Welcome to Your New World (1)

This is a short story based on the real life of my maternal grandmother, Mauricia. Unfortunately, she is no longer with us, but her story inspires me to give her a voice which provided me strength. Without her inspiration, I would not be able to confront many of life's situations that I felt would knock me down or nearly kill me. I hope this also opens many eyes to the importance of adoption. There are many children that are caught in similar, real life situations, and yearn for the warmth of a family.

Nine-year old Mauricia paced back and forth, clutching her one-year old baby brother, Carlos, in her arms while trying to comprehend the words that came out of the doctor's mouth. "I'm sorry, there is nothing else we can do," the doctor said. "We have to wait for the baby to die and then she will go too". "How? Why? Who did this?" Mauricia asked. Fear rushed through her as she tried to put everything into perspective. While her pregnant mother, Bernadette, was writhing in pain, the doctor and priest asked her questions as to what she ate or if she had been sick. The only response Bernadette could give was that she was given food by one of her neighbors, Anabel, which she consumed without hesitation. Bernadette screamed for her fiance', Alejandro, to come immediately as she needed to talk to him. It seems the neighbor,Anabel, who made her food, was an ex-girlfriend that was not happy about their upcoming marital arrangement. They ran out to find him with no guarantee they could find him in time, as he worked in the fields outside of town.

Mauricia was in complete disarray, trying to calm her crying brother, and holding back tears as her mother screamed. She did her best to console her brother, but who was there to console her? Mauricia could not help relate her feelings to another similar experience that happened several years ago. Mauricia and her father, Manuel, went out of town to the mines so he could finish up a job that was almost completed. Her father told her "wait out here and play, I won't take long, and behave!" She agreed as he vanished into the dark hole leading into the mine. As Mauricia picked up rocks to skip in the water puddles nearby, she heard a loud crash. Smoke was everywhere, and the hole that led into the mine erupted clouds of dust. Men that were working nearby rushed in and pulled her father out, but he was already dead. She watched as they covered his mangled, lifeless body with a tarp and called for help. Mauricia had to wait until she and her father's body were taken back into town to her mother. All she could think was "Why am I losing someone that I love?"

Darkness crept in, and still no Alejandro. Bernadette's screams had lessened, and now Mauricia sat in the corner watching over her sleeping brother on the floor. She sat there staring at her mother, listening to her words of advice in between moments of pain. Moment's later, all is still, almost calm. The doctor turns around and simply says, "She's gone". Mauricia doesn't know what else to do but lay down next to her brother and fall asleep. Eventually Alejandro came and went; he did not wait to talk to the children about anything. He only stayed long enough to talk to the doctor and pastor about Bernadette's death and accusation. He stared at Mauricia and her brother long enough for him to see that Mauricia caught his glimpse. He immediately turned away in shame, knowing he could not care for two children that were not his, and with no motherly figure. He picked up his belongings and left.

By the morning, word of Bernadette's death circulated and her family members came around to talk about burial preparations. As Bernadette was previously widowed, and then became pregnant before remarrying, she was shunned by her family. The relationship between her family and her children was minimal, as she tried to protect her children from their harsh criticism and bad treatment. As these strangers or so-called family began to walk into Mauricia's home, she noticed it was almost procession-like, as if they were shopping. Little by little they began picking up items, such as plants, furniture, dishes, etc. Bernadette's family was more involved in picking out what they wanted to take home than making preparations. Mauricia's blood boiled as she watched this. Before everything was over, the only two things left in the house were her brother and herself. She heard whispers amongst the women, and overheard, "I can only take one, you take the other". A large woman picked up Carlos and smiled saying, "your coming home with me". As she walked away, Mauricia did not realize that would be the last time she would see her brother for years. "Come on! Grab what you have and let's go," her aunt, Gertrudes exclaimed. "I need someone to help me clean the house!"

Welcome to Your New World Mauricia Delgado, for this is only the beginning...