16

Chapter 5

The next day when I woke up, my body felt stiff but the pain from yesterday had finally subsided a bit. I felt rested. My headache and fever seemed to have vanished overnight, which had to have been a good sign. I couldn't help myself, however, as I stared longingly at the mirror above my dresser, hoping to catch a glimpse of my reflection.

"What are you looking at, mija?"

I almost screamed. I jumped a foot in the air when I heard my mother's voice behind me. I slowly turned around, trying my hardest to hide my embarrassment at how easily scared I'd gotten.

"Nothing, Mami. I was just wondering why your reflection looked so… different this morning," I replied.

She chuckled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You are not fooling anyone, mi chiquita. Now come over here," she demanded and patted her lap invitingly. "Come sit next to Mami."

I did as I was asked and sat down next to her in the chair she was occupying. As soon as I was close to her, I wrapped my arm around her waist and buried my head against her neck. It felt nice to lay my head upon her shoulder. The fact that she had been there all this time just helped me relax and let her calm me down.

She stroked my hair as she talked.

"Are you ok? Is anything wrong?"

"No, I'm fine," I assured her and lifted my head just slightly so I could see the expression on her face. "Everything's fine now. I promise."

When her hand reached up and gently caressed my cheek, I leaned in, pressing my lips against hers briefly. She closed the distance between us immediately. One of her hands moved to the back of my neck, pulling me closer. Our lips locked and I felt butterflies in my stomach. When I started to feel dizzy, I knew that she felt the same. We stayed like that for the longest minutes of my life, until she abruptly broke away.

"God, I missed you so much," she breathed out and pressed her forehead against mine.

"I missed you too. I've missed you so much…"

"Do you feel any different? How are you doing?"

"A little sore but better than yesterday. And I haven't got sick yet. That's all that matters," I answered truthfully.

"That's good. And how's your leg? Are you feeling pain when you walk? Are you able to move it? Does it hurt?"

"Stop nagging. I can do whatever I want. No pain or painkillers. Nothing. I'm fine and my muscles are starting to become accustomed to walking again. Everything seems normal, apart from a slight stiffness, but I should be able to get back on my feet in no time. It's just a little stiff. That's all."

"That's good," my mother sighed deeply with relief, "but you shouldn't forget to tell me about it once in a while. Please? Promise me."

"I will, Mami. If you stop worrying, I won't do it again. I promise."

"Good," she hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead tenderly, "I am so glad to hear that. You really scare me sometimes, mi vida. You used to get sick more often than other kids your age. I was so worried about you."

"I know and I'm so sorry for worrying you. I didn't mean to. I just…"

"I know, I know," she interrupted and held me tighter as if to reassure herself that I wasn't going anywhere. After a short pause, she said quietly: "But please remember that it was all for the best that you're better now. Because even though you're better, there's no need to think that you're okay now and everything's gonna go back to normal, ok? Just don't push yourself too hard because your body needs to heal. You have to take care of your health now; otherwise you won't be able to keep playing soccer and getting stronger and you'll end up being an adult before you're even ready. You can't stay a child forever, you know? Your father and I need you to grow up and to be healthy just like he is."

"Yeah, I know, Mami. I'll try not to push myself too hard. Besides, I am going to graduate soon and I might need to get a job. But I can still play soccer until then. Don't worry. I'm fine."

"Alright," my mother smiled.

"How about you? Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did. Thank you, mi chica. You made me feel so happy."

"I'm glad. But are you sure you don't want me to wake you up earlier when you get up?"

"No, mi chica. I don't need any waking up, okay? Now I can sleep peacefully knowing you are safe in your bed. Besides, what else are we going to do today?"

I smiled. "We can go to the zoo."

***

As promised, Mom woke me up early for our trip to the zoo. It didn't seem to bother either one of us to do that. We got dressed, grabbed the bags and took them downstairs before we went outside.

After we entered the parking lot where the car was waiting for us, I noticed Carlos leaning against one of the cars, watching us. He looked at me and raised his eyebrows, giving me a small smile. Mom smiled at him as well.

"Hey. Ready to go?" I asked him, motioning for him to follow me.

"I am. I just came to see if you're ok," he replied.

"I'm ok. Thank you."

Carlos shrugged. "Whatever you say."

"Come on, Carlos," mom urged and walked towards the car. Carlos shook his head and fell in line with us again.

We ended up arriving right on time and we got into the bus. As we sat down, I noticed my brothers talking animatedly amongst each other, clearly trying to include me in their conversation. I smiled and listened but I didn't really feel like joining them.

Carlos sat down in front of us next to his little brother and I noticed that my mom had sat next to him. When the bus arrived at the zoo we got out of the vehicle and I saw Carlos holding his breath as he stepped off the bus. He took the opportunity to look around and breathe a sigh of relief when we got to the entrance and we were finally allowed inside the building.

We walked towards the ticket booth and Carlos paid the cashier. While he bought a ticket for his parents, I stood by and watched him closely, waiting to be called.

"I'll wait outside," my mom informed us and left the two of us alone at the counter. Carlos sighed heavily when they told us the total amount of tickets.

"Don't be nervous, Carlos," I tried to ease his mind.

He shook his head, put his bag over his shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile. He followed my mom out of the gate as I waited by the entrance for my turn.

'What am I supposed to do if someone calls out to me? How am I supposed to ask her what she wants to eat? Or if there are some cute animals to see?' I questioned myself and tried to distract myself by looking around at the various attractions.

About ten minutes later my mom and Carlos returned. They both handed me a pair of new tickets for each of them and we began walking through the colorful hallways of the aquarium. After a few minutes, we found an area full of colorful fish, and my mother dragged me towards some of the bigger tanks. She pointed to a tank in the center and told me that they had an Aquatic Park special exhibit. She explained that it included sharks and turtles along with many fish with beautiful scales and shiny red markings. A few seconds after, she pulled me towards the shark exhibit. When we were standing under a light on top of the tank, I suddenly noticed Carlos pointing to a turtle that was sitting on the top of its enclosure.

"Look! Look, mama! Isn't it pretty?" he exclaimed excitedly.

My mother smiled brightly at him.

"It certainly is, baby. The colors are very pretty."

I smiled at the sight. It seemed obvious that Carlos loved turtles and I liked those, too. The sight of all of those big, colorful creatures lying in their respective pools in the middle of a large room made me feel comfortable and peaceful. I had never seen something so magnificent before and it was easy to lose myself in watching all these amazing things. As I continued watching them I heard my mother gasp a little behind me and then she whispered:

"There must be some way for you to communicate with those reptiles…"

She spoke so softly that I almost didn't catch it, which caused me to turn around to face her.

"Oh, I don't know if…" I started to say, but then I thought about it for a moment before I nodded my head. Maybe it was possible. "Maybe I could call one of them."

When I said this my mother smiled widely and she clapped her hands in excitement, causing a bunch of people surrounding us who were standing nearby to look at us. I quickly apologized to them. They were laughing at us, obviously amused at my attempt. I laughed nervously as well. Then, I decided to make another attempt.