25

 / The long road to justice

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-“Because you’re so calm”, said Petronila.

 

-“Haven’t you heard that there are guerrillas out 

there?” he asked.

 

-“If that were true you wouldn’t be so calm”, insisted 

Petronila, holding onto the certainty that sooner or later 
Carías would tell her the truth. 

Carías remained silent, searching for something he could say 
in order to distract her attention but before his words could 
come out, Petronila looked him in the eye and asked: “What 
shall I do if my husband and sons don’t come back?”

 

-“Be patient. Come back in the afternoon and I’ll try 

to find out what’s going on”, he said, thinking that at least he 
would be able to get rid of her for a few hours.

Petronila returned in the afternoon and waited for hours 
under a scorching sun until she saw a jeep approaching in 
the distance. Carías got out of the vehicle, followed by two 
men in military uniform who wore red berets. 

Petronila walked up to Carías and said: “I need to know the 
truth. Be a man and tell me the truth”. The intricate web 
of lies that he had spun in an attempt to confuse her came 
crashing down and in a moment of weakness his eyes swelled 
with tears as he placed his hand on her shoulder. “You’ve 
pierced my heart”, he said. “What happened in Dos Erres 
was the work of a cursed troop that came from La Pólvora”, 
he said. 

 

-“I want to find my children even if they’re dead”, 

said Petronila. But Carías remained silent.