bok

While back in New York I kept thinking about Puerto Rico. I thought not
only of my family, but also about everything else. I felt something calling
me back to the island, an inner sort of subliminal voice. Maybe during the
“night of the stars” something changed in me. It was as if the instant I saw
that sky a small seed was planted in my brain. This psychological or
symbolical seed was the one who sprouted into the obsessive idea of me
moving to Puerto Rico.
I called my Grandmother (Mamá) and my aunt and I told them about my
plans. My grandmother thought it was a good idea but my aunt thought I
was crazy to leave a good job and an apartment in New York to come to
Puerto Rico. She reminded me that jobs were scarce. In spite of that, I still
wanted to go. They heard such urgency in my voice that they asked me if I
had run into some trouble in New York. I told them that even I didn’t quite
understand my sudden impulse.
Even though I felt like a magnet was pulling me to the island, that night
when I went to bed I thought that my aunt was probably right. I decided to
stop with all the nonsense and reconsider. There was no future for me in
Puerto Rico. Many of my relatives were unemployed, so what better
chances had I? Lying in my bed with the unusual sounds of the city, the
police sirens, ambulances and the street noise in the “city that never
sleeps”, I slept.
That night, however, something woke me. I dreamt I was in Puerto Rico. I
was watching the sun set, same as I had in Cabo Rojo: a huge red orange
ball of fire. It was magnificent. Right then and there, in the darkness of my
room a made a decision: Puerto Rico! The next day I started to give away
some of my belongings and selling the rest.
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