Freedom Fighters

25. Reunion

Juanita approached him slowly, as if he were some mirage of an alternative reality that did not exist. She had a look of astonishment that complimented the tears of joy running down her cheeks. 

After getting over the initial shock, Dario, in his stained rags, rushed towards his love into an emotionally charged hug.

"Oh God," he cried. "Juanita!"

She nuzzled her nose into Dario's cheeks and ran her hands through his tousled hair, slick with sweat and grime. She inhaled the scent of her lover with an intensity that seemed as if she was trying to make up for the fact that she believed he was dead.

"I thought you were dead..." she said. Breaking away, she held Dario's cheeks with both her hands. "Oh my! I... I... when I heard about the battle, I was heartbroken! Are you alright?"

"I am quite alive," he replied with a half-smile. The exertion of effort had triggered the pain in his abdomen again, darkening his expression.

"Oh! You are injured!" Juanita exclaimed in concern. "Let's go sit down."

She threw his arm around her shoulder and supported him as he hobbled to a bench outside Alfredo's house. The rest of her squad attempted to soothe the frightened crowd and proceeded to dispose of the bodies.

"I'm alright," he said as soon as he sat down. "Thanks to the Changs." 

Dario nodded to the mentioned father and son in gratitude. "How... Oliverio, how did you manage to get them here?" 

The young Chinese boy grinned. "I ran as fast as I could to them when I heard that the soldiers were coming." 

Juanita filled in the gaps. "The guys and I, after linking up with the relief forces here, established ourselves among the villages in the area. Upon a message given on radio, we would join up with Fidel. But, the message never came and you all did not reach the landing spot-" 

"The trip took longer than expected and we were running out of fuel so we landed somewhere else," Dario attempted to explain.

Juanita shrugged. "Well, anyways, the next thing we heard was that there had been a great battle near the outskirts Niquero and our forces had been defeated. They had been saying on the radio that the Castro brothers were dead."

"Wait. The government was announcing that?" 

"Yes. Is it true?" Her eyes were pleading, cheeks taut with a desperate hope.

Dario sighed. "I... I don't know. We were all together in the forest, ready to make our escape when planes dropped shells on us. I was thrown into a ravine and lost contact with them."

"I see..." Her voice was low, and Dario sensed that she did not know whether to feel relief or despair.

A brief second passed before she raised her eyes again, and a forced calmness washed over her face.

"To continue, we established networks around the area and garnered some support among the local villages in order to evade capture and gather intelligence. The leader of the relief forces, Celia Sánchez, is currently leading her men to harass Batista's forces as much as possible. I had been spending the past few days scouring the area for survivors but you are the first that I have found..."

The still quality of her facial features started to break, and she choked down her sobs. "I... I..."

"It's okay, dearest." Dario attempted to console her, but he felt that gnawing claw gripping his heart too. 

"I thought you were dead!" she cried. 

"Me too," he whispered. "The pain I felt when I thought of you, before my eyes were to close for eternity. I can never forget that."