Free The Convenience of Lies by K.A. Castillo

knowing a serious boxer has got my back. Ramon claims that this will be his first, and his last, tournament. I guess he sees it as a once in a lifetime experience. He has decided against boxing professionally because of how hard it is on a fighter's body.
    With this news, I find myself thinking things aren't lining up. “But wasn't it supposed to start a month from now?”
    “Yes! But they moved it up, so now I'm back a month in training.” Ramon is clearly distraught about this change in events.
    “Well, if they moved the whole tournament up a month, then everybody lost a month of training. You're going to do fine; I know it.” I mean this sincerely. And the logic makes sense to me. Everyone in the competition is in the same boat, and so he is still on even ground with everybody else.
    “Everybody thinks I am going to get my ass kicked. EVERYBODY. Even you do at the back of your head.” I feel taken aback at this accusation. But, I guess Ramon is just being insecure and seeing what he wants to in other people. Really, this accusation is a plea for support, a plea to prove him otherwise. This will not be hard for me to do. Ramon is one of those people who never loses. I have never heard of him losing any fight, except possibly when he was jumped. But that was not a fair fight, so I can't possibly imagine him doing anything other than beating the other guy's ass. “No, seriously, I think you're going to win. You're going to get the grand prize. I swear, I think so,” I insist as confidently and wholeheartedly as I can.
    “Okay,” Ramon responds, but I know that he doesn't believe me. I drop the subject. Obviously I am not going to get anywhere with this, and so Ramon will just have to find out for himself when he's in the boxing ring.
    We pay for dinner and head out to Fountain Park. It is a huge grassy park with rolling green hills and large trees planted every so often. The trees look like they must be the oldest ones in Verdad, and they form a cool canopy over the various picnic tables sprinkled throughout the park. Birds are chirping and fluttering throughout the trees, giving a sense of calm and beauty to the atmosphere. Winding throughout the park is a concrete trail that the occasional jogger can be seen frequenting. We follow this trail all the way from one end of the park to the other, at which point there is a gorgeous, tall fountain that has a couple of waterfalls into a giant pool that's so large it's like a lake. The fountain is lit up at night, providing a serene setting where anyone can come to relax, listen to the water gurgling, and watch the light sparkling off the lake. During the day, fish can be seen swimming throughout the lake - all kinds of fish ranging from little black ones that resemble tadpoles to large orange and white koi fish who meander around the pond with giant grace.
    As we are circling around the lake, I marvel at its beauty and congratulate myself for casually creating such a beautiful setting. Things couldn't be going any better.
    “Oh shit!” Ramon interjects. I jump, and instantly the birds stop their playful chirping. I see what has caused the disturbance; Ramon has noticed something shiny on the ground. He bends over and picks it up. As I get a better look at it, I realize it's a knife. Ramon eyes, shining in the fountain's light as he searches the immediate area, land on a wooden picnic table not too far away. He brings the knife over to the table and sits down to inspect it further. I don't see this discovery as impeding my plan at all. It is just something to talk about before I change the topic to the real reason why I asked Ramon out tonight.
    Ramon flicks out the blade and notices that the knife is double-bladed, so he flicks out the other blade. He grabs the knife on the handle, and it looks like a four-inch blade is projecting from both sides of his hand. I draw in a breath as I feel the knife has a sense of power. I have never seen anything like it, and I'm not