The Carlidia Renaissance- Cable Girls Reimagined (LCDC)

Chapter 6

Lidia's POV

It's been 2 weeks since I was hauled over to this 'Female Rehabilitation Facility' and life here is bleak, to say the least. Of course, no inmate is different from another, so I was allocated a cellmate, Nadia. At first, she kept to herself, often busy sketching into a tattered notepad, or reading some book. When I would talk to her, at first her replies were often one-worded, or as short as can be. But a week in, we got used to each other, and as a result, she'd also start talking to me out of her own free will.

One night, in a moment of great loneliness and grief over Carlos' death, I recounted my story to her whilst in my bed, tears silently flowing from my eyes, and she listened intently without interruption. As I finished my tale, I saw her head pop up beside my bed, and felt the warmth of her hand clasping mine, as she gave me a sad, knowing smile.

The following day, I got the courage to ask her the question I wondered since the day I met her. "Now you know why I'm stuck here, and to an extent you could say I deserved it, but for what reason under the sun are you in here?" I asked her aloud, scarcely imagining her as the sort of rebel or criminal who would actually deserve to be here. This was largely brought on by her scrawny appearance, she had middle-length chestnut hair that was straight, which most of the time she'd put up in a bun, paired up with her big round reading glasses she'd wear for reading a book, you'd think her an academic of some sort.

Upon hearing my question, she looked at me wide-eyed, obviously being taken aback by the abruptness of the question. She opened her mouth to reply, but instead a heaved sigh escaped her lips, breaking eye contact. She finally replied a moment later, in quite a bit of length to my surprise.

"Wow okay. I don't really know where to start. I came from a wealthy family, my father was a politician and my mother stayed at home to care for me and my two younger brothers. He was part of the government before all this madness ensued, and as a result we were all in the public eye. Of course, when the civil war began, we were then persecuted by the Nationalists as they viewed all of us as a direct threat. They eventually found us and separated us, not just according by gender, but isolated us from each other completely. So, apart from not knowing what happened to my father" she choked back a sob "or my brothers, I have no clue where my mother is. Ever since I got here I've been on high alert, hoping that I could just get a glimpse of her, just to see if she's okay." She paused, and closed her eyes "But so far there was no sign of her." she finished in a low, resigned voice.

She then pulled out her notepad, and I finally understood why she spent so much time drawing on it. "It helps, drawing their faces. I'm always terrified that their memory might fade away, but this way, they'll always be close to me" she said absentmindedly, flipping through the pages until she paused at the sketch of an older, short-haired brunette which resembled her. I reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, and told her that now she has another pair of eyes to help her look for her. Overwhelmed by emotion, she embraced me tightly and thanked me for my kindness, I hugged her back, half smiling in disbelief that I was experiencing such a tender moment in such a horrible place.

In fact, a much less tender moment happened 2 days ago, after I had finished eating at the tables set for us. Nadia had left for her cell earlier, so I set off back to my cell alone. In the hallway, someone suddenly called my name, and when I turned to see where the voice was coming from, I was met with a shorter, older woman with curly orange hair, who was all too familiar unfortunately.

"Doña Carmen" I said unemotionally, my face setting into a scowl in preparation for the unpleasantness that was surely to follow.

She smirked as she halted a foot away from me "I don't know how I wasn't informed that you were here earlier, what a pleasant surprise." she said in what I supposed was a sarcastic tone.

"Wish I could say the same." I replied, "Look if you came here to gloat about how you were right about me all along and how you knew Carlos deserved better, save it. This is not a good time, he wouldn't have wanted us to dwell on these past feelings."

"I only wish you could have realised all this earlier, it would have saved us all a lot of emotional trauma."

That triggered something in me "Firstly, I never explicitly said you were right, I just suggested that that was what you came here to do. And secondly, you're not the only one going through emotional trauma right now, especially since a large reason of why he's not with us anymore is my fault!" I finished, with tears in my eyes which threatened to spill at any moment.

She frowned " 'Not with us anymore'? Carlos is perfectly fine last I heard, Yes, my son still wants to play the hero, siding on what he believes is the right side, but he's not dead" she said in a certain tone.

I realised that she might not actually know that her son is not alive anymore, which gave me a certain power over her I rarely had, so I decided to use it to my advantage.

"Do you think that if the Nationalists know any information that might make you go soft, they would actually disclose it to you?" I tutted, shaking my head in a mocking smile. "You're just one of their many pawns, they don't actually care about you" I finished, and strode off confidently before she could react.

But not before catching a glimpse of her expression, which, to my satisfaction, was marked by uncertainty.

***Hope you enjoyed this chapter guys! Feel free to vote and comment down below what you thought of this chapter. Until next week! - B***