[A not so broken romance]
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"She's waking up," said one of the Herrera brothers.
"Lucky for us. I wouldn't want to tell Mrs Madrigal we let her granddaughter die," said another.
"This is your fault, Rodolfo," someone else said. " This is the girl's first trip. She is not used to it".
"She did not seem so sick, I wouldn't have imagined that ...
"Mirabel always looked exhausted, I had noticed an hour ago" Roberto commented.
"Oh, the expert is right, as he can not take his eyes off her" replied one of the brothers, making fun of him.
"Carlos" Rodolfo intervened "this is not the time for that, please, leave him alone".
"How boring you have become".
Mirabel began to open her eyes very slowly, as she gave a brief glance to everyone around her. Her sight was not good, since they looked like shadows contrasting with the light of the gray and rainy sky.
"She woke up," said Roberto.
"Stand back," asked Rodolfo as he stood up. "She needs to breathe."
"Mirabel" Roberto called her "Are you okay?"
"Not quite, but I think I can continue," Mirabel replied.
"Take this, Mirabel," Rodolfo said as he handed her a glass filled with water from his canteen. Mirabel received it gratefully and took it quickly.
"We cannot rest here" Rodolfo told them "this terrain is unexplored, in this region there are many snakes and pumas, we have to return to the central path".
Mirabel got up with difficulty, while she kept walking and feeling in a kind of reverie. She would have given everything to rest, but Rodolfo was right. They needed to move. Finally, the caravan reached safety. The main road almost seemed like an oasis compared to the virgin forest.
"We are going to spend the night here," said Rodolfo.
"Here?" Asked one of the brothers "but we could continue walking a little more".
"You just blamed me for Mirabel's accident, then shut up" Rodolfo reproached his brother.
"Uff, how sensitive" answered the other.
Mirabel had never seen the Herreras fight, she didn't even know they could. They all quickly set up a camp, and she was finally able to fulfill her dream of resting. Mirabel sat in front of the makeshift fire Roberto had installed, while she waited for the boiling water to finish melting the panela.
"Here," Roberto said as he gave her an almojábana and cheese on a plate. "You have to eat something while dinner is ready".
"Thanks".
Mirabel knew this food was not like her mother's, and even so, she found it magical. The starch from the almojábana flour melted gently in her mouth like cotton, while the molasses from the sugar cane in her hot drink filled her with happiness, as if it were a hug.
"This is perfect," Mirabel said.
"Really?" Roberto asked "in my opinion the almojábana is already hard, it is old.
"No, it's perfect," Mirabel answered.
"This trip has been a disaster, I am very sorry, Mirabel" Roberto commented after laughing slightly.
"You don't have to regret it, it's not your fault, I suppose it's destiny's fault," Mirabel replied.
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Roberto.
"Now I am," Mirabel replied, who couldn't help but laugh at the situation "you're always asking me the same question".
"That's because you're always giving me reasons to ask you. If you didn't get into so much trouble, I wouldn't have to." He replied with a smile.
"Are you trying to say that I am a troublesome person?"
"I'm not saying anything, but" Roberto began "in the last few months you: got drunk in a very important event of your family, who happen to have magical powers, you got involved in a romantic relationship with someone with a dubious reputation, you almost drowned on the river, and now you are here, in the middle of the mountains, on a journey too difficult for you. At least you have to admit that living with you is anything but boring.
Mirabel bit her lip and blushed. It sounded bad when he put it in the same sentence. Possibly, Isabela was right, her gift was getting into the most absurd situations.
Suddenly, the sound of hooves caught her attention. It was a group of indigenous carriers who were approaching on the road, they were not wearing their traditional clothes but Mirabel recognized them by the ornaments on their clothes. Rodolfo got up from his resting place, at the same time that his face practically lit up with happiness.
"Rogelio Chití" said Rodolfo "Blessed are the eyes that see you".
"Rodolfo Herrera" answered the head of the group.
"Brother, you are the only good thing that has happened to us on this trip " Roberto said as he gave his friend a strong handshake.
"Is it that bad?" asked Rogelio.
"Worse than you can imagine," Roberto replied.
"My poor friend, stop suffering, we better share the fire" Rogelio joked as he patted him on the back.
"Of course we do," Rodolfo said.
The other members of the caravan sat next to them, and they all dined and drank a couple of glasses of aguardiente before going to sleep. However, Mirabel had to settle with a clear broth and cooked yuca without any seasoning, since she had to eat lightly to take care of her health.
"We have been traveling for two months" explained Rogelio "we come from Ibagué, we have been working in that region, our community is there, we were visiting our families" he said, referring to the capital of the department to which Mirabel was going.
"That explains why we haven't seen you lately.
Mirabel sat listening to talk about their travels, envious of the possibility of knowing something other than her small town in the middle of nowhere, while she looked at her sad, simple and tasteless food.
"I know you are hungry, but you shouldn't overdo it, you could get sicker," Roberto said.
"I know," agreed Mirabel, who had no other option. She went to sleep on an empty stomach, as the green eyes continued after her. However, they no longer just chased her underwater. They followed her as she climbed the mountain, while she tried to not sink into the mud that seemed to devour her.
Suddenly, Mirabel's nightmare was interrupted by something even worse. She felt a stabbing pain in her ankle. It was as if something was burning her intensely, to the point she wanted to lose her foot.
"Mirabel!" Roberto screamed. She barely managed to see the boy's shadow as he got up and struck hard with his machete. She got up and sat on her sleeping bag.
"What happened?" Rodolfo asked, very alarmed.
"She was bitten by a snake. I killed it" Roberto said, pointing to the dead animal on the ground. Rodolfo froze for a few seconds, almost as if he was trying to understand what was going on, when he finally exploded.
"Carajo!" Rodolfo yelled as he stomped on the ground with his foot. That expression of frustration was not considered a bad word, but it was the closest to it for someone like Rodolfo. She knew immediately he was on the verge of collapse, as he removed his hat and began frantically fanning himself with it.
"Easy, easy," Rogelio said as he approached Rodolfo. "We bring traditional medicine, maybe I could help you. What kind of snake is it?" He asked. One of Rogelio's companions leaned over and looked at the body.
"This is bad, very bad," he said. "It's one of those with green eyes".
"Is it poisonous?" Mirabel asked, almost paralyzed by fear. Rogelio and his companions shared a look full of concern. Clearly, no one wanted to give her the bad news.
"I'm afraid so," replied Rogelio.
"Rogelio" Rodolfo began, seriously "Are you sure that what you have is going to work for her?" He asked.
"It is what is used in these cases …"
"No, please, tell me it will work. You do not know the importance of the grandmother of this girl in our village. If she dies, my family's life in Encanto is over" Rodolfo asked. Mirabel was surprised to hear that. She had never heard anyone talk like this about her grandmother, but it was obvious. The Madrigal matriarch really could be a fearsome figure.
"Our medicine is for minor poisons'' Rogelio answered "That snake is very dangerous, so much, it has a legend. That snake is traditionally considered a sign of bad luck.
The Herrera Brothers shared a grim look. In a place like Encanto, where magic exists freely and coexists with everyday life, any sign of bad luck becomes a real threat.
"I'm about to believe that those people from Santa Rita are right …"
"Shut up!" Rodolfo yelled at Carlos. Mirabel knew immediately what he meant. Santa Rita was the neighboring town to Encanto, when people used to say Madrigal's gift was not a miracle, but a curse.
"What do you mean?" Asked one of Rogelio's companions.
"Nothing important, it is just a stupid legend, On Santa Rita, people says that Mirabel's family is unlucky" Roberto replied.
"Well, well" said Rogelio "let's calm down, those are simple elders tales, things to scare the children. The best thing is to give her the medicine, and wait".
Rogelio took care of Mirabel, while Roberto offered to watch her during the night. She couldn't sleep at all, since the poison was beginning to affect her, and the fever increased. She felt herself burning, while she began to lose water as a result of sweat.
"I told you, nothing is easy with you" Roberto said while placing a cloth of cold water on her forehead.
"Roberto" Mirabel began "if I die …"
"No."
"But, if it happens," Mirabel insisted "Could you tell my family that I love them very much?"
"Of course''.
"Perfect" said Mirabel who felt her throat getting drier and drier "Could you tell my uncle Bruno that I am very sorry to have gotten upset with him? Because I really love him very much".
"Yes, I would, but it won't be necessary, because you won't die," Roberto insisted. "Let's change the subject, you're making me nervous".
"Good"Mirabel accepted "I want you to tell me something, during Rana's night you told me that I had a complicated life. What did you mean?" She asked.
"Isn't it obvious? "Roberto asked "All the Madrigals have a gift, and you don't have any. Your grandmother is very intimidating, and she always treated you differently. I've seen you with your older sister and she used to be very unpleasant. The others weren't very nice to you either. Perhaps that's why I was not surprised when you left for the mountains for several days. Honestly, I thought I would never see you again. "He said. Mirabel stared at him. That was an oversimplification of her complex situation, but she couldn't say it was false.
"Things have changed a bit," Mirabel said.
"I know, I know your family has changed" Roberto answered "but I don't understand why you decided to drink during the Easter Sunday dinner. Your grandmother made a very important announcement, and you responded in an irrational and irresponsible way. I felt sad for you. I know that despite all the rejection, you've tried to please them, and I couldn't allow you to ruin that good thing".
" That's why you took the bottle from me that night?" Mirabel asked.
"I did it because you made me feel so frustrated. You finally had what you wanted, but you were wasting it. Why?" said Roberto.
Mirabel listened to him, attentively. Probably, if he had asked her that on a normal day, she would have been offended, but Mirabel's fever kept rising and rising, so it would be best to tell him the truth in case she died. A whirlwind of emotions flooded her, that answer was not easy.
"Roberto" Mirabel began, seriously "when you grow up hearing that there is something wrong with you, that you are a useless and worthless being, and they tell you day after day, from each one of the people in your life, then you end up believing it".
Roberto took a deep breath as he gasped.
Mirabel woke up a couple of hours later feeling even worse. Roberto had fallen asleep next to her, and he couldn't blame him, since he must have been exhausted too.
She smiled when she saw him asleep, he looked almost cute. Mirabel remembered the first times she tried to make friends with Roberto. He was one of those children from the town who played ball in the street with Camilo and her, but she never noticed his presence. However, things had started to change when they both turned fifteen. He invited her to dance a couple of times during the San Pedro festivities, but she quickly concluded that he felt no interest in her, since he could barely articulate a few words when he met her.
At that time, Mirabel did not have time to worry about the teenage drama and romantic relationships. She had enough of being a Madrigal. Her casita was about to fall, her family was a disaster, her uncle had spent ten years hiding in the walls of the house and she was in the center of it. But the truth was she couldn't stop thinking about Carlos's words about his brother. Was it possible that he liked her?
Mirabel wanted to laugh at the foolishness of this thought. She was in the middle of the mountains, about to die from the venom of a snake, far from her family, far from everything she knew. However, this was precisely the point. Mirabel was never content with her imitation of life, as she was behind the scenes while others played the main character. She always wanted to live life in all the chaotic and beautiful splendor of it. She wanted the emotion of love, and the pain of a broken heart, she wanted friends, she wanted the emotion of embarking on a path on her own, she wanted a job, she wanted to travel, she wanted to study, she wanted to grow up, she wanted a romantic partner, she wanted her family, but also she wanted a bit of solitude, she wanted to build something of her own. Mirabel wanted everything, and something more She was hungry and wanted to devour the whole world.
Suddenly, she remembered the arepas that her mother had given her for the trip. Mirabel did not want to use them, since her commitment to give up the miracle of the house was completely honest. However, she knew that only the magic of her mother could save her from such a predicament. Mirabel very slowly opened the package, and found that they were intact. The arepas looked like they had just been taken off the grill, despite by that time they must have looked old or full of mushrooms.
She took the first bite, and immediately noticed a change. The fever began to go down and also the swelling in her ankle. Mirabel ate it and returned to her sleeping bag.
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Mirabel opened her eyes very slowly and saw the rainy clarity of the sky over the forest. She felt very good, in fact, it was as if she had never been ill.
"Mirabel?" Rodolfo asked as he approached her. Mirabel looked at him carefully and realized that he seemed even more tired than before.
"Good morning, I feel very good," she answered. He approached her and asked in a very low voice.
"Did you have your mom's food?" She asked.
"Yes".
Rodolfo exhaled, feeling calm. Mirabel couldn't blame him. After all, he was right, if she did die, her grandmother would not be kind to any of his family members.
Rogelio and his friends were surprised to see that the antidote had taken effect, since no one expected it to do so, as it was useless for strong poisons. The brothers Herrera and Mirabel preferred to remain silent, since they knew that not everyone would be so understanding about the powers of her family.
The trip continued, and surprisingly, the weather improved and the roads were dry and clear until they finally reached the moors where the cold made Mirabel wear almost all the clothes that she was carrying in her suitcase at the same time. The vegetation changed surprisingly. The mountains were no longer completely covered with trees, but with short grass that looked like a green blanket. The wide landscapes of the moors with a view of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in the distance left her speechless. Suddenly, she noticed the frailejones that covered the mountain with their multiple pointed leaves and thorny trunks.
Isabela used to have a special predilection for these plants since she had learned to invoke more than flowers. However, Mirabel had never seen so many together.
"The frailejones look like an army," said Mirabel, looking at them as they walked.
"My great-grandfather used to say that in Pisba there are other moor, and that during the independence war the patriots used to disguise them as soldiers so that the Spanish army would be confused and would not know what target to aim at" said Roberto. "These plants grow very slowly, the tallest ones must have been here for hundreds of years. They are very important, they produce the water".
"I'd like to see them up close," Mirabel said.
"Come, come" he replied as he took her hand and led her to the field of frailejones.
"Hey!" Rodolfo yelled annoyed.
"Leave them alone, Rodolfo. Mirabel has been close to dying three times in the last month, don't you think she deserves at least a good time?" Commented one of the brothers.
"Besides, you have to be good to our little brother, give him a chance, as he can finally articulate a word in front of her," Carlos said. Rodolfo laughed softly and did not reprimand them as he stopped the caravan.
Mirabel took some time to appreciate the moor, as it was considered the fountain of all mountain wildlife, and the father of water. She was finally feeling healthy on that trip, and she wasn't going to miss out on that opportunity.
After its icy walk through the top of the mountain, it was time to descend to the lowlands again, where the climate would gradually warm up until reaching the town of La Dorada.
This time the way through the rain forest was easier and more beautiful. To the point that Mirabel was able to get on the horse and have the pleasure of looking at the colored birds that danced there. One of the brothers took a small glass and filled it with sugar and water where the hummingbirds came down to drink.
"How cute," Mirabel murmured.
"A trip of two cigars already goes in four" Roberto complained as he lit his cigar.
"We will have to increase the price of this trip to Mrs. Madrigal" answered another "this was supposed to be easier".
"I'm very sorry," Mirabel said.
"It is not your fault," answered one of the brothers. "The mountain is like that, it gives you everything, and it takes everything from you if you are careless".
As the hours passed, the weather began to change more and more, to the point that Mirabel had to get rid of all the clothes that she had put on during her passage through the moor. As they went down the forest changed from rainy to tropical dry. The heat was such that it seemed that those poor trees needed a good dose of rain.
And finally, at noon on the fifth day of travel, Mirabel could see the town of La Dorada from a hill. As they walked under the inclement mid-day sun, at almost 43 Celsius degrees , Mirabel couldn't help but notice that the poor Herrera Brothers were exhausted.
"We're going to take the ferry to Honda," Rodolfo announced as they approached the town.
"But it would be cheaper if ...
"Are you going to ride to Honda under this sun?" Rodolfo asked the brother who tried to oppose him. "Well, not me, I prefer to ask Mrs. Madrigal for a raise, but I don't want to ride another second".
"I agree with the big man," said Roberto, who looked even worse than his brothers.
"Yes me too".
"Likewise".
Mirabel kept silent, but all she wanted was to sit in a corner and sleep a bit. The five travelers took the ferry across the Guarino River loaded with their animals and merchandise.
Finally, she was able to fulfill her wish, as she sat on a bench under the shadow by the edge of the ferry. The forest looked lush and dense at the edge of the river bank, while the herons flew over the river carrying large fish in their mouths.
"Here," Roberto said as he offered her a cold drink in a bottle. Mirabel looked at it in surprise, for she had never tasted something like that.
"What 's this?"
"Soda" Roberto said as he sat next to her "it is the new flavor of that famous beer company at Bogotá, everyone is drinking it, although it has not reached Encanto yet." He continued. Mirabel took a sip.
"Very sweet, but delicious. Thank you very much Roberto".
"You're welcome, it's just a soda" said the boy.
"No, it's not just about the soda, I really want to thank you for everything you've done for me. You saved me from making a fool of myself at my grandmother's house, you warned me that my relationship with Juan Pablo was close to ending, and now this trip." Mirabel said feeling each one of those words. Roberto turned around and looked at her for a few moments.
Mirabel felt very bad, because she understood that Roberto's Brothers were not joking. In reality, he seemed in love with her. If Mirabel had thought of returning to Encanto that would be a beautiful possibility opening up in front of her. However, that relationship was doomed before it existed, since there was no going back.
Honda was completely packed with people from every corner of the country, since that afternoon ferries from Antioquia, the Caribe and trains from Bogotá and Santander had arrived. The town had maintained its importance since the colony times as the port by the river Magdalena that united the Atlantic coast with the heart and the north occident of the country. Mirabel looked out from the balcony of the port to observe the ship that arrived from Barranquilla with the fabrics for Dolores' dress. She could almost hear the tropical music that used to be heard on these trips.
"Have you ever traveled to the sea?" Mirabel asked Rodolfo as they descended the stairs of the colonial customs building.
"I'm afraid not, our house is in the mountains, at the foot of the snowy mountains," said Rodolfo.
"Someday I would like to see the sea," Roberto intervened.
Mirabel had to stand in a long line behind multiple businessmen who were checking the quality of their wares in a spacious white room. The fabrics were exactly what her grandmother had ordered, so Mirabel did not hesitate to give it the go-ahead with a signature on the documents.
They stayed for the night in a cheap but comfortable hotel with open corridors full of plants. The afternoon continued in the hotel's spacious riverside restaurant where Mirabel was finally able to eat a decent meal of fried fish, salad, and baked yuca, after five days in the mountains and nights plagued by sickness and terrifying dreams.
"the heat is a nightmare" Rodolfo complained as he took off his hat and fell back in his chair.
"Well …"Carlos said while he put on his hat "I don't know about you, but tonight I'll look for a ballroom and I'm going to dance" he continued.
"Dance?" Rodolfo asked surprised "Do you have the energy to go dancing after a five-day trip and in this heat?"
"Sounds like a good idea," said the other.
To be honest, Mirabel wanted to go dancing too. She gave Roberto a glance, but he didn't seem to feel the slightest interest in having fun with his siblings. At that moment, she understood that she had two possibilities. The first one was to shut up and go to sleep, even though she also wanted to have fun; and the second, to make a fool of herself. And it was then when Mirabel understood that life was too short not to feel ashamed from time to time.
"I want to go" Mirabel began as she turned her face towards Roberto "Roberto, Do you want to go with me to dance?" She asked.
Mirabel could almost feel a hidden smile on the lips of Roberto's brothers, who did not take their eyes off them.
"Y- Yes?" Roberto said out of tune.
"What my brother wants to say" Carlos intervened to save his brother "is that we will all be ready at six in the hotel lobby. We will freshen up and take a shower, you should do the same".
"Okay, see you later" said Mirabel who got up and went to the exit of the restaurant. She hadn't made it to the door when she heard a series of laughters and whistles.
"Go Romeo, you finally made it. You are lucky she has bad taste".
"Shut up," Roberto answered in a low voice.
"Dad will be very pleased with you, Roberto," Rodolfo said calmly.
Mirabel ran towards the exit of the hotel. She still had a few hours before her date, so she would use that time to buy the train ticket to Bogotá. Honda was not such a big town, although it was bigger than Encanto, so it was difficult for her to find the train station, but after asking for a few directions she arrived at the tiny station with white walls and a clay tile roof.
"Do you have tickets to Bogotá on the train at seven?" she asked at the box office.
"How many?".
"One".
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Mirabel gave her favorite white dress and hairstyle a touch-up in front of her bedroom's mirror. That day was the last night of that stage of her life, so she wanted to go out and enjoy it to the fullest. The four of them met in the hotel lobby. The only one missing was Rodolfo who was too tired to go out.
"Poor Rodolfo, he hasn't slept properly in several months. His baby cries a lot,"one of the brothers commented.
Mirabel looked at the ballroom that was located next to the river. She had not seen such a large orchestra of musicians with tubas, saxophones, clarinets, bongos, Caribbean gaitas and other traditional instruments. All the musicians wore immaculate white linen suits with ties, while the singer wore a modern red dress, which Mirabel memorized to replicate as soon as she had access to a sewing machine.
"Is the same music Mr. Dominguez plays?" Mirabel asked the Herreras, talking about an older man who lived in Encanto who came from the Caribbean and made accordions to play vallenato, and often joked with Mirabel.
"No, I think they also play Caribbean music, but it's different, I think those are cumbias," Carlos said. "The coast is another world different from our mountains, Mirabel".
"Bogotá is also another world, our cousin who lives there says that it is not the kind of place for us" answered the other brother. Hearing this, Mirabel became nervous, because the next day she would leave and she had no idea what to expect.
Mirabel went to the bar where she bought another soda, and she drank it while she calmed down, as she felt very scared.
"Do you want to dance?" Roberto asked her.
"Of course I do," Mirabel answered.
The two danced for hours. At some point in the night they lost track of where other siblings were. She felt comfortable. The feelings she had for Roberto were different from her relationship with Juan Pablo. She was united with Roberto by a friendship, above all things, something that was worth to kept it, as it could be the basis for a real and mature romantic relationship, not a simple illusion.
"Roberto" Mirabel said as she moved from side to side in his arms to the sound of the gaitas of the Caribbean, and the clarinet of the leader of the orchestra.
"What?"
"Someday, would you like to leave Encanto?" Mirabel asked.
"Yes" he answered immediately "to be honest, I am not what my father and my brothers expect of me. This is going to sound very silly, but there are times when I have thought about taking my belongings and riding the first boat to Barranquilla, " he said.
Mirabel was surprised to hear that. Then, she put her head on his shoulder, in a comforting hug.
"Tell me the truth," asked Mirabel. "Do you even like me a little?" She continued. Roberto moved slightly away from her.
"I like you a lot, and for a long time," he said. Suddenly, Roberto seemed to realize what he was saying and opened his mouth like a fish.
"Don't you dare retract, if you do, I will never forgive you," Mirabel said, annoyed. "The truth is that I also like you a lot, Roberto, although not so long ago".
Mirabel dropped her head on his shoulder again, and together they continued dancing until midnight.
The two returned to the hotel without meeting the other two brothers again. Mirabel took the key to her room from her bag, while he waited to say goodbye to her. As she searched, the contents of her purse fell to the floor. She went down the hall picking her things, but it was too late, he had already seen just what she wanted to hide.
"What 's this?" Roberto asked while he looked at her ticket. "A train ticket to Bogotá? Mirabel, have you gone crazy?" He asked, annoyed.
"Roberto, I have to do it, I have to leave Encanto" said Mirabel.
"Why?" He asked.
"I can't continue there".
"Your grandmother plans to leave the miracle of your family in your hands".
"It's a mistake!" Mirabel practically shouted "I do not want that gift, I do not want anything to do with the magic of the Madrigal. I just want to run away".
"But you can't do it like that, at least you should talk to your family ...
"I don't want to talk to them, I don't need to," said Mirabel. "My grandmother used me to obtain information about Juan Pablo and his colleagues. She did not care that they could hurt me, Bruno, Dolores and her ...
"What?" Roberto asked, annoyed. "Did she really do that?"
"But it's not just that. After so many years I am still practically alone, I have no real friends and no one in my family really cares about me. The only thing I inspire is pity in the whole town." Mirabel said " I can't continue there, I have to find a new home".
"I still think you could talk to them, you don't have to leave like that".
"What do you mean?" Mirabel asked.
"You are full of rage, it is poisoning you".
Mirabel felt her eyes fill with tears and her voice break.
"And what am I supposed to do?" Mirabel asked "to stay seated in the nursery forever, while I wait for my family to consider me useful, or walk through the town while I hear people murmur that I am a mistake, or wait for the candle to pass into my hands, when I know that I will not be able to carry its weight, because I have never done anything, I have not created anything on my own".
"Mirabel …"
"Don't say you don't understand what I'm telling you, because I know you do it," she said.
"Let me think about it," said Roberto who nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "If you leave like this, you will cause a terrible problem for my family, so I need to think about it. What time does your train leave? She asked.
"At seven" Mirabel said "Roberto …" she began again, but he raised his hand and interrupted her.
"Please, let me think about it." he asked.
The two said goodbye. Mirabel came into her room and packed what little luggage she had left to put into her suitcase and tried to sleep. As expected, she could barely sleep for a couple of hours. She got up the next day and got ready to leave. Mirabel left her room very cautiously. To her surprise, Roberto was waiting for her with his arms crossed on the other side of the hall.
"Good morning" Mirabel said as she looked at him expectantly.
"Good morning" he replied "give me your suitcase, I'll help you carry it to the station".
"Thank you," Mirabel answered on an exhale.
The weather was still cool when they arrived at the train station, however, there were already passengers from all corners of the country waiting for the train to Bogotá.
"What is your plan?" asked Roberto.
"I have savings to live on a pension for three months. I'll look for a job in a garment factory or something similar, and that's it".
"It's a reasonable plan," Roberto replied.
"You can go with me" Mirabel said suddenly and he looked at her as if she were speaking in an incomprehensible language. "I am not saying you have to do it now, but once I find a job and a place to live, you can go with me. I could give you a hand so you too can get started.
Roberto opened his eyes. It was clear he was feeling tempted by her idea. Mirabel understood his life perfectly. He was not good at working in the fields, and he did not like being an arriero like his brothers, as the farm would never be his since Don Ignacio had eight children to distribute it.
"How could I communicate with you?" Roberto asked, staring at her.
"I could send you a message through the telegraph in Santa Rita, on behalf of Julieta Madrigal. The only problem is that you would have to review it every Wednesday until I can send it, which may take a couple of months, "she said.
"Do you promise?"
"I know that Bogotá is not Barranquilla, which is what you wanted, but it is a way out, I promise you that I will help you" Mirabel said.
"Thank you," he replied.
Mirabel stared at him, maybe if they had had a little more time, things between them could have turned out very well. She had a feeling that this relationship was not just pretty, it was something real, as the two understood each other on a different level.
Suddendly, Mirabel leaned up and kissed him on the lips slowly, before the sound of the steam from the train alerted them that it was time to board. She separated from Roberto and got on the train on the way to Bogotá, where a new life would begin.
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What Mirabel didn't know was that at the same time that her train was leaving Honda, one of the herons of the Magdalena River took flight towards the mountain, as far as the climate and height allowed. This heron spoke in the language of the birds with a white-breasted eagle, and the eagle wandered into the rain forest until it reached a town in the middle of the mountains where it was greeted by a child, three days after the heron would have started on his way.
"What did she do, what?" Antonio asked, alarmed.
"Mom!" The boy shouted before returning to the house.
Hi everyone, Two random facts about this character:
1. All the places in this fic are real places,except for Santa Rita, that is made up. But as the fic was written in the thirties, those places have changed a lot. Honda lost its importance, since the port doesn't exist anymore, nor the train. Until 2020 it was on the way to Medellin, from Bogotá, but with the new driveway not even that.
2. The scene of the dance was inspired by the Lucho Bermudez Orchestra in all of his forties and fifties stravaganza. This is historically incorrect since it was in the forties and fifties and this is in 1934, but it is my fic and what I say it goes. It is not the first historically incorrect thing and it won't be the last.
Until the forties tropical music was not popular in the rest of the country, Lucho Bermudez popularized it, as his songs were played on the trips down to the river Magdalena. He is the author of some of the most emblematic songs of Colombia.
Thanks for reading, bye.