A trip to... By Jen

All x 1 GRANDPA’S FARM
7 days/6 nights
$ Life

July 1st 2010 Cali-Colombia

“WHERE IS CAMILO?” (Ring ring) “Calm down, everything will be ok” “he and the money had to be here at 3:00 am” “mom where is my daddy” “Please, help me to look for him” “WHERE IS CAMILO?” “It is not usual” (ring ring) “I talked to him on Monday night” “God bless him” “I called his friend and he doesn’t know anything” “mom what happened? “WHERE IS CAMILO?” (Ring ring) “Don’t worry he is going to appear soon” “his cellphone is off” (ring ring) “I haven’t seen him since yesterday in the casino” “don’t you cry, he’s ok” “WHERE IS CAMILO?”(Ring ring) “Camilo is at the hospital, he tried to kill himself”.

Everything was confused. I was really shocked, Camilo and I hadn’t the best relationship, in fact I couldn’t stand him, I hated the way he addressed to my cousins, he mistreated them physically and psychologically, I hated the way he used my aunt for getting money, I hated the way he lied to my relatives, I hated he tended to be the good and intelligent worker that he wasn’t, but… he was a human being, I felt sad for that man; that night, I prayed for him and closed my eyes hoping everything got better next day. However it didn’t happen, things got worse…

(Ring ring) “Hello” “Now you are in charge of your husband’s business, we need our money; if you don’t pay your children will pay. You know, Cali is dangerous” “what happened?” “Don’t cry” “I’m afraid” “me too” “You have to go away, pack your things” “but daddy!” “I don’t want” “me neither” “you have to” “it scares me mommy” “I want to stay with you” “PACK IT NOW!” “Hurry up, there is not time” “Dad, I’m ready”.

“I hope to see you soon” I said and hugged my daddy and my mom. My maternal family –my grandma, my aunt, my cousins- my sister and I were in that old taxi looking through the window to my parents saying bye with their hands. I couldn’t understand why it was happening; I thought things like these happened in movies or in series not in real life, but we were there, the victims of an addition of someone else, we were there, running away from gambler debts, we were there as the main characters of a case of The FBI Files, but without Discovery Channel cameras; we were there, on the way to my paternal grandpa’s farm… I had been there a lot of times by pleasure, but never by obligation… I just left my tears flow down my cheeks while rural landscape surrounded me, and then I fell asleep… suddenly I smelled wet ground, fresh mandarins and bung, a gentle breeze took my skin, the peacock cried, the car stopped, I opened my eyes, I put on the sweater, I was in my grandpa’s farm.

July 3rd 2010 Corregimiento El Chocho Yumbo-Colombia