people like us. It's a good idea to go."

Dario looked from his father to his mother, their expressions of resolve masking their devastation at losing all they had. He thought about Camilo just then, his drive and fervour. Perhaps, something will happen, something significant. The common people all banding together with a common goal: change. He closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath.

"Okay then. Mama. Papa. We will go together."

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It was a difficult night for Dario. He tossed and turned on his mattress, unable to quell the unrest in his troubled mind. It was too much to process for a single night. His conversation with Camilo kept springing up in his mind, and he found himself agreeing more and more with his friend. Previously, he had always been sitting on the fence, not taking action despite knowing that he perhaps should. But now, with the drastic change in circumstances, with the Mafia expanding their influence with the backing of the dictator, he could not afford to be the same anymore.

It was fight, or be crushed beneath their heels.

Dario forced himself to be optimistic. Maybe Batista would be intimidated by the show of resistance and step back? Small chance... At least the army and police would be less inclined to support their dictator after tomorrow? Yes, but would it be enough?

So many doubts and questions, but no answers. All he could do was hope. And that hope, increasingly, had to rest on the few that would take active resistance. Men like Camilo and his band of brothers from the university rallying the people. Or... the Castro brothers who would definitely stage another uprising.

Tomorrow, Dario decided, he shall tell Camilo that he would join the movement. Yes, he would. With that resolution, he found a certain calmness in his mind that allowed him to sleep in peace.

Or so he thought.

There remained a small niggling doubt, like a little seedling threatening to grow. What if? What if things go very wrong tomorrow? What if Batista just decided to...

Dario did not want to think about it. Camilo's words came to his mind again, and he knew he was not alone in such pessimistic thoughts. There was no point in dwelling on it. All they could do was move forward, like a boat rowing against the current.

And so, he forced himself into a fitful sleep.

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Dear Readers,

This chapter is rather short, I apologise. It is necessary for the progression of the plot. How did you find it? Please let me know in the comments below. You know, I recently had a few friends look at my work thus far, and some of them said that my writing is a little too "fancy" and "dramatic" for their liking. Well, I have done quite a bit of editing in the previous few chapters and cleaned it up, removing some unnecessary adverbs and adjectives etc to keep things clearer and more focused. Please let me know if any of you readers still feel that I tend to be too dramatic or fancy sometimes. It's my natural writing style and yeah, sometimes it happens :(

Anyways! Thanks for reading Freedom Fighters. Don't forget to vote if you liked the chapter! :))) Dario's journey shall continueeeeee the next chapter.

Yours sincerely,
SyllabusPearl