Tell me a Story: Beyond the Caribbean Sea.
The Traces of War
It was the year 1900 in the beautiful country of Mexico, a time marked by wars, poverty and the desperate cries of thousands of men and women asking for peace in the territory.
In the midst of all this drama of battles, a beautiful 17 year old girl named Maria dreamed of one day being far away from all this conflict.
The war had taken away his parents, his two older brothers, and he only had his grandmother Marta, who was very ill with lung disease.
Many people had fled to the North, others to the coasts, Maria also left the city with her sick grandmother.
Fleeing was not easy, neither was surviving, however Maria did not let herself be defeated by the dark times.
Day after day Maria went out to sell Mexican Tortillas to the villages, the traditional recipe taught to her by her grandmother Marta.
Getting the corn to make the flour was a bit difficult, as most of the crops had been damaged by bandits.
Many times Maria would walk long distances to find the merchants in the nearest town to buy the corn.
The whole situation worried her grandmother a lot, the roads were full of dangers, although she knew that her granddaughter was brave.
Maria tried very hard to sell the rich Mexican tortillas, the misfortune of the country only allowed her to collect a few cents, which were enough to buy a little food and medicine for her grandmother, but every day the money she collected was less and less.
Women of the Revolution
One day Maria arrived very sad at the little house where they were staying, sad because she didn't have enough corn to make tortillas.
She didn't say anything to her grandmother Marta, but she noticed, that night she heard her crying in silence, lying on her lap.
Her grandmother, who was already a little better, was worried, she wished Maria would go far away, far away from so much pain.
One day rumors reached the town that soldiers were kidnapping young women to join the Revolutionary ranks of the time, Maria's grandmother heard about this and tried to get help to prevent her granddaughter from being forcibly taken to war.
She was willing to be everything to save Maria, even if she had to die trying.
Many women of the time exchanged their clothes for arms and pants, some did it voluntarily, others were subjected to force, especially the poorest.
The town baker, seeing the lady's concern, approached her to make a proposal that could prevent Maria from being taken to the women's ranks.
The proposal consisted in selling her granddaughter to a French soldier who was about to travel to an island in the Caribbean Sea to take a message to an Ambassador of the NORTHERN Government.
The French soldier had a reputation for being corrupt, yet he had helped many people in that village with food and medicine, including that baker.
Mrs. Marta knew that doing something like this to her granddaughter would be a betrayal, very painful for her, but leaving her one more day in that town meant losing her forever.
So the grandmother secretly went to talk to the French soldier, who agreed to help the grandmother, because he saw the desperation in her eyes, besides the old woman's face was very haggard, which moved the young soldier who did not charge anything.
Storm in the Caribbean Sea
It was barely dawn when cries of despair could be heard in the village, the army troops had arrived to take men and women by force.
Maria went into despair, the first thing she did that dawn was to take Don German's horse, just when she went to look for her grandmother she found a French soldier in front of her, who took her by force and took her away.
The beautiful young woman did not understand what was happening, the soldier turned away from the village to escape the massacre.
In Maria's mind she thought only of her grandmother, who minutes before the French soldier arrived had been silenced by a stray bullet.
That day Maria lost everything she loved, now she was on a ship on the high seas heading for an uncertain future with a man she didn't know who barely spoke Spanish.
The destination of that ship was to reach the island of the Bahamas, a long journey, also an adventure for Maria who had never traveled by ship.
The trip was uncomfortable for Maria, she was not used to it, despite all the pain she felt in her heart, looking at that sky full of stars every night was beautiful.
One afternoon the sky clouded over, a storm in the Caribbean began to make the boat rock hard due to the movements of the big waves.
Maria's heart was going to come out of her mouth, she was afraid of dying, because the storm destroyed the ship.
The Frenchman felt committed to protecting her, he had made a promise to Grandma Marta the day he went to seek her help.
Not for a moment was he separated from Maria in the middle of that storm that lasted 3 long hours.
The sewing machine
Many were the adventures that Bella Maria lived since she left Mexico that year of 1901.
The promise made by the French Soldier to take care of her, took her to places that she didn't even dream of knowing.
When Maria left Mexico, she did not know how to read or write, nor did she know the French language.
At the time that she arrived in France, she took advantage of all the opportunities that the French Soldier gave her, who left her two long years with her Family in France while he fulfilled his mission in Mexico with the Government.
Maria was a very intelligent girl, she quickly learned the language, she began to study and work in a clothing factory.
She took tailoring courses, the fashion of the time in Paris was very elegant, fascinating for her who wanted to design clothes for upper class ladies.
With the collection of his first salary, he bought a sewing machine, the same one that years later would be in his office to remind him of his beginnings and prevent arrogance from touching his heart.
The humble girl the one that sold corn tortillas in the middle of the civil war that ravaged the country gradually rose in social status, recognized as one of the greatest dressmakers of the time.
The years of the Civil War in Mexico took away Maria's family, and those bitter events also led her to new opportunities.
On the way, he knew love, next to that soldier who seemed evil, the same one who never stopped expressing his love to him.
After all, life gives new opportunities to start over, even though our past is marked by stories of pain.
For Maria, returning to Mexico after so many years was wonderful, eating those corn tortillas again.
Remembering the sacrifice of her grandmother that took her to her best destination, far from the pain of war.
Life gives blows, sometimes you lose what you love along the way and you are left alone, however, even if the future is uncertain, there are new opportunities to smile and be happy like Maria.
THE END
These are the items for this week...
A sewing machine, Mexican tortillas, a storm in the Caribbean Sea...
You continue from here..
I hope this story is to your liking. A story inspired by the 1900s of France and Mexico, original content by @elisaday7
I would like to invite @Liberius-1 and @selftheist to participate
🌼Translated texts in DeepL
🌼Banner and custom text separators through Canva
🌼Cover image designed by @elisaday in Canva
Que bonita historia la de María la mexicana, grandes oportunidades y bonito final en su vida. Algunas veces en medio de las adversidades es que están las oportunidades que la vida nos brinda para salir a flote. Perdiendo también se gana, dicen por ahí y vaya que sí.
Me gusta la época en la que desarrollaste la historia y de que aprovecharás las guerras de aquellos años para sacar a flote está hermosa historia de María y su abuela Marta. Siempre las abuelas piensan por delante de todo y se anticipan a las dificultades para assegurar un buen por venir.
Gracias por publicar esta hermosa historia, me ha gustado mucho y me ha atrapado desde el inicio @elisaday7 🤗
I want to commend you on your storytelling skills! Your post "Beyond the Caribbean Sea" is a moving tale of resilience and survival during difficult times. Your vivid descriptions of the setting and characters, as well as the hardships they faced, truly brought the story to life.
Although the story is full of tragedy and loss, it also showcases the strength and determination of the main character, Maria. Despite everything she went through, she never gave up and always found a way to keep going. Her courage and resilience are truly inspiring.
I encourage you to keep writing and sharing your stories with the world. Your voice and perspective are valuable, and your ability to create such vivid and powerful stories is a gift. Keep up the great work, and I look forward to reading more of your writing in the future.
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