Experiences


No... not this time. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I asked my Mom, my Dad, some cousins and friends. But no one could answer the question...
First, let me tell you something :
It all started on October 30, 1984. I was going to school. I found a book on the road. It was mine. I was looking for it for a long, long time. I wondered how the book ended up on the road, if it was in my house the last time I saw it. I picked it up, and kept walking. I saw this lady. She had long, brown hair, and she was always wearing the same clothes. I used to see her every day on my way to school. I was always trying to see her face. It was becoming impossible. On my way to school, Monday to Friday, I could never see her face. I was kind of mad, because I was trying to see her face for such a long time. But one day, everything changed. I decided to go and talk to her, so, I walked towards her.
"Hello," I said.
"Who are you?" she asked. She didn't show her face.
"Well, my name is Elizabeth; what's yours?" I asked.
"You are just a stranger!" she shouted. "Get away from me!"
"Look, lady... I just want to know who you are, because..." I didn't finish my explanation, and she said:
"I said, get away from me!"
She scared me; I didn't give up, though.
"Please, look, I know I'm a stranger to you, but I just want to get to know you, and perhaps, after a while, be your friend."
"Why me?" She calmed down.
"Because you are here, alone, every morning... and I thought you might want some company, or someone to talk to. But... if I'm wrong... I better get going..."
"No, it's okay... you're right. I'm alone."
"Is there some way I can help you?"
"Not unless you can change the past."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think anyone can do that."
"I know..." Finally, she turned her face, and she looked at me. Her face was clean, and white. She had brown eyes. She had a fine nose, and a small mouth. Her curly blond hair was perfectly brushed. I thought she was pretty. She was not a woman, she was a girl. She was about sixteen or seventeen.
"So? Are you sure that is the only way out? Because... whatever the problem is, I think there's always a way out, besides changing the past. But..."
"But what???"
"The downside of this, is ... you know, people think that things happen, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"Oh... well, that's what I was thinking."
"Look, uh... what's your name?"
"Sandy."
"Look, Sandy, I'm sorry, but for the moment, I have to go to school, or I'll get in trouble. But I can meet you after school, at 3:30, right here. What do you think?"
"Ok. See you then."
"Bye."

Well, like everyday, I went to school, and, fortunately, I was not late this time. My school day passed like the other school days in my life. Nothing special. I went to the same place, where I was talking to Sandy, but she was not there. I waited until 3:30 p.m., like we said, but she didn't show up. I decided to wait until four o'clock, but... nothing happened.
Next day, I went to school again, and she was there.
"Where were you yesterday?" I asked. "I looked for you all over the place, and actually, I waited until four o'clock, but you didn't show up. Why?"
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too, because I have to go to school again; right now, otherwise, I'll be late."
"I was busy."
"Do you work?"
"Not exactly."
"I don't get it."
"See, I don't have time to explain. I have to go home."
"If you do have a home, why you are always here?"
"Look... I can meet you later. I guess at the same time I was supposed to meet you yesterday, ok?"
"Ok. So... see you!"
"Bye."

She went the other way down the road. I kept going, and when I turned around, she wasn't there anymore; like if she disappeared. But I thought she might have just ran into the bushes and therefore, I didn't see her. After school, I went to look for her, and she was there.
"Hello, how are you?" I asked.
"Oh, I think I'm fine. How about you?"
"Pretty good" She had a black eye "So... what happened to you?"
"I fell."
"I'm sorry, but that doesn't happen when you fall. Did you get in a fight or something?"
"Not exactly. I don't know if I should tell you, though."
"Except to you."
"How can I trust you if I don't even know you?"
"If you are worried about what am I going to do, I don't think it is a problem. I've never told another person's secrets to anyone."
"Look... you have to help me. But first, you have to promise that you won't tell anyone."
"I promise" My voice sounded like it was shaking. Like if I wouldn't be sure about it. But I was.
"My dad is a murderer. He takes people away, and asks their family for money. If they don't give him the money, he kills them. I don't like it, but I don't know what to do. I'm trying to tell him to look for a job, but he doesn't listen to me. He gets home drunk, and most of the time, he hits my little brother. And sometimes he hits me. See this?" She pointed at her eye "This was from yesterday. My dad threw a spoon at my eye. He was drunk. Today, he apologized. He said he was sorry, said he couldn't help it. He said that he was drunk, and that he didn't know what he was doing. I said 'Dad, but it hurts,' and he said, 'I know... but... let me look at it.' and I said 'no, Dad, that doesn't hurt that much. It hurts that you are a murderer.' For the first time, I told him how I feel about it. He said that we would talk about it after dinner. We don't have enough money, we have to pay lots of bills, too. We have to go to New Orleans very often, because it's the only way to find a cancer cure. My brother has cancer. Can you help me? What am I supposed to do?"
A tear ran down her cheek. I didn't know what to say, or what to do. I felt like my tongue was all tied in knots. I couldn't say anything for the first few minutes. I was confused.
"I don't know what to say" I answered. "Do you mind if I think about it today, and I wait until you talk yo your Dad and see what he said?"
"No, I don't mind." She said.
"All right. So, I'll see you tomorrow is that ok?
"Yeah." She looked at my eyes, and I could see through them.
I went to my house, and everything was normal. At supper time, Dad came from work. He was mad. No one said a word, because we know that he would be even more mad than he was already. My Mom stood up, and she said that she was very tired, and she excused herself, and went to bed. Next day, Mom and Dad didn't say a word. I thought they were mad with each other, because they didn't talk to each other the whole morning. I went to school, and everything was all right. I talked to my friends for a while, and I went to my classes. Everything was normal until I saw this guy. His hair was dirty, his pants were all ripped, I could tell that his t-shirt was white, but it was so dirty, that no one could have guessed if it really was white, or black. My Dad once told me not to look at those kind of people for a long time, because they can feel bad about it. So I just looked at him for two seconds, no more. He didn't look at me. My friends and classmates were looking at him and wondering who he was. No one talked to him. I felt sorry for him. I went to my class, and I never saw this boy again. I went home, and watched T.V. for a few minutes, when the door bell rang. I went to see who it was, at that time of the day, that we rarely receive visits.
"Who's that?" I asked.
A strange voice said my name, asking.
"Yeah, it's me, who's there?" I answered.
"It's me, Sandy"
I got scared. A lot of questions were in my mind. How did she know where I lived? Why did she come to see me? What happened? I opened the door, and there she was. Her face was pale, but I could tell that she was kind of happy.
"Hey Sandy! What's going on?" I asked, trying to look happy too.
"Something special just happened. My dad now is looking for a job." She said.
"Great!!!" I said. I was surprised.
"I know... and he understood everything. I came to thank you." Sandy said.
"How did you know where I lived?" I asked.
"Oh, well, the other day I saw you coming from school, and I figured it out." She said.
"Oh, I see." I thought about a while ago, that I saw the book I was looking for on the road. "Weird." I said.
"Why?" she asked me.
"Uh... never mind." I said. I wasn't thinking something bad, but I thought there was a posssibility that this girl knew where I lived for a long time, and perhaps she took the book, not because she is a robber, but because she wanted to learn something. I thought that perhaps she wanted to give it back, and she just put it on the road, thinking that I would see it, and take it home.
"Do you think something bad about me? I'm not a robber or something like that. Trust me!" she cried.
I felt like she read my mind.
"I don't think anything bad about you, it's just that a while ago, I lost a book, and then I found it on the road, and, I mean, I thought that my family might have taken it, but now..."
She thought I was suspecting something bad about her.
"No, no, no!" I said. " I was just thinking that you might have taken it for a while, and then give it back, but... I think I'm wrong. Right?" I asked. She gazed at me shyly, blushed, and ducked her head.
"I didn't take it." She said. She sat on the grass, so I sat down beside her. "My brother did... I'm sorry."
"Y-your brother?" I asked.
"Yeah. He wants to learn. No one should ever know that he has cancer. Don't tell anyone, please."
"I won't" I said. "I can promise, if you would like me to."
"No. That's enough." She said. "Thanks."
She looked at me, and a tear ran down her cheek. She took a piece of paper which was on the ground, and said:
"I apologize. I told my brother not to come here, but he didn't listen. It is not his fault. My Dad gave him that example. He said he saw this door opened, so, he came in and the first thing he saw was the book. He was interested in learning, so he took it. About a week later, he told me that he put it on the road near your house, that way you could see it, and take it back. He said he wouldn't do this again. I'm sorry."
I was kind of nervous, and said:
"Of course I forgive you, you didn't even have to apologize, but... next time that you or your brother want or need somthing, just let me know. I think is not a lot to ask."
"Thanks!!!" She was excited. She just smiled at me, and then she went away.
That was the last time I saw her for a long time.
Next day I went to school, and everything went okay, and I saw the same guy again. This time he was cleaner. My life returned to normal from that day on. I didn't see the girl for a long time. I had a boyfriend, but I dumped him because he had another girlfriend behind my back.
Now, a year later, on my way to school, I saw Sandy again. This time, she wasn't in the same place as she used to be, this time, she was farther in the bushes. She was with someone else. It was exactly the same dirty guy that went to my school a few times. They were hugging. I walked near them.
"Sandy! Hey!" I shouted.
She didn't answer. I noticed that she and the other guy were crying. When she looked at me, her face was just awful. The guy had a black eye too. I couldn't move. I didn't say a word. Oh, Elizabeth... What are you doing? I said to myself. This guys are crying just in front of you... I think the best choice would be get going... I didn't finish my thought, when Sandy said:
"Thank God you're here! Gees!"
"Pardon?" I asked. I thought she may need help again. I actually didn't want to get in trouble anymore.
She walked towards me, and when she stood just in front of me, she said: "Elizabeth, Elizabeth, this is my brother, Mark." My stomach churned. The first thing on my mind was that this guy had cancer, and I actually had seen him before. I was not scared, but surprised.
"Oh... Hi Mark! How are you doing?" I asked.
"Not too bad. How about you?" He answered.
He was still crying. I had never seen a boy crying before.
"We need your help. My Dad is beating us up again. Please! What are we supposed to do?" She cried.
I didn't know what to say. I was thinking that I wouldn't want to get in trouble, and I was thinking on telling her the truth.
"I don't know..." I said.
"Elizabeth, please!" She said desperately. "We really need someone to help!"
"But I... Why me?" I asked.
"Remember when you said that you wanted to be my friend?" Sandy asked.
"And I said 'Why me?'"
"Yeah..." I said. I remembered that day.
"Well, it is the same question, with the same answer you were thinking."
"How do you know what I was thinking?" I asked.
"Oh, come on!" She said.
" Okay, Okay. I have to think about it. Just give me two days. Ok?" I suggested.
"Ok." She said. "I'll see you soon"
"You guys stay as far as possible from your father for this moment. I think it might be the best choice." I suggested again.
"We'll try." Mark said.
I walked to my house. I told my Mom about it, warning her not to tell anyone. I asked if she knew what I could do, but she didn't know. In the same way, I asked my Dad, some cousins and friends. But no one could answer the question. Until I thought that the best choice would be to talk to the police. But I wasn't sure. After two days of my last conversation with Sandy and Mark, I went to see them again, like I said.
This time, they were even worse. Mark seem like he couldn't move very well, and Sandy had a black eye, her face was pale, and her lips had blood everywhere. I was really scared. If I was going to tell the police, that would mean that I would have to meet Sandy's father. "What happenened?" I asked. That was the first thought in my mind. "My father is mad again. With his belt, he hit my brother on his back." Sandy carefully lifted Mark's t-shirt, and I wished I would have never seen that. It was awful. It was bloody, and it seemed like his father had done that before, because it had some scars on it. No way Elizabeth, I said to myself. You can't just leave everything like this. Even if it's not your business. That was the first thing in my mind.
"Why would he do that?" I asked.
"We didn't sleep at home." Mark said. "Like you said."
The lasts words hurt me. I felt guilty.
"I'm so sorry guys... I didn't know that was going to happen." I apologized.
"No, Elizabeth, it's not your fault. My Dad was drunk." Sandy said.
"Completely drunk" Mark added.
"Guys... I was thinking on going to the police. What do you think?"
"No!" Mark said.
"Yes. I think it's time." Sandy said.
"But Sandy..." Mark didn't finish, when Sandy interrupted him.
"Yes, Mark! We can't live like this anymore! We are not ready!" Sandy told her brother. "Thank you very much Elizabeth. But when are you going to the police?"
"If I can, I will go right now." I said.
"Ok." Mark said. "But, whatever you do, please make sure that my Dad doesn't notice." He added.
"No problem." I said.
I went home, told my Dad about it, and fortunately, he understood. We went to the police, and waited until they caught Sandy's father. They brought the children and their Mom too. They went to court, and their father is in jail. He is supposed to be in jail for 30 years. The children told the judge everything about it. I heard everything. My Dad did too. Mark told him everything that his Mom and Sandy didn't know. They told him about the punishment with a baseball bat. Their Mom was hit by him too. It was awful just to listen. I felt lucky for having parents like mine.
The kids now live in Houston, with their mother. Sandy calls me sometimes by phone and tells me all her new fun life. She has lots of friends and things are going very well at school. I'm proud of her. Mark sometimes writes me. He is under treatment. He has not very long to live. They keep saying thanks to me and my family. Their Mom is nice, and she became a doctor. They all live together, and are happy. They sometimes tell me that even though their Dad hit them, they miss him. But they are better without him.


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