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NEW CHARGES

were still a little drunk the following afternoon as the time to say goodbye approached.

Tears came to my eyes when he hugged me at the gates, but I held them back because I didn't want him to see me crying. It must have been hard for him also, leaving behind so many good friends. I had only told him the day before about my new charges.

‘I'm going to miss you, inglés,’ he said, giving me one final embrace and then picking up two of his suitcases. It had been four years since he had changed my name to ‘inglés’ for my own protection. I no longer needed protection, but he had never gotten out of the habit of calling me by that name. The lieutenant turned the key and opened the gate for him.

‘I'll come and visit you,’ was the last thing he said to me before he walked out of the courtyard. The moment the gate clanged shut behind him, a cheer went up from the inmates gathered in the courtyard. The taxistas applauded, and even the guards patted him on the back as he passed them.

‘Chao, hermanos,’ Ricardo called back to us, dragging his heavy suitcases behind him.

A friend of Ricardo's was waiting outside the prison with a car to help him transport all his belongings. Even with his friend's assistance, Ricardo had to make two more trips back to the gate to pick up the rest of his furniture. San Pedro must have been the only prison in the world where an inmate arrived with only the shirt on his back but left with enough possessions to fill a house. I tried to find this funny but when I laughed to myself I could feel sadness sneaking in between the breaths of laughter and had to stop. Ricardo waved to me for the final time from the outer gates, but I turned away, not wanting him to see that I was about to cry.

I didn't cry properly until I was back in my room. I left the light off and I cried all that night. Ricardo had saved my life. He had taught me how to survive in prison. And he had been the best friend anyone inside or outside prison could ever ask for. I was happy for him, but a selfish part of me wished he hadn't been released. When one side of my pillow was soaked with tears, I turned it over and discovered a note underneath. I don't know how Ricardo had managed to get into my room without his key, but somehow he had.