Issue #20 (2011) PDF - myweb - Long Island University

Thankfully, the house we stayed in was on solid land behind a row of shack houses. We
were shown to some mattress thrown on the wooden floor, where my uncle told us we had to sleep.
He didn‘t speak to us, but to the group of children. We were treated like deaf mutes because we
didn‘t speak Spanish. We could have tried, but didn‘t. In Cali, we had no reason to everyone spoke
English to us. I suppose now that they were having a good time practicing their English. My uncle
spoke near perfect English with a thick accent, but when he spoke to us, he usually spoke to us in
Spanish, expecting us to understand. Most of what was said we were able to understand. That‘s
how I overheard a dusty looking man-wearing cast off clothing and no shoes telling my uncle that
we had to wait for high tide. The men from the boat stayed outside, they must have slept in the
boats. Our suitcases were still on the boat. We had to sleep in our clothes and we had no
toothbrushes. It‘s funny what you remember, toothbrushes seemed important. My mother would
have cursed them all out. It was very important to her that we slept on clean sheets and brushed our
teeth. There were no sheets at all and no bathroom to brush our teeth in even if we had our
toothbrushes. There was only a toilet bowl, which didn‘t flush. Everything went straight down into
the ground or maybe the river I wasn‘t sure. We didn‘t like it. My sister complained to me and me
to her, but what could we do. We were too young, tired and afraid to say anything even if they
understood our English or tried to speak Spanish. The other kids around us were having a great time
playing on the mattresses. From what I could hear, they had been here before.
I think I slept that night. My sister didn‘t. She was afraid of the bugs. So, was I, but I hid it
well. My uncle and his wife woke us up while it was still dark outside. We were rushed outside and
back onto the boats. Some women gave us a few bananas, mangos and some other fruit that I still
can‘t identify. My uncle and the others started putting on long sleeve shirts. Rosa and I didn‘t have
any. We didn‘t bring long sleeves on summer vacation. My uncle‘s wife passed us a can of insect
repellent. This would be the only time she offered us insect repellent during the trip. I guess I
should have been grateful to her for even thinking to share her supply with us. Once everyone
settled in the boats, we left. I looked up at the sky and what I saw took the title of the most
beautiful sight that I have ever seen. The only place where I have seen a night sky like that again
was at the Hayden Planetarium. The stars were so bright we didn‘t need lights on the boat. I sat
there in silence trying to remember it forever ignoring the mosquitoes pinching my arms. I think I
succeeded in remembering it forever because I still not only see it as clear as if it was in high
definition but I can feel the humidity and smell the air, which reeked with the dank wet smell of the
jungle around us.
As we continued, it became darker as the canopy of trees closed in on us and the river
became only a few feet wide on either side of us. The roots of the trees scraped the sides of the
boat. It became so dark we couldn‘t see the other boat. The boatmen finally turned on flashlights
to light the way. We heard a splashing sound ahead of us. My uncle said it was a snake falling in the
water. The other kids started laughing. Rosa was going to cry but just sat there huddled up. We
continued then suddenly something fell on our feet. Rosa screamed and I jumped back on the boat
bench. Everyone including my uncle laughed hysterically.
―It‘s not real.‖ I said as the boatman picked it up laughing. Angelo had laughed, but stopped
when he saw we didn‘t enjoy the joke.
One of those nasty kids my uncle seemed to like so much threw a rubber snake at us, and it
appeared he was in on it. I was afraid as well, but I remembered what my father had taught us about
dogs. Once they smell fear they attack, and Rosa had shown fear when she cried getting on the
boat. This would be the first of many torments we suffered at the hands of those other children
over the next fourteen days. After the laughter settled down it was quiet except for the sound of the
clicking and humming of insects coming out of the jungle, which blended into the sound of the
boat‘s motor.
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