“Mercedes”

My foot lightly touched the ground as we boarded out of the hunting truck. I had just gone hunting with just a couple of spears made out of sticks and rocks. We had come back from hunting in the rainforest where many green and thick trees covered the ground. I uneasily sat in the back of the truck with the adult men. In the group of about 20 men, a little girl, like me, would feel like a helpless fish surrounded by a barricade of sharks. Hunting was a part of my life ever since I turned 10. This was necessary because my dad had gotten hurt and he couldn’t hunt anymore. A red and puffy infection spread across his arm like the trees that hug the dirt floor of the rainforest. In a previous hunt, a jaguar had bitten him. The wound was as deep as the Amazon River that flowed past the huts from our village.

Kids piled out of the school as I walked toward my hut. I had always dreamed of going to school. Happy and excited kids piled out of the little cement building with their books in hand. They reminded me of ants in a line carrying food to their homes. I wanted to go so bad. Papí had always wanted me to go to school also. He had felt really bad that he was the reason that it wasn’t possible. There was many times in which he tried to trick Mamí into believing that he was healed so that I could go while he hunted. My mom wouldn’t let him. She knew that he was trying to trick her because he told her every night that he had really wanted me to go to school. I had promised myself, once Papí was better, I could go.

All of a sudden, a groan was heard coming from my hut, I ran with the meager rabbit that I had caught in my dirt-coated hands. I knew, it was Papí; you could sense the pain in his groans. I approached to the opening in my family’s hut, and peeked in and I could see dad’s almost limp body lying on the dirt and leaf bed. I watched as my mom carefully patted his infected arm with water from the hole in the ground. My dad looked up. As soon as he saw me, he tried to cover up the pain. His attempts were useless; you could sense the pain in his eyes. You could sense the pain in his unmoving body.

He smiled and said as he spotted the rabbit, “Mercedes, I am proud of you.” Mamí nodded and grinned.

“Gracias, Papi.” I replied. Another groan slipped form dad’s mouth as Mami poured water on his arm. To cover the groan for me, Papi quickly reminded me that my brother was coming back from the city soon. At that moment, something rushed through me, I was happy. My mom and dad saw how excited I was. My brother had gone to Lima to see if he could sell any of the coconuts and bananas that he had picked off of the tall trees that bared fruit. He told us he would be back in 20 days. He told us that he would sleep on the dirt road at night and wake up in the morning to see if he could sell anything.

I looked up. I could see Papi squirming and trying so hard not to groan. Mami was now trying to wrap damp leaves over the wound. He reminded me of an animal squirming after it got hurt and was trying to survive. That worried me. Papi was getting older and older; his body couldn’t take the pain anymore.

When mom was finished, she motioned to me to give her the rabbit. I gave it to her and I could see the wound on the rabbits body. It reminded me of something. I hadn’t known what it reminded me of though. Mami took the rabbit and started preparing it. More groans escaped from my dad’s mouth. I went to help mom cook the rabbit. In little time, the rabbit was prepared and ready. We sat around dad’s dirt bed and ate the little that we had. We drank the water from the hole that was dug up in the dirt ground. Papi struggled when he tried to eat. When we were done, I washed the one pot that we ahd with water as mom tok care of dad. Mami soon left to clean our only clothes. She left with my shirt with holes in it. She left with my muddy pants. She washed our clothes at the river. She soon came back and hung them on some young banana trees.

I lay in the pile of leaves on the ground, my bed, which was on the other side of the hut. I turned my body so I was facing the wall made out of sticks. I thought of how strong and courageous my dad used to be. He was the strongest of the men in the village. Then, one day he was hunting . He threw a spear at a jaguar. He struck it and the jaguar lay limp on the ground. When Papi went to pick it up, it jumped up and it his arm. The blood flowing our of the ut reminded me of the flowing water of the river. The gash reminded me of the wound on an animal after it has been killed. I quietly sobbed to myself; his body has veen going through immense pain for a very long time. The pain didn’t seem like it was going to stop anytime soon. I knew that it was time for it to end, I just didn’t know how it was going to end. Right after that, I fell asleep to the sound of his painful groans.

The next day, I woke up to soft crying. I turned my head. Something shot through my b
ody. This time it wasn’t excitement, but it was shock. The body of my dad lay on the dirt bed. I got up from my bed and ran to mom.

“Mami, que pasa?’ I asked with worry. Tears rolled off her chin and they lightly hit the dirt ground. When she replied, she quivered as she talked, you could hear the sadness in her voice. She said that she had gone to sleep.

“He groaned for help, but no one was there to help him.” She burst into tears.

“Mami, we will be okay,” I lied. I stared at the lifeless body of dad and felt a lump rising in my throat. Before I realized, hot drops of water flowed out of my eyes and down my filthy face. I hugged Mami tighter. I heard a knock coming from outside of the hut. I slowly got up and wiped the tears from my face. I peeked out. It was my brother. He came in and looked at Mami, then at me, then at the deceased body of my dad. He knew what had happended. He ran toward mom and me and hugged us tight.
He whispered into my ear as he stroked my tangles hair, “Don’t worry hermanita, I will do the hunting. You can go to school, I know how much he wanted you to go to school. He would’ve been proud of you” He whispered something into my mom’s ear and she stopped crying and smiled at my brother.

The next day, my brother had gone hunting. I stayed at the hut with mom because I didn’t feel like going to school.
“Merche,” Mami said, “hija, don’t worry. Go have fun at school. All you have to do is remember your dad in your heart. My Papi died when I was little. I still talk with him I can hear him in my heart. It feels like he never left. Remember, Papi had always wanted you to go to school. I searched my mom’s face to look for any sadness.

“Gracious Mami,” I replied gratefully. She was right. Papi had always wanted me to go and then was my chances to go. I wondered if I would be like Mami and hear my dad from my heart. Then, I slowly left for shool. I was nervous, excited, and very sad at the same time. I walked down the muddy road thinking of what was going to happen. Almost too soon, I arrived at the little cement building. I tried to be strong and courageous, like my dad. When I stepped in the opening of the building, I heard a voice coming from my heart.

“Mercedes, I am very proud of you. I love you.”

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