Remember Me by Mario Escobar

Author:Mario Escobar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2020-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

The President’s Visit

Morelia

June 15, 1938

I was allowed to return to the boys’ building after two days in solitary confinement. Along with two other classmates, Manuel had been sent to Mexico City, and I never saw him again. My sisters were worried sick when they didn’t see me for two days. No one had told them I’d been punished for trying to stop the director from beating my friend. Afterward I tried to carry on with as normal a life as possible, knowing I had to endure school for my parents’ sake. Soon it would all be over, and we’d go back to being a family.

Summer was near, along with the anniversary of our arrival to Mexico. We heard that President Cárdenas, whom we hadn’t heard from in a long time, planned to visit, but we didn’t know if he was alarmed by reports from the school or if he was just coming to commemorate the anniversary. One way or another, we all hoped that if he could see the deplorable state of things, he would help us.

The school’s employees and students spent the first part of June working to dress up the foul buildings. We painted, fixed windows and doors, repaired chairs, and cleaned everything in sight. Reyes Pérez wanted everything to be perfect for the president’s visit. Even the streets of Morelia were decorated for the momentous event.

The day before the president arrived, I got to spend some time with my sisters. We had hardly spoken at meals lately. Together, we read one of my mother’s latest letters. With every correspondence, she grew sadder and more depressed because of the advance of the Francoists, the likely Republican defeat, and our separation, which tormented her to the point of no longer wanting to live.

“We have to get out of here,” I said emphatically. It wasn’t the first time we’d talked about it, but on this occasion I was more determined than ever. If the war was lost, what did it matter if we went back or stayed in a school thousands of miles from home?

“But Mom doesn’t want us to come back,” Isabel said. She knew perfectly well that Mom was worried about us but also that it was much worse in Spain.

“But at least we’d be together,” I said.

Ana was unsure. On the one hand, she desperately wanted to go back. On the other hand, she was terrified of the war. We could still recall the bombs, the fires, and the maddening hunger.

Isabel cast her gaze downward. “The fascists are capable of giving us up for adoption,” she said.

“You know as well as I do they’re already doing that here with the older girls—sending them off to convents and whatnot. Do you two want to become nuns?” I was annoyed. I hated it when they contradicted me. I knew they were right, but I couldn’t stand Morelia any longer.

“We have to stay, Marco. Let’s stop talking about it,” Isabel said in a huff.

The next day we would welcome the president.

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