#i2amru (I, Too, Am Reinhardt) Volume 1 Number 1 | Page 26

“Everything will be fine,” he repeats. “I’ll call
you as soon as I get there.” I watch as he wipes
my mom’s tears and kisses her. My parents have
always been together even since they were little, so I know that being separated will hurt
both of them a lot.
My dad comes over to my sister and me one
last time and kisses us both on the heads, and
then he turns and boards the cab.
I want to run and tell him not to go, but my feet
will not move. I am in shock that everything is
actually happening.

“The cab has arrived,
and now everything
becomes so real. My
dad is really leaving.”

(Photos courtesy of Dulce Galindo)
What if my dad is one of those? I try
pushing these thoughts to the back of
my head. I will see my dad again. I
know I will, I keep telling myself.
The cab has arrived, and now everything becomes so real. My dad is really leaving. I watch as my dad puts his
bags and my aunt’s bags on the back of
the taxi, and in his face I can see tears
he is trying to fight back. He does not
want us to see him cry, because he
knows that it will hurt us more.
The last person my dad has not said
goodbye to is my mom, and he makes
his way to her slowly. He hugs her so
tightly that I feel like he is taking all
the air out of her, and my mom starts
to cry uncontrollably .

26

“Will my dad make
it? My dad is going
to be crossing the
desert to arrive in
the United States.”
My mom has always been so strong, and
she never likes anyone to see her cry, but
at that moment she does not care as I see
how freely the tears roll down her cheeks.
My dad keeps telling her that everything
is going to be fine and that soon we will
all be reunited. I know that mom is also
worrying about the walk he will have to
take and how dangerous it might be.

The cab starts to drive away, and as
I see it leave, I feel like a piece of
my hear t is leaving--a piece of my
heart that I would not get to see
again for over two years. My mother stares at the back of the cab as
it turns the corner, tears running
down her cheek.
After a few moments, the rest of
the family starts to go back in inside the house, but my mother, my
sister and I stay behind, hugging
each other.

(Photo courtesy of Pam Wilson)

27