Level 8
Leaving Home (Excerpt)
by
Abraham
Terrero
...Once inside the airport, my mind turned against me. I resolved many days before that I
would remain calm. You need to think objectively, I said to myself, but when sorrow invades
you there is no turning back. I cannot even remember all things Ihad to do in the airport,
my body was there, but my thoughts were far away, flying back straight to the hearts of the
people I love. For a flashing instance I could see them in my mind, sorrowful but proud of
me. My strength came back at that moment. This is for me and for all of them, I repeated as
I passed gate by gate.
The Jose Marti International Airport in Cuba is very small. I had never flown in my life before,
so, besides the fact that I was leaving home, I was experiencing something new. I can’t deny
it, I was scared but excited at the same time. It was a long and tedious waiting. I scheduled
my flight for 6:30 am, but it ran late and was rescheduled to 11:30 am, a bad experience for
a first time flying. Once on the plane, almost touching the clouds, I could see my Havana. It
looked very small. I thought that I could grab it with my hands and put it in my pocket, and
with it, my friends, family, and memories. Exiting the Miami International Airport also took
a lot of time. My father was waiting for me outside. Before boarding another flight to DC, I
took advantage of that weekend to visit some friends there in Miami. All of them asked how
my mother was. I couldn’t avoid becoming sad, but I held my breath, and remembered her
wanting me to persist strong. This is not a pitiful moment; this is a new period of opportunities.
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