The Weight of All Things (3)

Chapter 4
Nicolás has decided to take the bus back home. When the bus arrives, he goes in and sits next to the old woman near the back of the seat, ignoring all the other empty seats in the bus. He remembered what his mom has told him about how life has changed because of the war. The military harassed a lot of young/adult men to either recruit them to the military, or to kill them for suspicions of communistic acts. Nicolás remembered this and so sat with the old woman. They began conversing with each other. She told him that she had a grandson about his age named after his son. She then mentions that her son is dead now, killed by the guardias (the military). She mentions that he was a good man, that if anyone asked him for help, he would help them. He never did anything wrong, but when the guardias went into his town to interrogate the people, the people all began pointing figures at each other. That night, they went into the old woman's son's house and shot him for being accused of being a communist. This reminds Nicolás about the terrible things that the guardias committed. The guardias also discouraged worship. They went in Nicolás's church one night and severely attacked the father. They called him a queer communist and stuck a wrist sized stick up his ass to intimidate the people in his village. He also remembered about his old school and how it ended up in ruins. After an awful battle, the guerrillas took refuge in the school. The guardias followed them to the school and opened fire, killing many children and teachers. Nicolás stayed home that night to help his grandfather pick corn. He was lucky. The bus drove for about a couple minutes before having to stop. Guardias had blocked the road to inspect all vehicles passing by. They went in and thoroughly looked at the passengers. One by one, they picked young/adult men in the bus to get off the bus. Nicolás knew then and there that those men will never be seen again. As the guardia came to his row, he asked Nicolás for ID and questions like, were has he been, where was he going, etc... The old woman immediately told them that Nicolás was her grandson and answered all the other questions. He was safe and lucky once again. He had no ID because he was only nine, and he has been in the place were a major battle between the guardias and the guerrillas took place.

These are the words of the revolutionist
Peace.