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The Bike Ride
Ana Catalina Treviño
Regina Murillo
The Bike Ride
She remembers on sunny days her dad would take her to ride her pink bike through the friendly neighborhood, she would quietly look along at all the nice houses, there would always be kids laughing and playing on their porches. She always knew this was far from her reality, but it was always nice to breathe in the moment and feel as part as the neighborhood as long as the bike ride lasted.
She feels a kick in her belly as she grunts and stands up from the dirty blankets from her bunk bed. The rusty springs screech as they bounce back up in place. It is just a few minutes past midday and the other 75 inhabitants in the room are fast asleep. She looks outside the window and through the streets searching for the neighborhood. This morning the lodging house’s landlord gave her three more nights without payment, he does this because he knows it is only a matter of time for the baby to arrive, but this is all he can give her now.
She pats her belly softly and imagines how happy her dad would be to meet his grandson. But she shakes off the thought quickly. She can’t deal with the situation, she just wishes to have a happy life with her son, maybe someday in one of the houses on that nice street she once roamed around. But right now that’s impossible, she doesn't have enough resources for even keeping the baby, and she begins to weep silently.
Just as promised, three nights have gone by and in the early morning the landlord gives her the sign to leave, without looking her to the eyes, he doesn’t want to, but without pay, she has left him with no choice. He wishes her good luck as he closes the door behind her. She wraps her newborn closely to her chest, the baby was born just two nights before.
She walks for hours under the heat of the sun nonstop until she reaches her destination. She is now standing at the beginning of that beautiful neighborhood. She is reminded of her pink bike by all the kids in their own riding around. She keeps on walking to a house that seems nice and cozy, she stands at the front porch while hugging her newborn child. She kisses the baby on the forehead as a sign of love and goodbye and while taking a big breath leaves her baby on the porch, hoping he can have the life she never got.
