Across the Desert

Chapter 2: The Journey Begins

The cold of the night wrapped around the Alvarez family as they left behind the warmth of their familiar little village. The coyote was moving at the front, a mysterious being, who was cunningly passing through the bushes. Positions gaining fear and hope the whole family, Juan and Maria, with Sofia and Diego realized, moving them the fastest towards the Mexican American border.

During the first hours of their trip, they walked without talking about anything, only the sound of the dirt beneath their feet and the rustle of trees was their company, taking the bushes along the border of the village. The moon that was smiling boldly and gently lit the road before them gave them enough light to see where they would be walking. Sofia, holding her mother’s hand tightly, lifted her sight to the gleaming sky and had already summarized her own questions, which were waiting to be asked someday.

“Where are we going, Mama?” Sofia whispered as though she feared her voice would break the unspoken agreement of silence.

Maria said with examplar tranquillity, “a place,” in Korean, “that is our hope.” The freedom of the people here is the Boon that I bestow upon you﹔the freedom of those who are mine, graders to love, love according to human abilities so do me too, so they would feel themselves.

Sofia nodded her head, but the discrepancy that was present in her mother’s firm resolution did not escape her. Diego being too young to understand the issue inattentively was sticking to his father, his tiny legs were so slow as to cause some embarrassment to the family.

As darkness fell, the group was still marching, apart from the golden-tailed city as if, they were gazelles moving from a safe zone to an unknown place. The land was increasingly harsh and hostile, bumpy surfaces, and thick bushes were the order of the day, trying to slow them. The children were under Maria’s care and against the backdrop of fear that had been growing a long time ago, she observed that they were being more and more tired. It has been a piece of cake coming this far and yet they had to face the world and the problems it brought with itself.

After walking for several hours, the coyote finally motioned for the group to stop. They had arrived at a small clearing, which was surrounded by dense trees, and it was there they decided to rest. The coyote, a man of very few words, looked at Juan and Maria and his face was a hard and unreadable mask.

“We will halt here for a few hours,” he said, his voice low-key. “We have to avoid the main paths before dawn. The border patrol will be more active once the sun comes up.”

Juan nodded, thankful for the break. He could see the fatigue etched on Maria's face, and the children were clearly in need of rest. They found a place on the ground and huddled together for warmth as soon the cold air of the night fixed in on them. Juan spread a thin blanket over Sofia and Diego, trying his best to make them comfortable.

“Mama, I’m cold,” Diego whispered, his small body would not stop shivering.

Maria wrapped him up in her arms, pulling him close. “I know, mi amor. Just try to sleep and tomorrow of course we will continue on our way.”

Diego nodded his head and wearily his eyes fell shut. In just a few moments, he was in a deep sleep, his breathing slow and steady. Sofia also could not help falling asleep, despite her efforts, and she curled up against her mother.

Juan and Maria were awake, however, as their minds were agitated. They exchanged a look then proceeded with the knowledge that the bliss of the moment was very temporary.

“This is just the beginning,” Juan said, speaking barely above a whisper.

Maria nodded, feeling the heavy burden of the long journey that stretched before them. “I know. But we have to go and we must do it for them.”

Juan reached out, taking Maria’s hand in his. There was silence, the two of them taking turns in extracting strength from each other as they prepared for what was to come.

After several hours of sleeplessness, the coyote came to the group and woke them up. The sun was just beginning to rise and the sunrise was just emerging as the first hints. The air was cool and a faint fog was creeping up the ground. The coyote hurried them along without taking any breaks.

“We should hurry, the cops will be here soon, and we must be far from here perfectly by then.” He said, in a tone needing attention.

Juan and Maria woke the children, who were sleepy and unwilling to leave the body of the blanket. But there was no time to rest. They gathered the few things they had and set off yet again, their pace speeded by the coyote’s pressure.

The deeper they got into the wilderness, the more impassable it was becoming. The ground was not even, there were rocks, and thorny bushes, which made each step difficult. Sofia tumbled a few times her small feet having difficulty traversing the rough ground. Every time, she was caught by Juan or Maria before she could fall.

“Are we there yet, Papa?” Sofia asked in a faint voice full of fatigue.

“Not yet baby,” Juan said, his voice soft but firm. “But we are getting closer. You are awesome, just continue to hang on the rope.”

Sofia nodded, albeit the fatigue was therein those lightless eyes. Juan’s heart pinched to see his kids suffer, but he realized there was no other way, they must go on. It was the safety of their family because of it.

As the sun rose gradually over the desert, the morning was slowly transforming into a hot and dry one. As the hours advanced, the sunbeams began to make shadows less, thus creating the golden light over the desert landscape. The hot weather, even at this early hour was intense and the group started to feel exhausted with dehydration. The coyote warned them to ration their water, but they felt it was impossible to resist the water in the bottle as the heat climbed up.

Maria asked each child to have a small sip from their water bottle on the condition that they were conserving as much as they could. She could notice the little beads of sweat on their foreheads, also their faces were vivid red with heat lines. She wiped Sofia’s forehead with the edge of her shirt, hoping to cool her down.

“Drink slowly, Sofia,” Maria instructed, her voice calm despite her growing concern. “We need to make the water last.”

Sofia nodded her head. Her lips were dry and cracked. She took a small sip, savouring the coolness of the water before finally handing back to her mother the bottle. Diego did likewise even though the little boy was struggling with the burning heat.

The coyote was taking them to the trail ahead, its pace was unchanged once more despite the intense heat. The surroundings were lifeless and ruthless, and only an occasional cactus or bush broke the dullness. The wide desert area before them was a kind of an unending accretion of quartz and granite.

As the sun ascended higher and higher in the sky, the inferring heat was almost too much to bear. Maria could sense the physical power being drained from her with each step she took, her body was protesting against the intense weather conditions. She glanced at Juan, and saw that the same fatigue was reflected in his eyes. But they both understood right there could be no pause now.

“Honestly, you know I am seriously thinking about going swimming today with the hot weather?” said Maria. It is lazily hot today, and my friends and I will definitely go to the pool later. A hundred percent chance!

Instead of wallowing, we did the only sensible thing-we headed for the shallow pool. The children were playful whirl-whirling in circles playing games while the adults played volleyball. For a while, we played normally, but we knew that our time was short. By the time we got tired, it was already too late.

After a short time, all the kids started dying and the adults joined them. For us, it was the drying up we were not used to.

When the mother coyote finally decided to rest, everybody else started to lean against her. The group settled down to shelter in a rocky crevice behind the coyote. Besides, she can also hold her water well, so it was indeed the only way out of our severe dehydration crisis.

There was not a single moment of the day that the cactus did not catch my eye. Sure, water is super precious, yet I still had some tiny bits of excitement at seeing a plant that has such a life-force. Additionally, I did not think it could survive in this environment at first. It shocked me to see that the opposite is actually the case. After thinking about it, I understood that even a cactus could survive in such a harsh environment.

Maria's heart was heavy with worry as she closely watched the children. Sofia and Diego were silent, their playful spirit sapped by the cold conditions. They hugged each other, their little bodies touching together in a desperate attempt to find comfort.

“Juan,” Maria said, tremblingly. “What if something happens to them? What if... what if we can’t protect them?”

Juan reached out and took her hand in his. His grip was firm, nevertheless, she sensed the fear in him. “We have to stay strong, Maria. For them. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe,” he said.

With a nod, Maria acknowledged what he said, but it was impossible to shake the fear in her heart. She recognized that this journey was going to be hard, but now that they were in the middle of it, the truth was scarier than she ever thought it would be.

The sun was gradually setting, the heat in the air was slowly climbing downwards as the sun was going down the sky. The coyote scatterd about them, and it was a signal that it was time to move again. The group rose wearily to their feet, gathering their belongings and preparing to continue

While they started walking again, the landscape evolved again. The rocky terrains were made to that of a vast, open desert where the land could be seen up to the horizon. Their leader was the coyote, who was reliable and unshakeable, the Alvarez family was making their entry into the heart of the desert with apprehension.

As the sun began to go down, it was lighting the sand all over the region with a warm orange tint. The heat was not so intense now; instead, the atmosphere was dry as it used to be, almost suffocating. The group walked in silence, the only sound was the soft crunch of the sand under their feet

As the sun set, the temperature began to drop, and the desert night was filled with anxiety. The coyote moved them to another small clearing, this time they were enveloped by sand dunes. They got together for the night and got warmth by holding each other so close that their bodies were intertwined as if they were one person.

Juan and Maria covered their children with their blankets also in their attempt to keep them warm as the temperature continued to drop. The desert night was completely still,except for a coyote howling in the distance or the wind rustling the dunes now and then.

Maria looked up at the stars in the sky as she was thinking about the problems they had to face as well as the success that would be brought about as a result of their overcoming these obstacles. They had successfully traveled the first day of the journey but the road ahead would still have far too many difficulties to deal with. The desolation brought about by the desert and the fears of an uncertain future that were the baby of their imagination were to be the burdens that they had to carry with them.

Juan sat down beside her, his face showing that he was in deep thoughts. “We have indeed come this far, ” he whispered. “We have to keep on believing that we can make it. ”

Maria nodded her agreement, her eyes full of resolution. “We will make it, ” she stated with strong conviction and determination. “We have to. ”

As they lay down for the night, the Alvarez family held one another firmly, finding comfort in each other's being together. The future ahead was unpredictable but they faced it together, motivated by the wish for a better life and the hope of a future devoid of the troubles that had become their routine out of the past.

The night in the desert was cold and merciless. Yet in the small circle of warmth they formed, hope could be seen. The journey ahead looked long and dangerous. But they were determined to face those dangers, step by step, not just for the sake of their family but also their future.