Chapter 6: Mi fuerza

Axel comes home late at night for only one reason, sleeping. After the incident, he frequently disappears with Chan's people, who load the guys with small jobs and send them on significant assignments as observers. Axel knows that Chan is up to something; his father's silence and sullenness only confirm this, but he can't figure it out yet.

Axel wouldn't show up at all, but he should see Rene at least once a day and make sure his sister is okay. The night after the first murder brought them closer together. Axel doesn't understand how it works, but Rene gives him strength. Often coming home, he finds the little one asleep in his bed and falls asleep next to her, listening to her steady breathing. If Rene is not in his room, then Axel makes his way to her and, only leaving a light kiss on her forehead, goes to his room.

Axel's Spirit, which becomes stronger and stronger day by day, does not stop for a second, makes the young man always be excited. Axel silently calls Rene "Mi Fuerza" (My Strength) because only she can silence the energy that rips the boy from the inside. It is difficult for Axel to agree with himself. Unlike the owner, the Spirit is too self-confident; it does not listen and does not accept the arguments, and pushes in the back, forcing him to decide everything immediately. This is one of the reasons Axel can't live without Rene. His inner demons obey the little girl.

In the morning, Axel takes Rene to school. He sits for a couple of lessons, since it's a graduation class, and then disappears in Chan's pub, where the cartel people gather. With each of his profits, he always buys small gifts for Rene, saving a small amount for Rene's favorite churros, sprinkled with sugar, which he gets her in the morning on the way to school. Besides, Axel gives Rene money and, despite Inna's ban, still secretly slips it into her pockets so the girl can buy whatever she wants.

***

The situation on the territory is only getting worse. Chan raised the rents. Almost all points now belong either to his entourage or those unfortunate people who continue to hold them on the brink. The number of murders increased. After a couple of skirmishes with neighboring cartels, Chan keeps the population tight-lipped and has given the green light to his people. Those who do not pay on time, as the first warning, are beaten. They do not wait for the second time, knowing that this is death.

Aken got a promotion after another assignment; he went with Chan's men and returned alone. He is now one of the top twenty guards at Chan's mansion and one in charge of his family. This significantly increased the boy's profits and, despite his young age, allowed him to earn credibility with his superiors.

This morning, Aken walks into a small store near his former workplace for cigarettes and sees one of Chan's guys trying to beat the owner he knows from childhood. Aken nods to the guy he knows, picks up his cigarettes, and leaves after paying. He stops on the sidewalk, glances at children riding on self-made scooters, takes one drag, and, throwing away his cigarette, walks back.

"Leave him; he said he'd pay by the end of the week," Aken leans against the counter, looking closely at the guy.

"Don't get involved in this!" he bristles. "He was already given time."

"But the trade doesn't go," the man cries, hiding behind the counter, afraid of blows. "We are forced to raise the prices of goods to pay rent, but there are no buyers. People don't have money."

"Give him a couple more days," Aken comes closer, and his Spirit gets close, preparing to attack. Aken senses how the guy is holding back the aggression and realizes that he is afraid of him.

"You'll explain yourself to Chan. Now you're responsible for the money," the man puts his gun in his belt.

"I'm sure he won't notice the absence of a couple of bills in the bags you give him," Aken claps his tongue.

"It's your business. If anything happens, you answer yourself," the man leaves.

"Thank you," the seller says in a trembling voice.

"Find the money, or I'll come for it," Aken says calmly, without threats.

***

Rene adores and misses her brother a lot. She now sits alone in his room, where she does her homework, and often falls asleep there, and wakes up to find Axel sleeping next to her. Rene feels like it's only on nights spent here that she gets enough sleep. Rene wants to share all her achievements with her brother; she perceives only his words as the absolute truth and dreams of being as strong as him.

Rene is looking forward to tomorrow. Vita will be celebrating one of the biggest holidays ever, Day of the Dead, and this is the first time Axel has promised to take the little girl with him to the streets.

Inna cooks food and bakes sweets all day, which they will put on the dead's graves. Rene helps mum by sprinkling sugar on a round bread that she will take to Axel's mummy's tomb. Yesterday Rene found a big package from his brother in her room stuffed with chocolate in the form of coffins and sugar "skulls," half of which she had already emptied.

Inna will help Rene paint a skull on her face, and the girl has already chosen a bright red dress to wear to the celebration. Tired more from the excitement ahead of the holiday than from helping mum, Rene falls asleep on the couch at ten in the evening, and Inna carries her treasure to bed.

In the morning, Rene wakes up to the chanting from the street and runs to the window first. A brightly dressed and singing crowd, accompanied by music's sound, walks along their road towards the cemetery. After changing the clothes, Rene rushes to her room and patiently waits for mum to finish painting the skull on her face. Axel, who went out for flowers in the morning, returns home with an armful of orange marigolds and, taking his sister's arm, along with his father, loaded with packages, and Inna, walk to the cemetery.

The usually gray old graveyard now resembles seething fiery lava due to the orange flowers and garlands. People decorate graves, put food and bowls of water right on them, and talk to the dead. According to legend, it is on this day in Vita that the living can communicate with the dead, treat them with food and drinks and invite them to visit.

Axel greets Mum and, as always, briefly telling her that he loves her. He puts one of her glass balls and her favorite cinnamon churros on the grave. Then the young man helps his father spread sweets on the graves of friends and relatives and goes to Aken's father's tomb, which is decorated with flowers by Avi. Aken cleans the weeds under Lea's guidance. Lea had already finished "communicating" with her deceased family and, after sending Leo for water, came to Aken's.

Inna, afraid that Rene will get lost in the crowd, doesn't let go of her, and the offended girl does not stop looking in the direction where her brother has gone. She is already preparing to cry when Axel returns and, picking her up in his arms, goes for a walk between the graves.

"Am I going to die too?" Rene asks quietly as she looks over her brother's shoulder at a baby's grave.

"No," Axel says firmly, and the little one can feel the elder's arms tighten around her.

"But everyone dies…"

"You won't," Axel says and, sitting on the old bench by his mum's grave, turns the girl to face him. "I will not give you to anyone, not even death."

He pulls the hoodie's sleeve over his fingers and begins to wipe the smeared paint from the girl's face.

"Then I won't be afraid," Rene believes every word brother says.

"You don't have to be afraid of anything in this life because I'm with you."

"And what if you don't love me or stop loving me?" The child suddenly asks, "What if you become the same as then when my mum and I just arrived."

"You're asking too many questions." Axel jokingly bites her on the cheek, laughs at the way Rene squeals, and repeats it on the other cheek.

"So you will not stop loving me?" Rene thoroughly wipes cheeks with sleeves.

"You won't let go of what's yours," Axel smiles. "I will never stop loving you because, after my mum, you are the first woman whom I loved. Satisfied?"

"Yes," Rene puts her head on his shoulder.

It gets dark, people gradually disperse, leave a lonely figure in the cemetery at the grave, littered with flowers.

Aken took Avi home a long time ago, but he came back here anyway. Only now, alone with his father, he can typically communicate with him and share everything that torments him. Aken sits down on a cube by the grave, getting ready to chat with his father, when suddenly his attention is attracted by a little body scurrying between the graves in a hat stretched almost to her eyes and a painted face.

"Hey, you can't steal food from the dead," Aken shouts, jumping to his feet, and the girl, seeing that she has been noticed, leaving scraps of her pants on the thorns and clutching what she has gotten tighter to her chest, runs away to the side of the road. Aken stares after the fleeing figurine for a long time but does not break after her.

"The living need food more," Aken smiles sadly and returns to his father.

Nura returns to the cemetery an hour later. In Vita, children are afraid of the living, not the death, so Nura considers the graveyard one of the places where she feels safe. She has a good memory of where Aken was standing and is heading straight there. The girl looks around and, making sure that there is no living soul in the cemetery, approaches the grave. Nura neatly lays out the cakes on the grave and squats next to it, examining the tombstone.

"My name is Santa Muerte. This is from me," the child says quietly. "I know that I cannot give what I stole from other graves, but I don't have mine yet. But wait a minute…" Nura fumbles in the pocket of the hoodie that is hanging from her shoulders, and, taking out a red elastic band with metal inserts, which she collects her tail on the top of her head, puts it on the grave. "It's from me. I love your sons." After sitting at the grave for a couple more minutes, Nura gets to her feet and walks home.

Aken, who did not have time to move far from the cemetery, noticed the same kid enter through the gate and followed her. At first, he thought that the child would desecrate the grave, but, seeing how she was laying something on it, he hid behind an old, dilapidated statue of an angel. As soon as the girl left the cemetery, Aken returned to his father's grave and saw cakes on it, which he and Avi did not put. Aken, who still hadn't found the answers to his questions, was about to leave when he noticed an elastic band gleaming in the moonlight. He took the elastic in his hands and twisted it around his wrist.

***

Axel doesn't come home at night, and Rene falls asleep without waiting for him. The first thing she does in the morning is running to the attic and finding her brother's bed made. Upset that he hasn't slept at home, Rene refuses breakfast and goes to class.

Arriving at school, she immediately goes to the senior class, but he is not in class. After two lessons, she walks back to her brother's classroom. Rene recognizes Axel from behind and, glad that he's okay, immediately runs towards him. As she gets closer, Rene notices that the elder is pressing a beautiful lady against the wall and whispering something in her ear, alternating kissing on the temple. Rene pauses against the wall and stares unblinkingly at brother's fingers sliding over the girl's shoulder.

Rene is sick. Perhaps from hunger. She had to listen to mum and have breakfast; otherwise, she does not understand why, from one glance at the elders, a vast hole forms in her stomach, and her jaw trembles so treacherously. As if waking up from a dream, Rene turns around with only one thought to escape, but it's too late. Axel notices her and catches up at the stairs.

"How is my baby doing?" The man reaches out to Rene to kiss her on the cheek out of habit, but the younger retreats.

"I'm not your little one, nor your baby," Rene replies, scowling, wishing to walk downstairs to the dining room and buy at least a pie because the "hunger-hole" is getting bigger, and pinching eyes are now added to it.

"Mine, of course. Who else's little one are you?" Axel grins.

"Your little one is standing by the wall," Rene looks towards the corridor.

"No, I only have one little one." Axel no longer tries to catch her.

"I'm small now, so I'm tiny, and when I grow up, I'll be…"

"Little," Axel winks and immediately hugs her. "Well, do not be offended."

"Will you come home?" Rene mutters into his shoulder.

"I'll come."

Rene's pie isn't helping. She decides that she is ill, and, having asked the teacher to call the security, having asked for time off from the last lesson, leaves for home.

"Mum, will I be beautiful when I grow up?" Rene drinks milk and honey in the kitchen while Inna cooks.

"You're already beautiful," Inna laughs.

"No, I'm ugly," the young lady bites her lips. "I want to be as beautiful as Cecilia from high school."

"I don't know who they are, but I firmly know that you are beautiful," Inna walks up to the table and smiles conspiratorially. "Do you like some boy?"

"No," Rene's face is instantly painted red. Grabbing a glass, she gets up from the table.

"It's okay; you can tell me," Inna laughs and is distracted by the opening front door.

"Are you sick?" Axel rushes into the kitchen, worried. "Why did you leave school?"

"I don't like anyone!" blurts out the younger to mum and, passing by the brother, runs to herself. Axel frowns and follows her with his gaze, while Inna decides to talk to her husband in the evening.

***

Today is one of the rare evenings when friends spend time together. They sit in Leo's living room after Lea's hearty dinner while the woman herself prepares dessert in the kitchen. Lea was not happy about the news that her son was in the cartel, but she was not very surprised and did not fight his decision. Young people in Vita have little choice.

Leo, unlike Axel, refused to control his Spirit. He stated that he completely trusts it and will listen to its instincts. Aken is still trying to get Leo to take over, but younger hasn't given up yet.

"Chan only controls his territory by terror. I think he's thinking about expansion," Aken tells the card-playing guys.

"Where do we expand if we can't hold what we have," Axel shakes his head. "I went to Sirius the other day; their guys are walking around with the latest weapons," as always, Dev's eyes light up when talking about weapons.

"This won't last long," Leo loses and reaches for the lemonade. "We will all be cut, but don't worry, you have me, and I'll put everyone in for minced meat."

"Chill out," Axel grins. "Nobody will cut us. Now my goals have a face. I want a better world for Rene, I want her to have a great future, so I'm not planning on dying."

"Every kid in this hole deserves one," Aken says firmly, glancing at the elastic around his wrist.

"Definitely," Leo and Dev repeat after him.

"I'm glad you ended up accepting your sister, and you got along," Aken says to Axel.

"It all happened unexpectedly," Axel ruffles his hair. "But I consider her the closest to me, even closer than my father. I love this little one and do not want her to see what we see. As long as she's got the cartel mark on her arm and it's saving her, but I don't want the bloody mark to determine the women's safety. I want our mothers and sisters to be able to move around the streets without fear of being kidnapped or killed. In the books I read, every citizen recognizes the right to security of person. Why should some label in our world define it?"

"You should have read fewer fairy tales," Dev's mouth twists and gets slapped on the head by Leo.

"Take his faith away from a person, and what will be left of him?" Leo asks him angrily.

"When did you become so smart, my psychopath-romantic-philosopher-brother?" Aken laughs.

"I read books too," Leo lowers his eyes.

"Come on?" Aken arches an eyebrow.

"Well, while I tear out the pages and throw them into the fire, I have time to read something."

"Do you love Rene as a sister?" Dev gets a second slap on the head of the evening, this time from Aken.

"Yeah…" Axel replies without thinking.

"What if not?" Dev risks getting a third.

"Are you fucked up? She's young," Axel looks at him with a frown.

"Today, yes, but tomorrow she will grow into a beautiful woman. Now, because of her, you rush to school, and then what, will you throw flowers at her feet?" Dev doesn't retreat and immediately crawls under the table, forgetting that Leo doesn't react well to the word "flowers."

This is interrupted by Lea, who walks into the living room and sends Leo to wash the dishes.

"I don't know what will happen tomorrow," Axel returns to the conversation, helping Lea clean up the dessert table. "But Today, she is my little one, and I want to take care of her and give the best. Aken will understand me; he has Avi."

"I see," Aken nods.

***

Rene, who does her homework and falls asleep at her desk, wakes up in the middle of the night and, having drunk water, walks over to her brother to sleep there. Axel came home recently and returned to his room after taking a shower. He is in some sweatpants, drying his hair with a towel when he hears the door open and turns to look at the one coming in.

"Rene, learn to knock, angel," Axel grins, looking at the sleepy girl who walks straight to her brother's bed, planning to hit it right away.

"You're so late," Rene yawns and suddenly catches her gaze on the tattoo on her brother's side just below his left chest.

"Tattoo!" The younger squeals, "You have a tattoo," runs up to the elder, intending to examine it, but it is not clear why; the flustered Axel grabs her by the shoulders and ushers out the door.

"I won't tell anyone; please let me see," Rene whines, grabbing the jamb of the door, preventing brother from closing it, but Axel pushes her out and slams the door. Axel goes straight to the closet, pulls out a T-shirt, and pulls it on. Five minutes later, Rene is sitting cross-legged on her brother's bed, looking at him expectantly.

"Why didn't you show it?"

"It's not ready yet, and generally none of your business." Axel tries to get away from the month-old tattoo conversation.

"You are an asshole," Rene grumbles and rolls onto her side, preparing to sleep.

"No bad words from that beautiful mouth of yours. And go to yourself, please."

"Please, I love it here," Rene pulls the pillow to her and hugs it.

"Today, I'll talk on the phone a lot, and you'll be unable to sleep," the elder insists, tickling sister's bare heels.

"With that girl from school?" Rene looks at him resentfully, sitting on the bed.

"None of your business."

Frustrated, Rene slides out of bed and trudges to the door.

In the morning, having lied to mum that she would wash her hands, Rene sneaks into her brother's room and, glad that he is asleep, tiptoes over to his bed. Rene neatly lifts the sleeping one's T-shirt and stares with surprise at her name in pretty print on it.

Rene…

* The title of the chapter is My Strength (Spanish: Mi Fuerza.)