I used to love moving from place to place as a kid. It brought joy to me meeting new people, and exploring different places. My mom had always talked about moving to the United States. She called it “El Otro Lado” (The other side). I didnt think that we would actually leave Gualadajara, Mexico. This was the first time I was sad to move but I knew it was for my future.
“Pack the things you need most, Mijo. We need to leave before our Coyote goes without us.” yelled Mama while rushing out the door.
“Ok Mama. Tengo miedo, are you sure the coyote knows where to go?”
My mom always seemed to know what to do but not in this case. We were both scared but of course, she tried hiding it. Fear is all I could see in her face. I spent the way to our Coyote thinking of how much stress we are under, getting to the other side. This was my first time meeting our Coyote and the thought of being with a stranger kind of freaked me out. I had no Idea where we were going. All I knew is that we were leaving and never coming back.
A couple minutes later we saw our Coyote sitting waiting for us on a rusty bench. He got up while we were walking towards him and introduced himself to me.
“Hola me llamo Enrique, Im going to be your Coyote for the trip. You can trust me to keep you safe.” he said in a very assuring way. We all walked to a huge brown bus. He said that this was going to be our transportation. We got in, settled down and got comfortable. It was only us three so I wasn't as frantic. I felt so comfortable that I fell asleep on the seat.
A couple hours later I got woken up by the noise of cars. I opened my eyes and saw it. It was the border. I knew that moving forward passed this barrier is where I will live the American dream.