Kudos of Mafia

'XVII'

All the uphill battle fought for the last fifteen years was about to unwrap. Senor had it in him for all these many years, the past he couldn't deny. The perfect time had arrived to confess. The temptation to slash the burden of sins encaptured Senor. The moment with no debate on the past in the future. Just the conclusions. In general, Senor felt more obligated than before to expel out the truth, sorrow, and ambiguity of life.

"Didn't you ask me the other day about the photo?", Senor tried to be more precise."Me hugging Salvo."

"Yes. I did.", pulling up the hands to support his chin. "How did you happen to meet him?"

"Oh boy!, where shall I even begin?", Senor pouring the liquor with shivering hand." Do you want some?"

"No sir, I am good.", said Bruno with eyes narrowed." Begin at wherever you feel comfortable at"

"Salvo, an inseparable entity of my life. I can't get over with how it all ended.", Senor locked his arms across his chests in deeper contemplations." Salvo and I were a partner in a fishing company. We owned the entire fishing chain line in Sicily. Oh my gosh! those days..."

"You both were partners?", surprised Bruno. "What happened next? Why was he sentenced to death?"

"A whole new perception arrives to that very question and will tell you mine.", Senor shuffled forward leaving his glass on the desk. "Our business escalated to the heights we never even imagined. We ruled the entire market. We had a monopoly. But as it's said, everything is perishable. We perished in the thin air, never to born again."

"Why? What happened?"

"As time flew by, we were not being able to coordinate with each other. We had it great going for a few years but after that, it was an uphill battle. The uncertainty and unknown gnawed at us. Yet, we destined partners made it look like a piece of cupcake."

"And?"

"Most of the fish supplies came from the eastern coast. We had hit a jackpot, so big we forgot the count of profits we made. God's grace, we extended our supplies to America. We had some business running smoothly there too. But....."

"But?"

"The shades of Sicilian Mafia fell upon us. We lost the eastern coast to their hands. Our business came in a halt. Slowly, we began to lose our customers and turned out to be in a state of bankruptcy as we had tonnes of money to pay off."

"So, what happened thereafter?", Bruno's shoulder squared and his legs braced.

"We sought necessary aid from authorities but it turned out to be of no use. The business got worst day by day and us two desperate partners had our hand-tied. One night, on a fairly ordinary Saturday, both of us received a letter from Sicilian Mafia, a letter of negotiation."

"A letter?", Bruno's eye sparkled. "What kind of negotiation?"

"A simple but a daring negotiation.", Senor leaned back in his chair, maintaining the seriousness in his words." Help them to import arms and ammunition from America and..."

"And in return, you would get eastern coast.", Bruno added.

"Exactly! We help them and we get what we owned."

"What you decided?", Bruno said with a raging curiosity, desperate to know the reality.

"The desperation had driven us crazy but the effect overwhelmed Salvo more than I thought. My ideology would never grant permission to welcome such a lunatic offer with no certainty. But Salvo didn't look back. He accepted the offer while I remained silent.", said Senor unlocking his arms.

"So, he was indeed associated with Mafia.", Bruno nodded his head as if he got the answer.

"No, Bruno. The story deviates into lots of different parts. Salvo did what they wanted. They got the arms and ammunitions but we didn't get what we were promised. We turned out to be fooled."

Bruno felt a sudden pinch in his heart with all these revelations he had never thought of. Two partners devasted. One with another.

"And what else I needed? I had the reason to rant on him. The rage in me engulfed his self- respect. But No matter how bad we tumbled, we continued our business with whatever was left."

"Due to this very cause, he was sentenced to death.", Bruno raised his chin towards Senor.

"Yes but no!"

"I didn't get you."

"The failure in negotiation proved to be a mere spark stretching the gap between us. It all shattered when I knew Paulo was his brother.", said Senor in grief.

"Paulo?"

"Yes, Paulo, the commander of Sicilian Mafia. When the profit margin increased tremendously, we felt secured but when we marched to loss, something unusual came. We tried to compensate for our loss with profit but the numbers didn't match. After a detailed investigation, we noticed that someone used the money from profit now and then. Paulo! Paulo did use the money."

"Really?", the eyes widened and the facial skin tightening.

"The very cause that detached us from walking in the same path. I couldn't bear it on my own. All the money dissolved like the salt in the ocean. Our money got value for their tyranny. We emptied at our disposal, nothing else to lose. I saw Paulo visiting Salvo now and then but I didn't know Paulo covered his cruel face in the relationship he shared with Salvo.", said Senor staring at the ceiling.

"And he was sentenced to death?", asked Bruno.

"Yes, after the very revelations of such misdeeds I filed a complaint. The authority charged him as criminal and he was sentenced to death.", Senor got more humble and emotional." But you know Bruno, I wasn't anticipating his death. I didn't expect it to happen. I didn't want him to die."

Senor cried back in agony and all the sins he thought committed. He was a sinner in his own eyes but nobody would either claim his innocence. Senor had fallen bad, so bad that he lost everything in life. Bruno still had the curiosity about Senor's wife but he surely didn't want to disturb Senor anymore. Bruno helped Senor to stand up in his feet and took him to his bed. The liquor overwhelmed him. Bruno turned off the lights and stepped out of the room.