October 1962- In a little brown house, Salvador, lying on his baby belly, turns face down. The crib mattress presses into his face. His breathing stops. In the living room, his parents watch a special television broadcast. His mother, Claudia, interprets the dire news into Spanish for her husband, Tomás. A black and white image of President John F. Kennedy announces the blockade of the Cuba to stop Soviet atomic missiles from sprouting on the former casino island paradise. Premier Khrushchev intends to keep his promise of burying America.
Salvador’s pressed lips dribble salvia onto a white bed sheet. If Salvador doesn’t start breathing in three minutes, his tiny brain will starve from oxygen deprivation. His chubby cheeks will turn blue and his heart will stop beating. He will be among the millions of babies who die mysteriously in the crib.
If neither Uncle Sam nor the Red Bear blink, a destroyer will be torpedoed or a submarine will be sunk in the warm, azure Caribbean waters. The missiles will fly and the nuclear equation will incinerate everything.
Salvador turns his head, flexes his tiny fingers and sucks in a gush of air.
The Russians dismantle their launch sites and go home. The Yankees promise not to invade Cuba.
The world breathes again.
Terrific Lupe. I love it. Great parallel description.
Well done, Lupe. I also loved the parallel crises.
OKAY, LUPE!
I love how you’ve taken a small moment and enlarged it into wide flocus/split screen, then let in the gush of air that swirls it all back into one. So intense.
By the way, Lupe, I think running down the hallways in a Batman cape would be more attractive to women these days than the sweat/gasoline perfume. Just a thought.
You are so great at endings. The moment has been expanded and drawn back in to a natural emotional pause or conclusion. Nice.
Hi Lupe
I love how this one “moment” is related to life or death in the case of an infant and expands to world scale. Nice!
Terrific writing, Lupe! Your images are stunning and memorable.