“Where’s the money Garcia!” One of the loan sharks kicked him in the stomach.

            “Please give us a few more days! We’ve only made a bit!” I cried to them while hugging Arturo to my side.

            “Your times up women! We gave you 2 freaking months!” He slapped me in the face.

After 30 minutes of yelling and crying everything was silent. On my knees I crawled to my husband nudging him lightly and asking if he was ok. My son and I helped my husband to the mattress. I went to the furnace, started the fire and began to heat up some water. I came to the side of the mattress and whispered to my husband that I’ll go buy some fruits since I only have a few money left. I grabbed my son’s hand and we went out.

            “Hey you wanna go to El Norte? They have everything you need. Money, cars, big houses!” One of the man yelled to me and my son.

            “Eh, no we’re fine.” I told them as one of the coyotes walked towards me.

            “C’mon, don’t you want to have money or a car? Your kids can go to school too!” The man told me, smiling at my son. I thought about it and we needed to go. If we don’t we’re going to get killed or die of debt anyways. I stared at my son and thought about him. I usually would just walk away or don’t believe these coyotes but this time I was desperate.

            “Ok ok when can we leave?” I asked him as he laughed.

            “We can go tonight but you got to have the money, this is not for free.” He gave me a stare.

            “Oh…….I’m sorry, can I get sometime. I must talk to my husband about it. What is your name?” I asked him.

            “Oh! My name’s Jose, I am always right down the street so if you want to tell me what your choice is then you can go down there.” He told me. I nod my head and started to walk home with Arturo. When we got home I talked to Garcia about it and he said yes. I made a vegetable stew and fed him some. After that I grabbed my mom’s silver necklace and started to pack our bags. We left the house around 12am and Jose and his friend was there.

            “You’re here now. This is my friend Jesus.” Jose introduced me to his friend.

            “Here’s the money, we couldn’t get it in dollars but this is all silver.” I handed him the necklace. We all started walking towards the back of the village so no one can see us. Then the journey started to El Norte. After 2-3 hours of walking we decided to take a break and slept. The first thing we did when we got up was just walk and walk. Seeing a peek f the desert I stopped in my tracks.

            “We’re going through threre?” Garcia asked.

            “Of course, it will only take 3 or 4 days if we walk quickly but if we’re slow it make take even 5 to 7 days. C’mon let’s go.” Jose replied. An hour later Arturo starts getting tired and he whines about it. I can see him trying to catch up as we walk. Although Garcia haven’t recovered from his wounds, he decided to carry Arturo on his back. I do not remember how many miles or hours we walked but it seems as if this is an endless desert. Sip from sip we shared our drinks trying to save it but we also craved for it. I remember the coyotes always behind us, I don’t know if they were talking about us but I knew I was tired. Each second felted like minutes, each minute felted like hours. Night fall came and we finally took a break but we couldn’t rest long after we were told it’s better to travel at night when it’s not so hot and humid. In the morning we just found out that we’re out of water and Garcia is ill. The coyotes looks like they’ve given up on us. Water is out, energy is out, and even our own mind is playing tricks on us. With the sound of a hit on the ground I turned around to look and saw Garcia on the floor. Shocked, I ran to him. Holding him in my arms calling out his name if he could hear me.

            “You guys stay right here and we’ll go get help I know this little shack near here.” Jose told us and pulled Jose with him. I can’t remember correctly but as I called Garcia I can hear my own voice fade, I myself was sick.

An hour later of waiting I knew they weren’t coming back. A shack? There isn’t a shack near here! I decided to drop all my bags and drag Garcia through the sand. Never have I ever wished to see a white person so much. I just want to go back. I want to not suffer anymore. We’re in the middle of nowhere. Everywhere was sand. Giving up because of the blazing sun I layed my husband down and dropped to the ground. I felted so suffocated and tired, I knew this was my last moment. I grabbed my son by the wrist and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Telling and using my last breath to tell him how much I loved him. Then I just laid my eyes down and rested there.