"Charlie… we’re going to have to be very quiet” Mama said.

“Okay…” said little Charlie with a shaky voice.

It was a starless night, pitch black. The air felt as if it could pierce the skin. It seemed like night time lasted forever and there was no way out.

“I’m hungry mama, can we eat?”

“Not right now, we have to keep walking. We’ll stop soon then we’ll eat, I promise.” Mama said as her heart ached, her child was hungry and she couldn’t feed him.

They were in a foreign land traveling with foreign people. The group consisted of a fairly young couple, 2 older men and 3 teenagers, that were complete strangers but stayed by each other's side as if they’ve known each other their whole life, Mama and Charlie all being led by a suspiciously friendly but quiet man in black. A fear so fearful struck them at night, they couldn’t bear the thought of being caught.

“Where are we going, Mama?” Charlie asked.

“We're going to a land where the streets are made out of gold and the buildings are made of pretty glass, a land where we don’t have to be scared anymore. Doesn’t that sound good?”

   “Yes, it does,” Charlie said with a grin.

    “ Why do you say that to him?” one of the older men asked Mama.

    “My niño needs something to be hopeful about, when they’re kids you have to cut out all the scary parts and sometimes make up a little something so they feel they have something worth living for, you know?”  

    The man nodded in agreement, he let out a sigh. The group arrived at a resting point, Charlie laid his head on his mom and he began to daydream.

A couple of days ago Charlie was running around with friends, trying to toss a ball from one side of the house to the other. He ran barefoot, the dirt shifting between his toes. Without a care in the world. He ran and ran, without a care at all.  

It was time to keep moving, Charlie was tired and didn’t think he could keep walking. Mama wrapped Charlie on her back with a thin blanket and the journey continued. After some time one of the teenagers, named Isaac,  offered to carry Charlie, he knew Mama was tired. The other two teenagers said they’d take turns carrying him until he had rested enough to keep walking.

The night seemed endless. Everyone’s knees and backs were aching. The pain seemed endless. The night was so quiet, it seemed like the crickets and the sound of the water rushing down a little stream was getting louder by the minute. Suddenly, a loud rumbling noise startled the silence and everyone panicked. They all followed the man in black behind a gargantuan bush.

Everyone huddled up and prayed to God it would all be okay, they prayed with all their might. The rumbling stopped for a slight second and then the sound started to go away from them. They all realized within themselves that they had been holding their breath, the fear subsided. Everyone waited for a few minutes, which felt like an eternity, while the man in black went to make sure the coast was clear.

“Señor, can we slow down while my son uses the restroom?” Mama asked.

“Esta bien… we’ll wait over here.” the man in black said.

The man in black was a tall, slender man, always wore dark pants and a black hoodie. He didn’t talk a lot unless it was to give orders, he was never mean but he demanded in a calm, low voice because although he had nothing to lose, he didn’t want to get caught either. He smiled every now and then but was always at the front, leading the group.

“The sun will rise soon muchachos, you know what that means. Everyone is to listen to what I say, we all stick together to avoid getting lost. Today will be the hardest day of this journey, you will need a lot of water. It’s going to be very hot but we can’t let that slow us down. So, we’ll rest now.”

Mama laid her head on her arm and began to drift off, her body began to feel light. A couple of days ago she sat with her family in the backyard talking about how life would be in the new land. She laughed and laughed until she cried and it was really great. Mama’s dad cooked carne asada on the grill, while her mom heated the tortillas. Everyone asked mama if she ever planned on coming back to the motherland and she just acted like she didn’t hear them, she didn’t want to be sad. So she walked over to the big speakers by the entrance of the house and blasted come music, “Vamos a bailar!!” she said. Everyone’s faces lit up and they stood up and began showing off their dance moves. That was the most fun and laughter Mama had ever had with her family for as long as she can remember.

“Time to go muchachos!” the man said. Just like that Mama was startled from her dreams. “Eat your snacks and drink plenty of water now, you’ll need the energy,” he said. The group began walking, everyone had their shoelaces tightly tied, the girls had their hair up in ponytails, and everyone was ready to go. They walked for what felt like years, they grew tired.
While walking the last few miles, one of the teenagers could no longer keep up. He felt as if his throat was closing and started hyperventilating.

“Me duele!!” he said as he grabbed his throat indicating that’s where the pain was.

The group was worried for him and tried to calm him down. He was laid down by his friends and was held tightly, there was nothing else they could do and he slowly closed his eyes and never opened them again. Everyone was in so much shock that they were speechless. No one cried. No one spoke. Silence.

They finally got to their destination after hours and days of pure survivor mode. Was the hard trip really worth it? They would soon find out, in this new chapter in their lives.