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ARACELI’S PATH
Excerpt from Araceli’s Path
by Marion Surles
The Violence Begins
A few days later, Araceli was on her usual walk to pick up her sisters at school. The streets continued to be full of potholes and blowing trash. Stray dogs still battled for a found chicken bone or a dropped piece of a burrito. She passed Rubí’s house and noticed she now had a pregnant belly. How can that be? She’s only twelve, she thought.
At school, Araceli watched the mothers gathering to pick up their children. Most had another child by the hand. She wondered if they ever once dreamed of a different life. Was something wrong with her to want to study and have a job in an office? Did other women wish they could do something else besides only raise children? Didn’t they want more for their children? Why wasn’t she content with her life?
On the way home, Araceli let her sisters stop to play at the park. Most of the swings were broken, and everything was covered with graffiti. Music blared from a sidewalk vendor’s big speakers. She sat on a rickety bench and dreamed of another life. She would bring her own children to a clean park. They would have money enough to go to the zoo or to enjoy a movie together. Maybe she would work at a bank behind a glass panel. She would wear heels to work, and her husband would be proud of her. She would help her children with their homework, and they would finish la prepa, or high school. She and her husband would have lots of grandchildren.
Suddenly a car screeched to a stop in front of a vendor as a shot rang out. A man jumped from the car, grabbed the speakers, and sped off. Zenaida and Sarai came screaming to Araceli as they all took cover under the slide. No more shots were fired, but the vendor was dead, splattered on the sidewalk. Neighbors gathered, awaiting police who wouldn’t come soon. Shaking with fear, Araceli and her sisters slowly slipped from behind the slide, ducked to a backstreet, and went home without saying a word. The image of the blood-covered wall was seared into their memories.
That night as neighbors came home from work, the rumors began to fly. Some believed the vendor was part of a drug gang. Others believed he was killed for his speakers. Still others said crazy things like “he shouldn’t have been blaring his music so loud” or “he was just asking for trouble setting up on the sidewalk like that.” Araceli didn’t think that sounded right. He was trying to make money for his family. How was that asking for trouble? He wanted to get ahead. She wanted to get ahead. Was that what happened when you dreamed?
Marion Surles was born in 1957 in Columbus, Mississippi. From a young age she was interested in learning Spanish, due to a special offering of Spanish at her elementary school. She received a BA and MA in Spanish and social work from Mississippi State University and teaches Spanish and English as a Second Language to all levels of students. She also serves as a volunteer missionary at home and in many Spanish-speaking countries. Most recently, she has formed a mission in Juarez, Mexico called Love and Literacy, which encourages reading and staying in school. Every two months, Marion travels to Juarez to bring books and literacy activities to a poor neighborhood, partnering with a local family to serve as the library. Her books are a fictional account of the lives of her students. Her Facebook page, Love and Literacy, gives updates of her work in Juarez.
Marion lives in Dublin, Texas with her husband, horses, and dogs. She enjoys
trail riding, kayaking, and camping, plus visiting with her daughters and
granddaughter nearby.
Juarez (choice of English or Spanish), Day of the Dead shopping bag & plate, Mexican coin purse, Mexican candy.
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