Miss Ruth

Author: (Spanish) Malera, translated by Jiang Zongcao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-02-01
Features: The government of Don Asís Klothon conducted negotiations. After securing government support, they aimed to defeat Don Paco's behind-the-scenes legislators and replace them with Don Jaime Pimentel, as mentioned earlier. He exhausted every effort to turn a minority into a majority, rallying the moderates and the undecided to his side. He especially went to great lengths to stir up the enthusiasm of the large number of people who never wanted to vote or get involved in politics, urging them to join the struggle—these individuals had previously avoided politics because they never aspired to hold any positions. We hold a condemnatory view of these self-righteous people, as they allowed the exploiters to do as they pleased. Among them was a pivotal figure whose inertia, if overcome, would sway the entire town. The town we refer to is the one the readers already know as Vermeja Town. Don Asís yearned to mobilize this person because he was crucial in the election, and with his support, victory was within reach. The person we are speaking of is my old friend, Don Juan Fresco. The stories I am telling now, along with many others, are all things I learned from him. If God grants me life and health, after finishing this story, I will continue to share other stories with the readers one after another. Don Juan Fresco and Don Asís were close friends. Don Asís had once gone to great lengths to help Don Juan Fresco in several matters. However, Don Juan Fresco was not an easy person to persuade. Don Asís rode to see him a couple of times and wrote him several letters, trying to convince him. But nothing could shake his resolve or change his deeply rooted aversion to getting involved in elections and politics. Seeing Don Juan Fresco's stubbornness, Don Asís felt angry, sorrowful, and desperate. If Don Juan Fresco could lend his support, his cause would have been smooth sailing. Otherwise, despite the government's backing, he could not guarantee his victory. At that time, everything else was already in place, and the election was drawing closer, with only the announcement of the candidates' names pending. Until then, Don Asís and the government had been carefully guarding the secret. Before the announcement, Don Asís decided to make one last attempt to influence Don Juan Fresco, revealing the candidate's name and praising his virtues extensively. For this, he wrote a special letter to Don Juan Fresco, pouring all his talent into it, striving to make it both compelling and emotionally moving. The next day, Don Juan Fresco wrote back, and this letter exceeded Don Asís' unexpected satisfaction. This was the reason why, when Do?a Manolita finally mustered the courage to ask him, he was so happy, and why he eventually confided his heart so readily to Do?a Luz, Pepito Guevara, and the daughter of the doctor we mentioned. In his solitary room, he spent hours reading and writing. He was very humble and did not wish to make any grand gestures. Nevertheless, he was writing