!
!
A P ec ul i a r
S ur pr i s e fo r the
F a mi l y
By: Paula Acero
I really, truly, didn’t understand the message. Why was it that as a Christmas gift, I had gotten a
piece of paper with a few words written on it that I didn’t understand? Who was “Juanita or
Camilo” and why were they calling me their cousin? I wasn’t expecting this, I would have wished
for a videogame, or a cute necklace, but this was so much more than that.
Everyone was smiling from ear to ear in my family, and began hugging my uncle and my aunt, who
were the ones that gave me that so-called present. I was sad, and felt stupid because I seemed to
be the only person in the room who didn’t get the message. I approached my mother discretely,
and asked her what all of this was about. She didn’t answer me, she just pointed at the sofa on
the corner of the living room and then told me to reread the paper. She pointed out “this time, do it
extra carefully.” I did as she told me, actually several times, but I still didn’t get it.
I gave up, and decided to ask my aunt why everybody was hugging her. I approached in a very shy
manner, and told her, “Ayana, I’m confused.” Instead of giving me the answer, she asked me, “Do
you remember what we were going to people if he turned out a girl?” Pipe is my cousin, who is
currently eight years old. Then, it came all to me. Why they were calling me cousin, why I would
“see them next July,” why there were two names as an option for signature.
Truth is, it was the best Christmas gift I could ever asked for, and it was for absolutely everyone
as well. Not even my grandparents or my parents knew anything about it. My cousin was a
getting a sibling, and he didn’t know either. I couldn’t believe he had understood the message when
he was like five years old and I was already 12! I guess my brain just got blocked, but the
confusion was totally worth it. I was so happy that I didn’t even want to open any other gifts that
night.