The Return Home--Guadalupe

It was a regular Tuesday morning. At six o'clock, the alarm sound embarked on every
corner of the house. Soon, everyone was awake. The delicious smell of chilaquiles filled the house following the clashing of pans. Micah was getting ready for school. He had a good feeling today. He quickly got dressed and ran down the stairs to eat breakfast. Once in the kitchen, he kissed his mother and father’s cheek saying​buenosdias,​ or goodmorning. 

The family of three happily began to chat about their plans for the day. As they sat down to eat breakfast, Micah’s father, Joaquin, turned on the television to watch the morning news. As soon as the news report of the undocumented families being deported appeared, Joaquin quickly turned off the television and went silent. Micah’s mother, Elena, looked at her husband’s and her son’s look of concern and said, “Don’t worry about anything, we are all going to be safe. We are good people, we are not going to get taken away ​mijo​. Come on, it's time to go to school. Don’t worry about your ​papa​ and I, we are going to be alright.” Elena kissed her son’s cheek as she took his plate to the sink. Micah took a deep breath, smiled and said, “I love you ama”​ as he got out of his chair to get his things for school. 

As Micah went to get his backpack from his room, he looked out his window and noticed that the morning was absolutely beautiful. The birds were chirping, and the sun was smiling at all the houses. The day was filled with happiness and joy. All of a sudden, he realized it was time to go. 

Micah went downstairs and told his parents, “​Ya me voy, los quiero mucho, los miro cuando regrese de la escuela,​ ” or “I’m leaving, I love you both, I’ll see you two when I come back from school.” Soon his mom exclaimed from the kitchen, “ ​Que le vaya bien y que Dios lo bendiga​,” or “Have a good day and may God bless you on your journey.” After these words, Micah closed his front door and made his way to school. He was happy and ready to start the day. 

School for Micah when by fast. Each class period went by in the blink of an eye and before he realized, it was the end of the day. His friends invited him to go eat but he said, “Sorry guys, I can’t go. I have to get home to my parents.” After that, Micah said goodbye to his friends and started his journey home. 

On his way home, he began to listen to music, feeding the joy and happiness he was feeling today. A few minutes passed, he arrived home and as he opened the door he said, “Ama, I’m home.” No answer. He sent her a text message letting her know that he was home. “She probably went to the grocery store,” he said, so he set his backpack and water bottle down and went to get a snack. Two hours passed, it was five o’clock and Elena still wasn’t home. Micah began to worry so he called his mother again. No answer. He began to jerk his legs as he was sitting on the sofa and thought, “There’s nothing to worry about. My dad will be home soon.” It was now eight o’clock and his father had not arrived. He usually gets home from work around six-thirty. Now, Micah really began to worry. All of these terrible scenarios began to infiltrate his mind. “There is no way I can call the police,” he said, “ If they are alright and I call the police, they are going to take them away because they are going to find out.” With desperation he began to think of people he could call that would know where his parents are, but who would he call? He had no family in the United States. All of his family members live in Mexico. 

With the hope of receiving a phone call, he sat right by his home phone and cellphone anxiously waiting, confused. “I don’t understand. My parents don’t do this. They would tell me if they were going to go somewhere that would take up their entire day,” Micah said. Then, all of a sudden, the worst of all of the possible scenarios filled his mind. What if his parents were taken away? Deported? “No, it can’t be. My parents haven’t done anything wrong,” he told himself for reassurance. His neck became hot and tears began to fill his eyes. 

It was now ten o’clock and nothing. More time passed and he eventually fell asleep on the sofa awaiting a call. Then, at two o’clock in the morning, the phone rang. It was his mother. 

“Hello? Ama? Are you okay? Where are you and dad? It’s really late!”
“Mijo, son, I need you to be strong. Your father and I have been taken by ICE and we are going to get deported in a few hours. I want you to know that your father and I love you so much and no matter how far apart we are, we will always be there. We are not going to give up, we will soon become a family again. We are sorry we couldn’t call sooner but the officers didn’t let us make phone calls. I’m sorry we failed you.”

Micah went cold. He began to tremble. His worst nightmare came true. His parents were
gone, they were taken away from him and he wouldn’t be able to feel their love again. He began to hold back the tears that were falling from his eyes as he began to hear his mother’s cry. His family was broken and there was nothing he could do about it. He’s only seventeen years old and now he’s shattered, devastated. That beautiful day became the day that he never wished happened.