text: Giving his goodbyes to his love ones, he was excited to go on this new adventure that life afforded him. He walks to the depot. He hears a whining and weak crying. He continues to walk the sound gets louder. He hears men laughing, speaking his Arabic calling this her a whore, plotting for the next man turn and what they were going to do her. I tried to ignore what was being done. All I could think about is what if that was my sister. I would want someone to help her. I walked softly back to the corner where I could pick up my bags and run once this was over. I peeked around the corner of the alley. I saw three men. They looked highly toxicated. The woman hands were tired and balled up cloth in her mouth. She cries. The other guy slaps her because she cries. He tells her that she should be enjoying this pleasure. I was getting sick to my stomach. I felt for my knife. It was in my secret spot. I walked around the corner. I see what happening. I tell them to stop. They laugh and began to threaten me. I threw my knife. It hit the third guy in the throat. I used my martial arts skills to break one neck and knock the other unconscious. I pick her up from off the ground and got my knife. She was bleeding from her vagina. I untied her, grabbed my bags and ran to the depot. It was perfect timing, the bus came. We rode and sat quietly. She held my hand so tightly that I wanted to say let go. I was all she had and she was all I had now. When we got to the train station, I purchased her a ticket while she was in the bathroom changing clothes and getting the bleeding to stop. Our seats were beside each other. She whispered in my ear “my hero”. I know I wasn’t nobody hero. I was trying to figure out where she could go or where we can hide? Once the train started moving, she feel asleep. I rested too. My mind was wondering where would she be safe. She woke up from a nightmare. She was completely drenched in sweat. I got her to calm down, her breathing slowly went back to normal. She looked at me pause, says “no me dejes”. I stopped and looked at her. I wondered how did she know. She speaks Spanish. How did she get here? She started telling me a story about a casita and this family. She told how the father met this man. He seemed nice and very business minded. The father ran into a financial issue. The father agreed to work for him until the bill was paid in full. The father became ill. He couldn’t finish working for him. The man sold his wife and children. One day, the youngest child got away. She ran to the aunt and uncle for help. They found the aunt and uncle. She got away. She continues to run. While he listens his heartaches. He didn’t know what to say or do. He knew his next step is to get to the airport. When he got to the airport, he trades his ticket in for two tickets to Asia. This gave me a few days to create her an id and other documents. I didn’t want to call my family to let them know. I picked up the phone but I couldn’t dial. I would just beat the phone. I was free! Now, I have freed someone else. She is so grateful. The more I get to spend with her I am falling in love with her. I get her to see a doctor. She can’t have any children due to the damage of those monsters. We made it to Asia. I decide we go to Thailand. We stay in a little village that is quiet and wholesome. We found work and built our lives together. For months we would cry, for all the pain we felt. The healing began to take place. I still didn’t call my family. She went to school. She built her career. The opportunity presented itself for her to go to the United States. Twenty years, I am finally here. She took care of me, just as she promised. Things was going well. We were looking into adopting kids and preparing for family life. I never told her how much she meant to me. How much I was in love with her. I admired her for taking advantage of the opportunity that was presented to her. I was angry with her because she was the reason I couldn’t never return home. She went to work like any other day. She drove her dream car, the BMW. Where we stayed it was hills and countryside. She was driving down the hill. A truck was on her side of the road. It hit her car and knocked her off the cliff. I didn’t’ know why I was crying 3:37p.m. She was coming home early from work to surprise me. It was my birthday! She had been acting moody a lot lately. I had found a note she had left on the bed for me. It read “I’ll make it up to you”, smiley face. That day felt like any other usual day. This time it wasn’t usual. I sold the house. I finally picked up the phone. I called my family. I didn’t say a word. My mother soft frail voice said I know. I love you. The line was silent. I threw away the phone. I sit on this park bench, wondering, wishing, what it would be like if she was here. One day, I just stopped wondering, wishing and began to live just as she would want me too. That day I went to the park as usual. This time I had a cup of coffee. Coffee was something she always enjoyed. I sat there watching the sun rise. I am holding the card that said you was three months pregnant. Today, we would have been parents. As I take a sip of the coffee, from the shadows a beautiful golden retriever come sit at my feet. I laughed without a tear.