ni mi madre

BETE:
Arturo…
When you were a little boy, we’d play this game. Everyday you’d ask me:
“Mami, ​ where were you born?. Mami, how did you get here? Mami, who’s your mami?”    
And I’d tell you, “I was born by the beach, I came on an airplane, and my mami is far far away.”
And you’d say,”Can we go visit her? Can we?” 

                

ARTURO LUÍS SORIABETA

And I’d look at you… a million little questions…and I’d say ….papito, it’s only a story

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​I didn’t want to go back. I wasn’t ready to face my past, nor my pain, ni mi madre.
Later, when my mother died, my first thought was: can you FEDEX a dead body?
My second thought was: how many other immigrants have had to return home to bury their mothers? And, how many can’t?   ​