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RICARDO

forgotten how to speak. I am thinking in Spanish and have to translate in my head so it comes out all wrong all the time.’

‘But you speak perfectly.’ I complimented him. He seemed to like this.

‘So I should. I am an American citizen. But sometimes I forget, so I need to practise with you, if that is OK.’

‘Of course.’

I was still hungry, but my stomach had shrunk. After a few more small mouthfuls, I couldn’t eat any more. Even though I had only eaten a tiny amount, as the food began to enter my system properly, I felt the strength returning to my body and I pushed the plate away.

‘You need to eat more,’ declared Ricardo, thrusting the half-finished plate back towards me. Moments before, he had been telling me to be careful; now he wanted me to eat until I was sick. ‘Eat it! You will feel better.’

‘I can’t. I’m totally full.’

‘Force yourself. You need to get your strength back. I’ll leave it on the table. Try to eat some more during the night.’

‘Thank you!’

Despite the fact that I was fighting tiredness, I already felt a hundred times better and wanted to show my gratitude, so I started to stack the dishes on the table, readying them for washing up.

‘Just leave them. You need to rest. You should go to bed,’ insisted Ricardo. ‘I can clean those plates tomorrow.’

‘It’s fine. No problem.’

There was no tap in the kitchenette, but I found a bucket of water, some soap powder and a sponge, and I began to scrape the food scraps off the plates. As I did so, I looked around the small room; it was crowded with all the things a normal kitchen contains: cooking spices, knives, frying pans, a salt shaker, and many different pots. In the corner, there was even a small refrigerator and on top of it, a tiny microwave. He hadn’t been lying, after all.

‘You have a refrigerator!’ I exclaimed. ‘This place is amazing!’

‘After a while you will forget you are in prison. Well, I mean, you will always know that you are in prison, but as far as prisons go, San Pedro is not bad. Just make sure you never get sent to Chonchocoro. Now, that is a prison,’ Ricardo replied.