My comadre has 7 children. All of them married with their own homes and family independent of her, only one, Joan, lived with her and her 4 children: Pedro, Arnaldo, Joana and Juan. Since he and his wife divorced. Joan, together with his mother, worked from home making hallacas and other foodstuffs and sold them on commission to businesses and neighbours. It was in this context that Joan along with the other siblings when they reached school age. They began to study at a school near their home, making friends with children from their neighbourhood and another neighbourhood nearby. Joan's friend, Orangel, lived in a very nice house in the same neighbourhood with his mother, Angeli, who worked as a teacher, while his father, Pablo, was self-employed. Juan and Orangel loved each other like brothers. As the years went by, they became teenagers and studied at the same high school. Juan fell ill and had to drop out of school, passing only the third year. A year later, he entered a free high school and graduated with a baccalaureate in the Parasystem method. Shortly afterwards. On 28 July, Orangel finished his secondary studies with a graduation ceremony. He went to Juan's house, together with other classmates. He knocked on the door, his grandmother came out and told him: "Juan is sleeping, he is feeling bad, he told me not to bother him" The young man insisted: "tell him it's me, we are going to a rumba". So much insistence from the young man made his grandmother go back to her grandson's room and call him several times, he didn't want to go out, he pretended to be asleep: "Get up, Orángel is calling you, he has just graduated and came to invite you to go and celebrate". Juan got up and went to where his friend was with three others, one of whom was misbehaving. My grandson went over to Orangel and congratulated him. He said goodbye to his grandmother and the five friends left. When they arrived at the main avenue of that community. Orangel asked him for a service, to take them to a bar outside the perimeter of the city. They boarded the car as they drove along a rather lonely road, the ill-behaved young man, who they called El Conde, said to the driver: "Please stop the car, I'm urinating". As he stopped, this young man with a toy gun pointed at him and said, "Get out of the car!", he obeyed. "Now get on your back and don't move!". The chauffeur did as he ordered and the count got into the car with his friends. Leaving the chauffeur lying on the road. He walked a few kilometres until he reached a roadblock. There he filed a report and gave the car's identification data.
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When the young men were returning from a night out with their car, they passed a checkpoint of the National Guard, who noticed their complaint. They immediately stopped the car and arrested them as well. Shortly afterwards, a police patrol arrived, made them get in, tied their hands and took them to the detention centre. When they arrived, they were interrogated, and as Orangel was the eldest, to protect his friends, he blamed himself for all the events. All the others were interrogated in the same way. John was the most innocent, because he did not know what they had planned, but he was sentenced to 2 years in prison. The other three were sentenced to 4 years in prison and Orangel to 6 years.
When Isabel, Juan's grandmother, was told what had happened, she burst into tears, pulling her hair, wringing her hands, crying and speaking with a sadness that moved all of us present: "My God, I am to blame for what happened to Juan, he didn't want to go, I insisted that he go!". I, who was present, hugged her, stroked her snow-white hair and said: "Calm down, you might get something!" She grabbed my hands and in an act of supplication said to me: "My comadre, you who saw him bornk and grow up in this neighbourhood and never showed such behaviour!" She let out a scream, then calmed down a little and, very emotional and trembling, continued: "I am to blame, he didn't want to leave and I forced him to, why I did it, sir?" Isabel lay down in a hammock she had in the corridor of her house and said to her children: "I will stay here until they release that child, and then I will get up from here". She burst into tears again, her voice cracking: "I feel the guilt burning inside me!"
My comadre's children mobilised, paid for lawyers and secured Juan's release, and he was released under a reporting regime in the judicial circuit. A few months later, his parents left for the afterlife.
Shortly afterwards, Juan was completely released. He then decided to emigrate to Peru in search of work. He now works as a labourer in a fish factory, has a girlfriend and sends a monthly remittance to his grandmother and a his three siblings. Isabel feels free of guilt and is very proud of him.
Orangel continued to pay for his sentence, his parents sold their cars, a house and paid 2 lawyers with the money. As he showed good behaviour in prison, he was given permission to attend classes at the university and that same day he went back to prison. His sentence was reduced by one year and he was released. On the condition that he had to attend in the penal circuit.
That same year he completed his studies and graduated with a degree in computer engineering. His parents enjoyed the graduation ceremony very much and it filled them with satisfaction. Six months after attending the graduation ceremony. His parents passed to another dimension, dragged by a silent illness, "diabetes". When Orángel got his definitive freedom, he married a teacher and they have three children. Two years ago he went to Chile to work and saved up some money. With that money he emigrated with his wife and children to Spain. They currently live in a flat in Spain. He works as a computer engineer in a factory. His wife works as a home carer, his children study and love their father very much.