So the oddly reunited couple arrived in the sacred Cloud City, finding unimaginable comfort there in the cool, thick air surrounding both of them. Something felt completely right about this moment to J'aime, as if he had been here before and was returning from a long trip far away. Lucia knew taking him here would help. This is where she first saw him. Sebastián.
No, his name wasn't J'aime Merde, of course, but it wasn't James either. James Meredith was the one who had first noticed Sebastián. James had lived a few houses down from Sebastian and his mother in a seedy neighborhood. If anyone made it out, they never came back. Sebastián's mother, Yesenia was one that didn't make it out.
She had come to that awful place from Nicaragua in 1972 when the earthquake had hit. When it did she had taken shelter in a camp away from Managua, where she had originally lived. There is where she met Nicolas, a charming man with skin the color of coffee and cream and an irresistible air of confidence given the circumstances. He told her of the opportunities in the U.S. and how he could give her a place to stay, food to eat, and a steady income. There was nothing else available to her at the time. She hadn't seen or heard from any of her family, her house was obliterated and no one had a need for the cakes that her family's business once offered. She pictured herself in this new place with her friends all around, having a family again, opening a small bakery with her best friend Maira, and enjoying life in this new found safety.
She was 15 at the time and had just had her quinceañera the week before it all happened. Maira had lent her the most beautiful white gown embroidered with sequins and fabric flowers. She had finally felt like she was an adult and life was going in the right direction.
Getting thrown around in the overwhelming darkness of the back of a truck, breathing the stench of rotting fruit and knowing none of the other girls she had boarded the vehicle with was terrifying. But she knew it would all be worth it. Nicolas had promised her that Maira would be coming up soon to see her and they could live together to start a new life. She had been in the back of the truck for what seemed like 4 or 5 hours so far. This was all so exhausting. She shut her eyes and went to a better place in her mind.
She dreamt of a city in the sky.
No, his name wasn't J'aime Merde, of course, but it wasn't James either. James Meredith was the one who had first noticed Sebastián. James had lived a few houses down from Sebastian and his mother in a seedy neighborhood. If anyone made it out, they never came back. Sebastián's mother, Yesenia was one that didn't make it out.
She had come to that awful place from Nicaragua in 1972 when the earthquake had hit. When it did she had taken shelter in a camp away from Managua, where she had originally lived. There is where she met Nicolas, a charming man with skin the color of coffee and cream and an irresistible air of confidence given the circumstances. He told her of the opportunities in the U.S. and how he could give her a place to stay, food to eat, and a steady income. There was nothing else available to her at the time. She hadn't seen or heard from any of her family, her house was obliterated and no one had a need for the cakes that her family's business once offered. She pictured herself in this new place with her friends all around, having a family again, opening a small bakery with her best friend Maira, and enjoying life in this new found safety.
She was 15 at the time and had just had her quinceañera the week before it all happened. Maira had lent her the most beautiful white gown embroidered with sequins and fabric flowers. She had finally felt like she was an adult and life was going in the right direction.
Getting thrown around in the overwhelming darkness of the back of a truck, breathing the stench of rotting fruit and knowing none of the other girls she had boarded the vehicle with was terrifying. But she knew it would all be worth it. Nicolas had promised her that Maira would be coming up soon to see her and they could live together to start a new life. She had been in the back of the truck for what seemed like 4 or 5 hours so far. This was all so exhausting. She shut her eyes and went to a better place in her mind.
She dreamt of a city in the sky.
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