It's very early, I don't think I've ever been up at this time before. Dad is telling us to get our stuff in the car since it's time to leave. I'm just waiting for mom, she said she's making us food for the road since it's going to take most of the day to get there. Today is the day we go to the other side. I don't really know what that means yet, all I know is that I was born there and that I visited there once when I was seven.
I always knew I was born on the other side. At end of the school year, I'd say my goodbyes to my friends since there was always that chance that my family would want to cross over. I'm 11 now and just started sixth grade, it's not the end of the year and I'm actually leaving. I don't get to say goodbye like I always did.
My dad is getting impatient so I rush into the car when he tells me to hurry. We are on the road now and I start to wonder what's going to happen when we cross over. I don't really know what the plan is. All I know is that mom isn't going to travel with us once we get to the border. I think I heard that she is going to cross with a coyote or something. I don't really know what that means.
"She isn't allowed to cross to the other side since she wasn't born there like us" said my sister when I asked why mom had to be separated from us.
That's silly. I can't seem to understand why the soil that I was born in welcomes my brother, my sister and I but not the woman that gave us life.
Dad can't cross over either but I think he said he'll be crossing over later on when gets more money for another coyote. I still don't know what that means. How is an animal helping mom and dad?
We've arrived to a small town called Palomas. I don't really know how far it is from home, I just know that I won't be walking to my house on the corner of the street anymore. I don't think I can call it home anymore.
Dad got us a motel room, he said we'll all be staying here for a while. You can see the border from the window of our room. We are headed for what's beyond the other side. My brother says things will be better once we get to the other side. Mom leaves tomorrow morning with the coyote that's going to show her the way. I then learn that a coyote is not an animal but a guide that brings people from Mexico to the United States. I don't want mom traveling alone with a stranger and I don't think dad does either. He's been hugging and giving her lots of kisses all day.
It's dark out again. The shadow of my mom wakes my siblings and I to give us a kiss on the forehead, she tells us she loves us and she'll see us soon. We go back to sleep and I dream of us. We are in our restaurant that we owned back home. My brother and I are playing on the arcade machines like we always did, my sister is on the table doing homework like she often did, mom is serving dad a plate of food like she did to the many customers that came to her restaurant.
When we wake, mom is gone. I wished that the dream I had of us at home was reality and the dream was that of mom kissing us and telling us goodbye. We are now expected to wait for a phone call from my mom signaling that she has made it to the other side. Walking to the other side is supposed to take 3 to 4 days. We want to see our mother. We are fearful that she didn't make it. There's always stories about people getting lost while crossing or dying of starvation or thirst. We can only hope that our mother makes it out alive.
When, and if she does, we'll know that it is our time to go as well. Though, our journey will be easier. Our uncle is supposed to come pick us up in a few days and drive us right through the border. Until we are reunited with our mother, that's when we will finally be able to begin again.
