«Yo estoy escapado, soy Bombero»

Sometimes Ariel, Fabian’s dad, wakes up in the wee hours of the morning and tears escape and he thinks about that message he received at 4:19 a.m. on August 6th, 2022 from Leo’s phone.

«Dad, it’s Fabian, now the emergency alarm went off and we had to go out there, don’t worry I’ll be fine (…).»

Then his vision blurs and he thinks of days before when Fabian asked him to go to the airport to help him refill the oxygen cylinders and while he was there he told him: «Take a picture of me in the truck, Dad, so you can see how nice a fire truck is and show it to Kevin».

But Ariel didn’t do it, he saw the truck leaving the Comando no. 3 and waved to the boys, among them Elier. Only later would she understand the value of those names as part of the only treasure she has: her memories.

That’s why Ariel wakes up and feels like that early morning. From his house in Versailles he could not see the magnitude of the fire or feel the noise. Fabian warned him in the message: «Be alert in case anything happens, get out of Versalles, it’s serious, take care of yourself».

But in the morning when he heard the sirens, he knew something was not right. He walked to each hospital. At the «Faustino» a doctor helped him, and room by room they saw the wounded. The ambulances arrived, but his son was not there. He went to Medicina Legal, but Fabian was not there either. She could not find him among the dead or the living. It is a little difficult to summarize the uncertainty.

The next day he arrived at the command post of the Velasco Hotel, and later it was known for certain that Fabian was part of 14 missing persons.

His family decided to go to the Coliseum and in the middle of a blackout the candles appeared, each one showed their condolences in their own way. When they returned to Versailles it was the same, her living room was filled with light. In the days of waiting, she was grateful for the support of Dr. Adolfo, who watched over her mental health. More than that, he was her support. The support of many, that’s what counts when you think the ship is bottoming out.

During those days when they were waiting for news from the experts, she started to work in the yard to avoid thinking, until her hands burst from the pain, until sweat and tears were one and the same.

He was amazed by the solidarity and empathy of a people that on August 19th showed him that Fabian was not only his son, but also theirs. And although the shared pain does not lighten the sadness, he was silently grateful for every sign of affection for his lineage.

Almost a year later, the grief still hurts the same, but talking about his son helps him. He is always around the Fire Station, in the museum, in the » August 5th» room, he donated a photo, the last photo of Fabian and Leo, behind that rainbow with which he finished the funeral honors.

Ariel spoke to me for 14 minutes, Fabian had been at the Varadero airport for more than a year as part of his military service, in September he was going to start his immigration course here. His dad watched him mature, he was happy. Those boys were like a family.

Written by Yunielys Moliner Isasi.