Nilda by Nicholasa Mohr

Author:Nicholasa Mohr
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Arte Público Press
Published: 2011-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

July 1942

From Grand Central Station, like the first time, along with many other children, Nilda went off to camp again. It was an all-girls camp, nonsectarian, taking children from all areas of the Eastern states. Her mother told her that it would be different this time. Reassuring her, she had said, “Look, Nilda, I had to pay something for the camp. It’s not a free camp like the last time. I had to buy two pink jumpsuits for uniforms; everybody wears the same thing there. Everybody is the same. You see? Nobody is going to hit you, Nilda. There is not gonna be no nuns and none of that. I promise. Okay?”

She was going for a whole month. That’s like forever, she thought, feeling miserable. As the train sped out of New York City, leaving the Barrio and the tall buildings behind, Nilda became frightened, not knowing what was going to happen to her. Looking around her in the train car, she noticed that there were no dark children. Except for a couple of olive-skinned, dark-haired girls, she did not see any Puerto Rican or black children. She wondered if the two girls were Spanish.

Nilda thought about last summer and the nuns, and felt a sense of relief as she looked at one of the women counselors who was dressed in a light pink cotton suit. The woman caught Nilda’s glance and smiled at her. Nilda quickly looked away, hoping that the woman would not ask her any questions. She did not want to speak to anyone. She began to think of home and her family, making an effort to keep from crying.

She knew her brothers had gone to camp. Paul was big enough to work at his camp and make some money. Lucky thing! she thought. She remembered Victor was not going to be at home anymore. Determined, despite his mother’s protests, he had joined the Army right after graduation. He had been gone two weeks already. She just couldn’t imagine not having Victor at home anymore. She had been very proud that her brother was going to be a soldier and had told Miss Langhorn all about it at school. “He is a good American,” Miss Langhorn had said. “You and your family should be proud.”

She remembered Victor’s graduation party. Her mother had managed a small dinner for the family, and a cake. Aunt Rosario had come down from the Bronx with her husband, Willie, and her two children, Roberto and Claudia. Her mother and Aunt Rosario had been brought up together in Puerto Rico; they were first cousins. She was her mother’s only relative in this country. Nilda saw Aunt Rosario and her cousins during holidays every year and on special occasions. She would travel with her family to the Bronx or Aunt Rosario would come to the Barrio to visit with them. Nilda didn’t much like Roberto, but she enjoyed playing with Claudia.

Nilda smiled, thinking about all her family and Baby Jimmy. She remembered it had been a long time since she had seen him.

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