I was asleep on a red booth seat at the airport waiting for my flight. I had been sleeping for a while and woke up maybe an hour early for. I sat up and heard the stickiness of the booth seat as I sat up. My phone started to vibrate in my bag and I had to dig through my big carry bag to find it. I finally found it and saw that it was my mom calling. I answer my phone¨Hello, Ma ¿estás bien?¨
̈ ̈Hello, Marti viste la noticias?¨ she replies but is breaking up. The call does not continue because my mom was cutting out so I just hung up. I was looking down at my phone until I heard on the news that there has just been an earthquake in Chile. I had to take a bit of a double take to really take in what I just heard on the news. But then someone literally changed the channel, “¿Que estas haciendo?¨ I yelled at the person who changed the channel.
̈ ̈What the hell don't yell at me like that,̈ the gringo said to me as I snatched the remote out of his hand.
̈ ̈Mi familia lives there, and that's where I'm flying too so quiero saber what is going on,̈ I say as I put the TV back on the news channel.
“I don't speak spanish so I didn't understand half of what you just said,̈ he says to me as he takes the remote back from me. ¨You are the only one that seems to care,̈ he says as he changes the channel again.
̈ ̈Pues gringo no me quiero ser siguente a ti,” I mumbled under my breath as I was walking away. I started to call my mom and my other family members in Chile frantically. I felt this ball in my throat and felt I was going to start crying. I went to the bathroom which smelt like air freshener plus urine. Then, walked into a stall that had toilet paper pieces in the toilet and no toilet paper. There was nowhere to sit so I just added about 20 toilet seat cover to the toilet seat so I can sit on it. After that I sat down and calmed myself down and started calling my mom and siblings but still got no answer. I started to panic now and just started crying hysterically. I composed myself and walked out of the stall as my phone began to vibrate my phone said ¨Babe <3¨. I answered so quickly, “Hable Carlos.¨
̈ ̈Hola Marti,” he answered me back. I can tell he's been crying.
I then start to cry, ̈Digame algo Carlos! Por Favor!¨ It's silent on the phone for like 10 seconds.
̈ ̈Calma Marti, the house was destroyed and it was destroyed really bad,” he says to me in a calm voice.
I can tell he is going to tell me something but I stall it, ¨ No me importa que la casa es destruido que me importa es mi familia. ¿Sabes donde estan o como estan?¨
He swallows hard, ¨ Si, nomas me sabe de tus niños y su mama no sabe de tus hermanos o hermanas.¨
I start to sob, ̈Adios Carlos, me voy a llamar tu mas tarde,” I say before hanging up. I feel bad for hanging up on Carlos right then but I didn't even care about him at this point I am in the stall for like five more minutes trying to get ahold of my family but I just give up after this being my third time trying to get ahold of them. After crying like crazy I get some paper towels and wipe my eyes and splash water on my face to calm myself down and make myself look a little bit less crazy.
Someone walks in, ̈Are you ok?¨
̈ ̈Ya I’m fine, “I say as I dry my face and walk out. I started to walk to different gates and was looking to see if other TV’s had the news on. I walked a pretty good distance until I finally found a tv with a news channel on.
I walked up to the TV and a woman said to me, ̈Isn't this horrible? I feel so bad for them.¨
̈ ̈ Ya it's really horrible,” I say to her as I start to tear up because what I saw was devastating because what I saw on tv was my hometown destroyed.
She turned around to look at me, ¨ Hey I know you. Aren't you the girl that I saw in the bathroom?¨
I nodded my head, ̈Ya I am the girl you saw in the bathroom..¨
̈ ̈Can I take and guess and say that this is what you were crying about in the bathroom?¨ she says to me as we sit down.
I turn around and walk to one of the chairs to sit down. I know I am going to start crying and nod my head, ̈Si my family lives in Chile, and all I know right now is that my mom, kids, and husband are alive. I haven't been able to come in contact with my other family.¨
¨Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry that's horrible, “she says as she puts her arm around me.
¨I only came to America to see my stupid father who I haven't seen in five years and I shouldn't have because when I first thought about coming I got a bad feeling and this must have been a bad feeling,¨ I interrupt her as she's about to say something. ¨Los siento, I didn't mean to cut you off.¨
̈ ̈Oh its ́s fine. But I am a firm believer of everything happens for a reason so maybe, in the end, things will be ok,̈ she says which reassures me a little bit.
I stand up and tell her, ̈I really hope so because right now I am thinking it's gonna end bad.¨I continue to watch the news for a little and then hear my stomach rumble. ¨Hey, what's your name?¨ I asked the bathroom girl.
̈ ̈My name is Carol. What's your name?¨ she asks.
My stomach rumbles again, ¨My name is Martina, but people call me Marti. Want to go get some food with me cause I'm starving and I have a while longer until my flight leaves?¨
¨I would love to,” Carol says to me as we stand up and walk to the food court area. We start to get closer to all the restraints and you can start to smell all the different food from all the different restaurants lined up. ̈Is there anything that catches your eye to eat,¨ she asks as we stop and start looking around at our options to eat.
Ï can ́t make up my mind, ¨I don't know what I want, so you just pick because if I do we will be here all day,̈ I say as Is still looking around the food court.
̈ ̈Ok if you say so,̈ Carol says as she starts to play eenie meenie with the restaurants surrounding us.
I look at her and started to chuckle, ̈That's one way to do it I suppose.¨
̈ ̈My mom used to do this when she had a hard time deciding something. I thought it would come in handy right now with this hard decision,̈ she says
̈ ̈Well it’ll really help in this situation,̈ I say as I start to walk towards a table we can sit at. As I am walking getting to the table this woman gets to the table about the same time as me. ¨Hey, get your hands off my table lady,̈ I say to her as I sit in one of the seats.
̈Um, excuse me, ma'am, I'm pretty sure I got here first. So get your dirty hands off my table,̈ she snarks back as she also takes a seat. My day is already going bad enough so I don't ́t take the time of day for her and just walk away. As I walk away I hear her say, ̈That's what I thought beener.¨
I tried to ignore it as hard as I can but I just had to react. I turned around flipped her off and mouthed to her ¨Stupid gringo.¨ So I walk to Carol who is in line at a coffee place called Starbucks which I had only had once while I was in America and I wasn't very fond of it. Ï walk up to the line, ¨Do you know what you are going to get?¨
She looks at me and then the menu, ̈ Ya I think I’m gonna just get an iced coffee and breakfast sandwich.¨
¨Well, I hate to bash on this place but I don't really like it,¨ I say to Carol as I am looking at the menu debating if I want to get something or not. ¨I’m not in the mood for coffee right now so I'm gonna walk around and look at the other food places,̈ I say to her as I get out of line.
I am walking away and I hear her say, ̈Wait, give me your number, so I can find you if we lose each other.
¨That's a good idea,¨ I say to her as I walk back to her. I gave her my number and started to look around at the food court again. I see this teenage girl standing around looking too. ̈Are you having trouble figuring out what to eat too?¨ I ask as I walk up next to her.
She has an Irish accent, ̈Ya this was my first trip to America. So these food places are very new and different from what I'm used too.¨
̈Wow. It was my first time in America too. What were you visiting for?¨ I ask as we are both looking at the menu to a Panda Express.
She responds to me, ̈I was just here for a visit to see what it was like. How about you?¨
̈ ̈Well I was here to visit my dad that I haven't seen in a while,̈ I tell her as we start to walk to other places and look at their menus.
She stops at this place called McDonald’s and looks appealed by the menu, ¨ I think I found where I’m gonna eat. “she said to me getting in line. I stood in line with her for a bit to take a look at the menu and I am not very pleased by the menu once again.
̈ ̈Mmm I don't think this is my place,̈ I say with a smirk on my face. ¨It was really nice meeting you. What's your name?¨ I say while shaking her hand.
She doesn't care that Iḿ not eating there, “My name is Carolina. Nice meeting you too. What's your name?¨
̈ ̈My name is Marti. Have a safe trip back home Carolina, “I say to her as I walk out of the line.
She starts waving, “Bye Marti. Safe travels.¨ I start to think about the earthquake and how it could lead to a tsunami. I don’t let myself get distracted though so I start looking at menus again and think about the ones I have looked at previously. I remember that the Panda express menu looked pretty good, and that area smelt like pretty decent Chinese food. So, I just got into that line because I didn't want to keep on looking at menus.
I am standing in line and a little boy taps on me, ̈Who’s that on your phone case?¨
¨Well, it’s my mom, and two kids, “I tell him.
His mom turns around, ̈Zachary stop. I’m sorry about him.¨
̈ ̈No he's fine.¨ I say as I bend down to talk to him better.
̈ ̈What's their names?¨ he asks looking at the picture still.
I look at the pictures and my eyes start to water, ¨Their names are Valerie and Joseph.¨ Now I am thinking about how much I miss them and hate being away from them. I start to remember the memories we have in our house or my sibling and I growing up. I can feel the ball in my throat and me about to cry but I stop myself from crying.
He keeps on asking questions about them,̈Why aren't they with you?¨
Tears start to form in my eyes and they fall down my cheeks. His mom looks at me, ¨Hey Jake how about no more questions.¨
¨Oh no, he's fine. He just reminds me of my kids,¨ I say while chuckling and wiping my tears.
She picks up her little boy, “Oh, where are you, kids?
“Um, they are in Chile. I came here to America to visit my Papa,” at this point, I broke out crying because all I wanted to know is if my kids were safe or not.
“Oh my goodness wasn’t there a big earthquake there today?” she asks.
I am keeping my tears down at this point, “Ya there was. But I talked to my family over there and they said they were fine.”
The woman put her boy down and whispered in his ear, “How about you go give her a hug to make her feel better.
“Ok mommy,” he says as we walk over to me smiling with his arms open to give me a hug. I bent down and gave him a hug back.
I stood up after the hug, “Gracias for that. I really need it,” I said to his mother.
“Of course. I can’t imagine being away from my kid like you are,” she says to me while picking up her little boy. I go to the front of the line and ordered my food.
I got my food and the mom and son were waiting to get theirs. “Goodbye. Safe travels,” I say to them as they are grabbing their food.
“Bye. It was really nice meeting you. I hope you get to your kids and they are safe,” she says walking up to me. I start to walk away but then turn around and walk toward her and give her a hug.
“You really made me feel better today,” I said, letting go of the hug. I smile at the little boy and bend down, “and thank you so much for your hug.”
He smiles and gives me another hug, “ Your welcome. Tell your kids I say hi. Oh, and my name is Jacob and my mommy's name is Jessica.”
“I will for sure. Alright bye once again,” I say chuckling. I take out my phone and call Carol to see if she’s out of line. I turn on my phone and see that she called me 3 times but it’s fine because it was like 2 minutes ago. “Hola carol, los siento I was talking to someone I met while in line,” I say while trying to look around for her.
“Oh no you are fine, I just wanted to call you to tell you I found a table on the outside of the tables,” she says with a mouth full of food.
I couldn’t really understand her, “Carol I can’t understand you just finish eating your food and tell me.” I said that with a bit of an attitude but that was only because I was told growing and even tell my kids now that they can’t eat with their mouths full.
I found Carol and sat down, “Ooo that drink looks good. What is it?” it really looked interesting because it was pink and had fruit in it.
“It is really good. It’s called a Strawberry Acai Refresher and I have them use lemonade instead of water. Want a drink?” I take a drink and I am pleasantly surprised. We eat and sit for a bit.
Then I see the news and hear that they are giving an update on the earthquake, “Oye dios, Did you hear that? Did they say something about a tsunami?”
She finishes chewing, “I think so, but they said it wasn’t a big one and didn’t do much more damage.”
My heart starts to race and I look down at my phone and it’s my mom. I answer the phone, “Hola Ma, estas bien?”
“Si estoy bien pero there was a tsunami. Pero no te preocupes it was chiquito,” she says in a calming voice.
“You promise. Everyone is ok,” I say in a demanding voice. I have a sense of relief because my mom has never lied to me.
“I hope not that you know that you can relax a little. Te amo,” she says.
“Pues. te amo. I’ll see you tonight,” I say hanging up. It’s about 15 minutes until my flight boards. “ Hey Carol, I just really want to thank you for being there for me,” I say to her while holding her hand.
She pulls me in for a hug, “Of course. It’s the last I could do with your family so far away and going through so much.”
We let go of each other from the hug, “I am going to text you and even maybe call you often just to check up.”
“I would love that,” she says.
I start to cry, “I am so grateful to have met you today of all days.” We say bye and hug once again and I got on my flight and flew home to my town being destroyed, but my family is safe.
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