First Flower

I'm staying here with you

Maca's Pov

"Get on the helicopter. You're not alone anymore"

We've been running for almost two hours now, and it was the first time since I met Zulema that I could tell that she didn't have a plan. And neither did I, but if there was one thing that I did know, was that I wasn't going to leave her there to die, not after everything we've been through together for the last couple of years. Everything we did in these last years has lead us here, and it was time for us to deal with the consequences of our actions.

My head was a mix of thoughts about Zulema, and how much I cared for her now, but I also kept thinking about my baby, and that if I lost her as well I would never be able to forgive myself. But the thing was that I knew that I wouldn't forgive myself either if something happened to Zulema.

If we were in this situation some years ago, I would have entered that helicopter without even looking behind, but Zulema and I were not the same people we were years ago, back when we were in prison. We allowed ourselves to show different sides of us whilst living together, and we couldn't pretend that we didn't care about each other now.

"Absolutely not. I'm staying here with you." I answer, a bit reluctant, because I also didn't have any kind of plan. But I knew that if we were going to die, we might as well do it together. It was only fair.

"Don't be an idiot Maca. Think about your baby. I made you lose your first one and I won't allow the same thing to happen with this one."

"You can't change my mind, I'm staying here and we are going to face this together."

Suddenly, we listen to the sound of the helicopter that was meant to get us out of here approaching, and shots are fired. Neither me nor Zulema had any weapons, so the only thing we could was hide. While shots are being exchanged between Zulema's men and the ones that were trying to kill us, we hide ourselves behind a big rock that was next to us. Once we sit down, with our backs facing the helicopter, I feel Zulema's hand on my stomach. I look at her.

"Everything will be okay. We're gonna save this child. I can promise you that." Her voice was trembling, but I knew she meant every word, and I trusted her with my entire being.
"I know we will" I smile at her, putting my hand on top of hers.

All of the sudden, we hear two very familiar female voices.

"Drop your weapons, now!" Triana and Goya yell in an unissin. There were only two men up, since the other ones had already been hit by the men on the helicopter. The two men hesitate for a bit, but then they realize that they have weapons pointed at the them from the front and behind. With that, they re-enter their car and drive away. We were both out of words, because even though we didn't say it to each other, we were absolutely sure that we would die right there.

We slowly step away from the rock and start walking towards the two women.

"What took you both so long to come? We could've been killed." Zulema says.

"You do have some nerve don't you? You should be thanking us on your knees, since you left us behind." Triana says, almost yelling.

"You're right, we're sorry, we only noted that you two weren't here once the men started coming." I say, trying to avoid starting an argument.

The four of us start walking towards the helicopter, with a feeling of relief. We were all willing to leave this type of life behind, just as we were leaving El Oasis for good. It was finally time to start making new decisions, healthy ones. We didn't know what the future had in store for us, but we did know that we wanted to give my child a good life, unlike the one we had.