The topic loomed over our heads as we sat around the table in silence.

Not
knowing how to start or break the stillness in the air, I decided to speak up and ease my
dad into the subject. The most basic question came to the forefront of my mind, why.
Why had he decided to leave everything hed known behind and come into a land of
unknowns? Why would he risk so much for a future he had no security in? Little did I
know how much pain this simple question, as it seemed to me, would cause him. After an
indication from me, he began his story.
At 20 years old, his life was going nowhere. Fresh out of the army and with no
college degree to support him, my fathers options were slim and meager. Days would
pass with nothing to show for, as the mornings were wasted and nights were spent
drinking. One night, it was as if the haze he had been walking around in his entire life had
suddenly cleared, and he realized that there was no future for him in Ecuador. He decided
to follow in the footsteps of his siblings and go to New York City and try to make a future
for himself. Wasting no time, he left his home of twenty years. His first stop was to
Mexico City and then Monterrey, where he would meet the people who would take him
on the most life changing and challenging journey of his life across the border.
The plan was as follows:
1. From Monterrey, get on a bus to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, but get off five
miles outside the city to avoid the checkpoint.
2. Walk two miles around the checkpoint and go to the car that would be
waiting for them to take them to the coyotes house. (A coyote is the term
given to a man that would bring them across the border.)
3. Stay there for two days and then cross the Rio Grande.
4. Go to Laredo, Texas and wait for the perfect moment to head to San
Antonio without the notice of the guards.
5. Pay off the coyote and fly to New York City. Live Happily Ever After.
Only life is never that simple. He made it to Laredo, Texas without much
deviation from the plan, but everything went wrong on the ride to San Antonio.
(Flashback sound)
Im almost there. An hour down, only two more to go. In the distance, I can hear
a faint sound. Why does that sound so familiar? The sound gets louder as it gets closer to
us. In an instant, it clicks. I remember where Ive heard that before. I know why it sounds
so familiar. Its sirens. I look around the car to see everyones reaction. The driver keeps
glancing at the rearview mirror. He keeps going into the other lanes. We violently swerve
back into our lane, narrowly missing another car. My breathing picks up, everyone is
screaming. The car jerks onto the side of the road and we end up in a ditch. Over the
ringing in my ear, I try to focus on my surroundings. Everyone scrambles out of the car
and scatters, running in different directions. Something tugs me to the right and I follow,
hoping to God that Im making the right choice.
(Flashback ends)

He spent that night in the desert. He wandered for hours until he came upon a
lagoon, where he slept till the morning came, with the hopes that the new day would
bring him a new plan. When the sun rose, he woke and walked to highway. He hitched a
ride back to Laredo, with the intentions of going back to Mexico and finding a different
coyote. He recalls one night in particular, where he became resolute once more in getting
to New York City.
(Flashbacksound)
WhyamIImean,howwait,wasthat?Ilookdownattheground,trying
toignoremytremblinghandsandkeepabraveface.Rememberwhyyouaredoing
this,Ithinktomyself,youhavenothingleftforyoubackhome.Thesoundofa
branchsnappinginthedistanceechoesandvibratesthroughtheair.Welookateach
otherandholdourbreath.Onesecondpasses.Threeseconds.Myheartpoundsharder
andfasteraseverysecondpassesuntilthedrummingbecomessoloud(pauses,
drummingheartsoundincreasesanddiesdown)thatIcanthearmythoughts.Onlythe
passingsecondscanbringmecomfort.OnlywhenIfinallysetfootinNewYorkCity
willIfeelsafeagain.Onlythen,willIstoplookingbehindmeinfear.
(Flashbackends)
This time the journey is much more successful. He manages to make it to San
Antonio and was able to reach his siblings, who in return, sent $1,100 to payoff the
coyote. Next thing you know, he was on a flight to New York with a stop in Dallas,
Texas. Unsure of how connecting flights worked, he asked the flight attendant by
repeating the words New York while showing her his boarding pass. The flight
attendant responded by waving her hands up and down, signaling him to stay put since he
was on the right plane. Once he arrived in New York and caught sight of his family, he
became overwhelmed with emotion at seeing familiar faces after what seemed like an
eternity of hardship and desperation.
As he closed up his story with this, we could see a proud smile overcome his face,
but if you looked closer into his eyes, you could see the remnants of his past and the mark
it left on his soul. Despite the pain and suffering the journey may have caused him, he
could not be happier with the results. All those challenges life put in his way have made
him the strong man he is today. After hearing his story, my respect and admiration for my
father has grown immensely. He not only showed me that anything is possible but that I
should never give up or lose hope on anything or anyone. I love him endlessly as my dad,
my best friend, my guardian, my role model, and above all, my hero.