When The Church Bells Toll

Rio De Ebro

     For Leoncio, Hermano Melanio was more than a friend, he was a guardian angel. The medieval bridge was their favorite place to hang out, talk, and share about life along the river banks of Ebro. If the idea of becoming a sailor was conceived while playing with sailboats at Cascada de Tobera, the same dream continued on the bridge of Puente de Frias - it was overlooking the massive hill where the parish church and the duke’s castle stood on each side. San Vicente was the patron saint for granting wishes, so Leoncio visited the parroquia when he applied for the job and became a sailor.  Leoncio received the good news on his application, and Melanio heard it first.  His friendship with Melanio was one of the reasons, coming back to Frias was filled with anticipation. Melanio supported his dream of becoming a sailor. He was the huge rock that he can lean on anytime.

      “Do you remember that day when I was new to the town of  Frias?” Inquired Leoncio. The year was 1974. I left home without permission. I just walked up the hills and saw you at Calle de San Victores on the way to the church. I asked for directions to the bridge that I saw that morning in a newspaper” Leoncio inquired Melanio.

     “Ah, yes! You were barely 12 years old, so tall and so thin. I even thought you weren’t eating then,” Melanio laughed, eyes wide open while remembering the day. “How could I forget?”

     “No, I was too sickly then,” I replied. “Tia Gertrudes was so mad at me and I was so scared, but the funny thing about it,  I was very happy. It changed the way I see myself. It surprised me that I can do something alone. I roamed the streets of Frias, around the town plaza, free from the chains. I realized it was only an illusion.”

    "Yes, you stood there on the stone bridge and recited your childhood wishes to Rio de Ebro.  Because you know what? Water has life. It also listened to our soul’s desire, and sometimes, without us even knowing, fulfilled it.”

    “True, Hermano. Just the way I whispered my dreams to Cascada de Tobera, Now I am a full pledged marinero. Thanks to San Vicente, to father, Tia, and you too, of course. Everybody was part of it," Leoncio said.

     Melanio’s head hanged low. His lips turned down. His hands felt cold and body was shaken. Hearing the word “marinero” brought back a lot of memories of his questionable childhood.

    Donde esta tu Padre? El marinero?No! Eres un bastardo! A lot of children teased me for not having a mother and a father, not even a home. No matter how I tried to defend myself, people didn’t seem to understand how hard it was for me to be born like this. Alone. Melanio reminisced.

     Leoncio immediately sensed he was on the verge of sadness. He felt the need for belonging.

    “Hey, Hermano, we both have the same life – no mothers , didn’t you notice? I have my father, but the way we live our life right now, being far away most of the time, it’s the same as yours.”

     “You're still luckier than me. You went to a good school, while me, I only relied on the books I borrowed from the library. I haven’t been outside of Frias, not even Tobera. Ha-ha!”

      “Okay, I will promise you this, the next time I come home, we will visit Tobera and I will bring you to the Cascada. Yes!! That’s a very good idea.”

      “I would really love that, to see other places – not that I hate Frias, because our town is such a beautiful enchanted one. I won’t exchange it with any other cities in the world. It’s peaceful here.

      “I know right… It’s one of the reasons I love coming back here..”

     Leoncio smiled and put his arms around his shoulders. He comforted him. He knew the real reasons behind that. It’s was enough for Melanio to see him again. Even without saying a word, he deeply felt the joy of having Leoncio around, even only for few months. Deep inside, Leoncio felt the same way too. The pain of their past - without a mother – was too deep to ignore, but it didn’t stop him from achieving his dreams. He promised himself, whatever success may come his way, he would not forget the old times when Melanio was there for him - walking down Puente de Frias, in the quietness of the afternoon and ended up talking about life and love along the banks of Rio Ebro.

       For the time being, Leoncio set aside the matter about me because he was leaving for the United Kingdom in two days time. He haven’t packed his luggage yet and needed to buy few more things today at the town plaza. He also remembered Rogelio’s request to enjoy the night in one of the bars in town.

      It was good for him that Hermano Melanio never did ask about me anymore. He didn’t want to talk about it. There’s no use crying over that. There was a lot of time to think about the situation next time. Leoncio lighted one cigarette to ease up the tension he felt for the past days. He felt defeated by the way I treated him as persona non grata and the madness was brewing in his mind. For him, it was not the end.

For now, the ball is in your court Celina, but next time, It’s in mine. And I will make sure, it will stay there for a very long time. He thought.