Paulina Salazar
I hadn’t seen him all day. Not in the morning or after school. Not at all, well almost at all. I didn’t think much about it, because it was a regular thing that he’d just be gone for a day or two.
After school I got on the bus home, and I sat around some talkative people. That day they were talking about an incident that happened over the weekend.
“Did you hear about that thing that happened on Saturday?” a guy next to me exclaimed to a girl a few seats over. “Y’know, the guy that hung himself on the bridge” we passed under a bridge road where the incident occurred. They started to describe the man, he sounded very familiar. Tall, not skinny, but not big, middle aged. After thinking about it more, it hit me. Then, I realized it wasn’t just that day I didn’t see him. It was that whole weekend.
My stop came and I got off the bus. I waited there for a while, so my friend and I went to the swings. The only thing I was thinking about was the guy on the bridge, and I was hoping and praying that it wasn’t him, and that he would be the one to pick me up from the bus stop. About 30 minutes later, I saw my mom’s car stop in front of the park.
“Bye thanks for waiting with me, See you tomorrow!” I yelled.
“Yea, no problem! See you tomorrow!” she yelled back.
When I got into my mom’s car, she was still in her work clothes. She seemed mad.
“Tonto!” my mom yelled in Spanish, “No me contesta!” When she said that, I already knew who she was talking about, and why she was mad. “I was still working, and I had to leave work because he won’t answer, to pick you up! I’m going to leave you at the house y Tita va por tu hermana, quando sale.”
I answered with a simple “Okay.”
A while later my sister came home with food my nana brought us.
“Are you home!?” she dramatically yelled across the house, “Tita bought you chili cheese fries!”
After I finished my homework, my mom came back home.
“Did he come inside?” she asked us.
“No, why?” I answered
“Weird… Not even to say hi? Well, did any of you see him at all?” she asked, starting to look worried.
We both answered, “No”
I didn’t think much of it, but they did. I just thought he was with a friend again or something. I went to go shower while my mom was outside, talking with my nana. Right as I go to turn the water on, I hear pounding on the bathroom door.
“Pau! Pau!” my sister screams from the other side of the door.
“What happened?” I asked while opening the door.
With tears bawling out of her eyes, she screams “He’s Dead!”
My head immediately went to the guy from the bridge and that my theory was right, it’s him.
“who?” I asked
“He’s dead! Dad’s Dead!” she yelled.
I walked outside where my mom and nana were crying. Except their cries sounded like screams. I was almost 100 percent sure that everyone on our street heard it. As I walked closer, I could see him, my dad, lying on his chair in the shed of our front yard, lifeless. My mom and nana were still crying, I walked up to him, and poked him.
“Tonto! Tonto!” my mom screamed
I wanted to see if he was dead. He was cold, almost as cold as the frozen food in the freezer. He was dead. For the whole night I sat on a bench, confused.
Now I just wish he was around more, that I would have spent more time with him, or at least gotten some last good moments and closure. I was twelve years old when he passed, now, I’m turning fifteen and I still have that confused feeling from that night.
Paulina Salazar is currently attending Rincon High School. She is interested in creative writing.