Estancia Fernandez 10 Miles outside of Villa Mercedes, Argentina Wednesday 7:00PM

The coming summer would be hot. The typical November rains had not arrived this year. As a result the land was dryer than usual. At a muggy 87 degrees Fahrenheit the seasonal temperature was slightly warmer than normal. This might prove problematic is the grazing lands were leaner than necessary to feed the livestock that provided necessary milk and food for the growing city of Villa Mercedes.

The Estancia Fernandez bore the name of its owner Santiago Fernandez. It was once the envy of every gaucho for hundreds of miles. But a malaise had set in over the estancia. It provided the perfect contrast to Villa Mercedes. The city had been modernizing and growing at a remarkable pace. The estancia had been decaying and lagging behind.

Santiago Fernandez hadn’t been to Villa Mercedes in months. He had spent all of his time on his estancia. For miles the vast herd land stretched before his eyes. Tens of thousands of cattle grazed on his land. Martin Lopez stood with Fernandez surveying one of the fences.

“Sir it needs to be replaced.” Lopez said.

“Why?” Fernandez replied.

“The wood is no good anymore.”

“I think it can wait longer.”

“It will collapse in the near future and you could lose some cattle when it does.”

“Cattle come and cattle go. The fence will last until it doesn’t. Then the cattle will roam as the please.”

“It should concern you.”

“I have no concerns.”

“What about your meeting with the intendente?” Lopez looked at his watch in horror. “You should already be meeting with them.”

“They will be there still when I get there.”

“Sir, fix the fence and meet with the intendente.”

“Lopez you can go now.”

Since Fernandez wouldn’t go into town there were a handful of the most influential people who were coming to see him including the intendente. He had no desire to speak to those men so if they wanted to meet with him they would have to come to him.

Fernandez was not about to travel into the growing city. It wasn’t worth the effort. The population of Villa Mercedes had probably doubled since he inherited the estancia. The city held no appeal. He could do everything he wanted from his casco.

The delegation arrived at 7:00pm. Fernandez deliberately made them wait before he arrived at 7:07. He also wasn’t going to let them enter his house. There was no point in it. They were not going to be coming to any agreements. He found his guests seated around a decaying table on his veranda.

“Santiago it is so good to see you,” the intendente said as soon as Fernandez turned the corner and came into view.

Fernandez smiled, he could see the contempt in the man’s face that he was so desperate to hide. “How do you like the view from my veranda?” Fernandez was not going to welcome them because he didn’t care about them. Even if the intendente was trying to keep up appearances. This meeting simply wasn’t worth the effort.

The intendente gazed at Fernandez surprised that he responded so coolly to his greeting. He seemed listless so the intendente responded truthfully. “To be honest the view is not as grand as I once remembered.”

“Even perfection can fade over time.”

“Santiago what has happened to you? You used to be the most revered gaucho in the province. Now you are seen with indifference or as a villain.”

“People will form their own opinions.”

“Do you not care?” The intendente tapped his fingers on the table as if trying to decide if he should say more.”

Fernandez read the indecision in his actions and stayed quiet.

Seeing that no answer was forthcoming the intendente continued “Are you even trying?”

“I do as I wish.”

“It is time for you to come back and join the community.”

“The community is growing just fine without me perhaps growing to much.”

“Growth is always a good thing.” The intendente said.

“Until the decadence gives way to decay?”

“Is that what happened to you?”

“I am neither decadent or in decay.”

“Your surroundings seem to suggest otherwise.”

“Like I said everyone has their own opinion.”

At this point the intendente’s aide realized this conversation was going to devolve into a shouting match before they even began to discuss the policy matters that they needed to. He took it upon himself to intervene.

“I believe the time for pleasantries and small talk is over. Let’s get to the point of why we are here this evening.”

“By all means,” Fernandez said as he raised his hands palms up while shrugging his shoulders.

“Great, your holdings in the city are becoming a blight. We want you to clean them up.

“I will tend to my properties as I see fit.”

“The problem is that you are not tending to them.”

“They are mine and they will remain as they are.”

“Sell them to us. Let us repair the buildings and clean up the city.”

“No, thank you.”

“We will implement fines and proceedings in court to seize the land.”

“Ahhhh, if you must.”

“We are however willing to forget about your properties in town if you will bring your dairy production back online.”

Fernandez smiled. He had wondered how long it would take them to get to the true purpose of the meeting. “Now we get to the real reason why you are here. You need my milk and my meat.”

“The citizens of Villa Mercedes are your biggest customers. Your decision to cut them off is having a dire consequence.”

“You make it sound as if they are starving.”

The intendente slammed his fist down on the table. The echo was loud enough that some of the nearest cows stopped grazing and lifted their heads to find the source. “You act as if your decision doesn’t affect others. You are increasing the economic pressure on everyone. If you stay down for another three months people will start to lose their homes.”

“That’s on them.”

“Have you no compassion?”

“What suffering others endure ultimately…. Wait is he with you?”

A man was riding a horse at breakneck speed directly towards them.

“No, who is that?”

The gaucho dismounted and ran up to the veranda. He handed Fernandez a folded sheet of paper. Fernandez almost put it in his pocket without looking at it but then decided he ought to. Not that he would care what was written on it.

He slowly unfolded the paper and read two words. Inimicitia Aeterna.

“He turned to the gaucho and asked. “Who gave this to you?”

“You know.” The gaucho then returned to his horse and road away.

“Well gentleman I think you are perhaps right. It is time I did something. I will return in two weeks to further discuss. Goodbye.”

The intendente stood there shocked as Fernandez vanished into his home.

Turning to his aide he said “we need to find out who sent that letter. If we can get that person on our side Estancia Fernandez will be producing more than it ever has and our budget deficit will become a major surplus.”