In the Time of the Butterflies Page #3

I'm a man of honor,

but to be honest with you...

...I believe there's a way

you can help your father.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Thank you, Your Excellency.

Wait over there by the desk.

Seorita Minerva Mirabal.

You left quite an impression

on my police department.

Please sit down.

Jefe, I have come to plead

for my father's release.

Please sit down.

I would like to invite you here,

to the palace...

...till we work these matters out.

I will have to ask my mother,

she's waiting for me outside in the car.

I'm sure she'll be very, very flattered

with your hospitality.

Let's leave it to the will of fate, shall we?

The roll of the die.

If you win,

I'll do everything I can to make sure...

...that you, your father, and your mother

leave here together.

If you lose,

I'll do everything I can to make sure...

...that your mother and father

leave here together, and you will stay.

Is that why my father is in prison?

I believe he's just being questioned.

Am I wrong?

Then let me raise the stakes, Jefe.

How so?

If I win, you will release my father...

...and you will allow me

to go to law school.

And if you lose?

Then you will release my father,

and you'll get your wish.

Congratulations.

You could still roll an ace.

I have no interest in ties.

Winning or losing, with me or against me.

It's what I believe in. You may leave.

Enrique, what have they done to you?

I'm much better now, much better.

I just hope the music hasn't

spoiled the yuccas.

We don't grow any yuccas, Papa.

Every time there is a party, they spoil.

We've got to stop feeding the hogs.

Enrique, the yuccas are fine,

and so are the hogs.

We apologized.

Seora.

My condolences.

Thank you, Capt. Pea.

Seorita, your father was a good man.

For his heart to give out like that,

it's so unfortunate.

My father had a big, strong heart.

It gave out because he was tortured.

You speak from grief.

El Jefe asked me to express to you

his deepest sympathies...

...and to give you this.

He killed our father, Minerva.

Sending you to law school

doesn't make it any better.

How can you accept the murderer's gift?

Because it's the only way I have

to fight him back.

I took the train again,

this time on my own.

I had played against Trujillo,

and in winning, I had lost.

- Minerva, take care.

- Write to me. Don't forget.

- Take care of yourself.

- I love you. Bye.

Gen. Trujillo is the leader of the state

and the government...

...public administration

and our national armed forces.

He executes the laws, carries out

the multiple businesses of the state...

...and represents the island

in international relations.

Lio.

I knew your friend Lio.

After he left the country,

he wrote to our cell...

...asking if anyone had seen you

at the law school.

We all laughed at the idea

of a woman being admitted.

He said he liked to call you Butterfly.

Manolo Tavares,

but some friends call me Polo.

Minerva Mirabal.

Butterfly. So here you are.

That's right.

How did you accomplish that?

I gambled with the devil and I won.

Why did Lio come back

if he knew he was in danger?

He didn't come back.

Trujillo hunts down his enemies like dogs

wherever they are.

Why doesn't everyone know this?

Most people don't want to know.

Everyone's too scared.

I want to know it,

and I want to do something about it.

Fear is the best breeding ground

for this regime.

Everyone in this country lives in fear.

Everyone just goes along,

minding their own business...

...turning away the truth.

Then, one day, something happens,

and you can't look away anymore.

You're afraid not to get involved,

not to fight back...

...because you know,

you realize, that no one you care about...

...is safe anymore.

That's right. My brother's only crime

was to be out of a job.

He was taken by the police

and accused of vagrancy.

Nobody has been able to tell me

where he is.

I'm sure he's in one of those camps

that Trujillo has out in the fields.

They treat them like prisoners

and make them work until they die.

The police say the camps don't exist.

According to them, nothing exists...

...only Trujillo the Great.

That's where we're having

our biggest problem.

Trying to make people understand

what the real situation is.

That's what we need to do.

Educate people about

what is really going on in this country.

Everybody, this is a law student

who wants to work with us.

Her name is Butterfly.

Go ahead, Butterfly.

Polo and I have made a list with the people

who have disappeared last month.

We have more than 300 names on it.

We need to make copies

and distribute them...

...so people know what Trujillo is doing.

Here, push it down. There you go.

Right here.

Pay attention everyone.

Palomino will pick up the boxes,

up here in Bella Vista.

And we'll deliver them all the way here

to the warehouse. Okay?

It's very important.

Open up.

Mate, what are you doing here?

I've run away.

I was going crazy on that farm.

It's more boring than ever,

now that Patria is having kid after kid.

- Dede, being a newlywed, you don't...

- Mate, you cannot stay here.

I wouldn't be any trouble.

I can sleep on a couch, or on the floor.

- This place looks lovely.

- Yes, but...

- Where did you get all this furniture?

- You have to go back.

- What was that?

- Nothing.

- You don't have a man in here, do you?

- No. Let's go.

Mama must be so worried about you.

You can't just run away.

Where are we going?

It's a good thing the bus station's

only a couple of blocks away.

You'll be home before midnight.

I'll call Mama and tell her some story.

- Whatever you please.

- What's the matter with you?

Mate, you're not gonna like it here.

The city is...

I don't know, just trust me.

You're not gonna like it here.

There you go again, treating me

like I'm stupid. I'm not a child anymore.

I'm capable of making my own decisions.

And I've decided to stay in the city

and get a life.

I'll sleep on the streets if necessary,

but I'm not going back.

Okay. You're right, Mate.

But I'm sorry, you cannot stay with me.

I'll help you get a place for tonight.

Here, you'll need money.

I don't want your help.

I don't know who you are anymore.

Mate.

You did the right thing.

You're protecting her.

Are you okay? Can I help you?

The Butterfly has been our inspiration.

- Butterfly?

- It's her underground name.

I'm Leandro, but I go by Palomino.

I guess, from now on, we're going to have

more than just one Butterfly, aren't we?

Palomino, let's go.

Pass me the glue.

Palomino! Come on, let's go.

- What are you doing here?

- The very same thing you are.

Did you get her into this?

Aren't we supposed to be

recruiting people?

Get out of here now.

- Minerva, I'm not a child anymore.

- Come on, let's go.

If you can take the risk, then so can I.

This is personal. Trujillo hates me.

He killed Papa because of me.

I don't want any more family blood

on my hands. Get out.

He was my father as well.

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