It took three weeks for Tulio to fully recover from the attack. And the day that the doctor came to take out the stitches, he was off to work again. And as before, he came back home that night sporting a new black eye.

"Honestly Tulio!" said Rosie, covering his eye with a wet handkerchief. "What do you say to that man that makes him beat you everyday?"

"NOT SO HARD, MA!!!!" Tulio yelled, pulling back from her and covering his eye. "Anyway, I don't say anything to him! He's just some rich, slap happy bastard!"

WELL THIS HAS TO STOP!!!!" Marcel bellowed, which surprised Miguel, since he always seemed to be a kind old man. "There is no reason for it! This is cruel and unusual punishment! That man should be locked up in a loony bin!!!"

"Marcel, calm yourself, please!" Rosie calmly replied, resting her hand on his shoulder, which he angrily brushed away.

"I will not calm down! I should go down there and-" Marcel stopped ranting for a second, ran his fingers through his thick, graying hair, and sighed. "I've tried to raise my children the exact opposite of the way my father treated me. Nonviolent, fair discipline. But obviously that idea doesn't seem to sink in with these people." He sat down for a moment, and then turned to Tulio. "Tulio, I will look for a new job for you, but until then, try to stay out of that maniac's way. All right??"

"Yes Father." Tulio replied softly.

* * * * * *

"Liar!" Miguel hissed in Tulio's ear, causing him to jump out of his bed in surprise. "SHH! You'll wake everybody up!"

"Miguel, it's the middle of the night and- Hey! What do you mean I'm a liar?!"

"You said a drunk stableman stabbed you that night, but that's not true, is it?"

Tulio just stared at him, shocked.

"IS IT?!"

Tulio stared down into his lap. "No."

Miguel sighed. "Stupid, why didn't you tell us before?"

"First of all, don't call me stupid. Second of all, he's a very powerful man. He could've had me and all of yall killed!"

Miguel scoffed. "Kill us? HA! You, Marcel, the twins and I are expert swordsmen. He couldn't lay a finger on us!" Tulio cleared his throat loudly and pointed to the scar on his chest. "Okay, he could get through YOU, but not me!"

Tulio suddenly looked at him gravely. "Now you listen to me. Don't go nosing about my business. You don't even know me. Hell, I don't even know you! You and I are gone most of the day, so why did you even call me your best friend when I was dying?"

Miguel felt very hurt by this, and felt like he was going to cry. "But- But Tulio-"

"You were just emotional that day because I was dying. You're afraid of death. You're afraid of death because you saw your own parents dead. So don't lay your pity on me for your losses. Now, GOOD NIGHT!!!!" And with that, he turned on his side in a huff and fell to sleep.

Miguel had never been so insulted in all his life. He got out of his bed and bolted out of the house. He ran through the wheat fields, his heart burning with exhaustion and sorrow. Finally, he tripped and fell to the Earth. Then came the huge streams of tears and the horrible wails he let out. He saw flashes of his father, his throat slit open, his eyes wide. He saw his mother, frosty as ice, pale as snow, dead. He saw Carlos lying in the river, blood flowing all around him. And finally, he saw Tulio, in the middle of the night, dropping to his knees. Never in his whole life had Miguel felt so betrayed by fate. Betrayed by Tulio. Betrayed by Death. He had never felt so alone. Finally, tired and heart broken, he fell into a deep, nightmare filled sleep on the ground. Alone...........

* * * * *

Miguel groaned as he woke up. He was covered with dirt and his body ached everywhere. He sat up and let out a painful moan as he cracked his neck back into place. "Oh... Why am I out here?" he asked himself sleepily.

Suddenly he remembered the terrible things that Tulio said to him last night. That he wasn't his friend and that he only cared about his dead parents. Miguel felt his face grow hot. He was so angry from the memory that his head began to hurt. As he rubbed his temples to try to calm himself, he heard voices from the house.

"I'm going to work now, people!" It was Tulio.

Miguel stood up just enough to see over the stalks of wheat to see Tulio walking out of the house.

"Now Tulio, please try to be careful today!" Rosie called out from the house.

"I WILL, Ma!!" Tulio yelled in an annoyed tone. "Bye!" And with that he mounted onto his burro and went down the trail. When he couldn't see him anymore, Miguel stood up and inhaled deeply. He was glad Tulio left. Because if he didn't, he was sure that he would give him a broken nose to go with his black eye.

As he walked back to the house, he saw Marcel coming towards him. "There you are Miguel! I didn't see you inside. Why are you out here so early?"

"Oh, I couldn't sleep, so I thought I could get a head start on the chores." he lied. He would give anything not to do chores.

"Well forget that Miguel. I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it?"

Marcel sighed deeply. "I want you to follow Tulio. See how he does at the manor. If anything bad starts to happen, pull him out of there immediately."

Miguel held his breath in anger, but tried his best not to show it. Finally, he managed to croak out "Well, I-I thought that I could just-" but was interrupted.

"Please Miguel. He's my son." Marcel looked helpless. "I would do it, but I have to go into town today to look for a job for him. Please help me. Help him."

Pure hatred boiled inside of Miguel. He hated Tulio. He was selfish, mean, arrogant, spoiled and not sympathetic. But, defeated, he said, "Yes sir."

"Thank you Miguel! Thank you! Oh, I-I will look for jobs for both of you!" The old man happily walked away, leaving a miserable Miguel behind.