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Crossing the Desert
Folder:
Vignettes
Three figures travel on foot through the pitch black of a moonless night. One woman squats while the other woman holds her. She is giving birth. The man waits impatiently looking out into the darkness for any sign of the border police that might be following them.
"Andale!" the man says - Hurry!
Finally the baby comes out, cold and lifeless. The sister takes off her shawl, wraps it around the dead infant and hands it to the mother. She thinks to herself that it is for the best. Her brother-in-law would never accept a child borne of rape. That fact did not diminish the mother's grief for this tiny being that she had made out of her own flesh and blood. The mother sobs softly clutching the bundle to her heart.
"Deje caer! Debemos ir!" the man urges - Drop it! We must go!
"No No puedo dejarlo aqui!" the mother cries - No I cannot just leave it here!
"Déjalo y ven o quédate con él y muere también" the man presses angrily - Leave it and come or stay with it and die also.
The mother prays, her sister puts an arm protectively around her shoulder, "Por favor Jose, darle un minuto" - Please Jose give her a minute.
The mother takes a crucifix from around her neck and gently places it over the dead baby's tiny head, "Lo siento mucho. Te amo." - I am very sorry. I love you.
She kisses its forehead and lays the bundle on the open ground.
"Vamos!" - Let's go! The man cares nothing about his wife's ignorant sister who got herself pregnant by a man not her husband. He thinks only of getting across the desert alive.
