When I was about three years old, my dad left. He packed a bag, walked out the door and he was gone. I didn’t know why or where, he was just gone. My next memory is of people telling stories of a place where everything was better. A place where people could find good work, make money, and never be hungry, a place of hope. The place everyone was talking about seemed wonderful yet the adults around me also told stories of how hard it was to get there. You had to cross a dry and barren desert, encounter vicious and poisonous snakes. Travelers also had to cross a treacherous river called Rio Grande; according to my uncle, many died trying. I understood that people were after things like work, money and nice things, but a three year old cannot
…show more content…
I was hungry and the sun was especially hot that day. My hair blew across my face as I approached the highway. The breeze from the passing cars felt refreshing. I stood staring and thinking “how am I going to get across”? A few seconds went by when all of the sudden I heard a growl. I froze, I could recognize that growl anywhere. I turned around and it was Chino. Chino was the neighborhood stray. Chino always barked at passersby’s, but he never bit. Needless to say, I was terrified. With eyes wide open I took off running in the direction of my house screaming, Mami!!! Our next door neighbor Reina, heard my screams. She came out and, ran in my direction. She threw a big rock at the dog, but it was too late. Chino took a bite out of my butt. I was horrified, my chest was pounding and I was crying. Reina grabbed me said “
Calm down! Chino is an old dog. He has no teeth!” My hysterical crying turned into sobbing. I told her I wanted my mommy and she said “Okay, but let’s stop by my house first”. We walked back to her house, which happened to be the neighborhood convenience store. Reina handed me a popsicle, and she walked me home. My mom had not noticed I was gone. I was only gone about 1o minutes since I had decided to venture out to look for my dad. She hugged me and told me to never run away again. She started yelling about how I could have been stolen, or killed by a car on the highway. She also explained that Los Estados Unidos was much further away than El Serro and that one day we would see my daddy again. After my encounter with El Chino and a good scolding, I learned to never run
I was hungry and the sun was especially hot that day. My hair blew across my face as I approached the highway. The breeze from the passing cars felt refreshing. I stood staring and thinking “how am I going to get across”? A few seconds went by when all of the sudden I heard a growl. I froze, I could recognize that growl anywhere. I turned around and it was Chino. Chino was the neighborhood stray. Chino always barked at passersby’s, but he never bit. Needless to say, I was terrified. With eyes wide open I took off running in the direction of my house screaming, Mami!!! Our next door neighbor Reina, heard my screams. She came out and, ran in my direction. She threw a big rock at the dog, but it was too late. Chino took a bite out of my butt. I was horrified, my chest was pounding and I was crying. Reina grabbed me said “
Calm down! Chino is an old dog. He has no teeth!” My hysterical crying turned into sobbing. I told her I wanted my mommy and she said “Okay, but let’s stop by my house first”. We walked back to her house, which happened to be the neighborhood convenience store. Reina handed me a popsicle, and she walked me home. My mom had not noticed I was gone. I was only gone about 1o minutes since I had decided to venture out to look for my dad. She hugged me and told me to never run away again. She started yelling about how I could have been stolen, or killed by a car on the highway. She also explained that Los Estados Unidos was much further away than El Serro and that one day we would see my daddy again. After my encounter with El Chino and a good scolding, I learned to never run