H: Chapter &;#063;:The Yanez Family Heads North

Chapter: The Yanez family heads north

Had screaming, shouting, and the breaking of glass been unusual in the
town of Tlecua, attention might have focused on the Yanez household.
Formerly known as the Sanchez residence, before the arrival of the
Yanez family and that bitch, Senora Yanez, the house had become a
forced oasis, its walled painted and its paths planted with flowers.
"They grow uppity," said the town's two or three elders, secretly
wishing they flowers to walk among in front of their own homes.

The shouting in the Yanez household came mostly from Senora Yanez, with
a noticeable harmony from Female, whose scar throbbed so much she felt
it would burst. The Yanez sons stayed in the background, though to his
credit, Alberto joined in when Senor Yanez raised a rolling pin to his
wife's head.

"We are going," Senor Yanez said through clenched teeth. "We are going
and you will be happy about it. If you are not, I will shove this
rolling pin down your throat. So help me God, we are going."

Female raced from her seat on the couch and placed herself between her
mother and father. Senora Yanez lay cowering on the flower, Senor
Yanez's arm raised and the rolling pin waving in the air. "We will go,
we will go!" she said. The sight of his daughter and her sad face
caused Senor Yanez to lower his arm.

"Good," he said reluctantly. "I thought so."

And so the preparations begin. Into long duffel bags went their
clothing, and clothbound parcels of food. The boys threw in their toys,
which had progressed from plastic to wood slingshots and Black Cats
wrapped in wax paper. Female placed dolls into the bags, one for each
year, made by her grandmother. Each doll had shocking yellow yarn for
hair, and embroidered blue eyes. Female had never liked the dolls, and
would have left them behind had her grandmother not handed them to her
one by one, to be placed in order in Female's own duffel bag. The dolls
lay sardine-like in the bag, their dead eyes staring out, waiting to be
hidden by clothes. When the old woman turned to grab yet another doll,
Female took the last and threw it under the couch, where it would
gather dust and become the host of countless families of fleas.

"Oh, God! God!" Senora Yanez beseeched, because there was no other word
for it. She seemingly took no part in packing the belongings of her
house, but when Senor Yanez's back was turned, she threw in several of
her favorite blouses and cooking utensils. Her mother, she figured,
could make due with what was left.

On a clear day, the Yanez family loaded into a brown van. The boys sat
so close that the hair on their legs seemed charged with electricity.
Female sat on the duffel bags, her legs held down by three pairs of
pants and six pairs of socks. She was so hot that her irritability
shown upon her face; not even her brothers teased her.

The van drove over bumpy roads and the heat for several hours, until
the sun dipped red and thin on the horizon. Female's legs grew cramped
and her brothers complained of the heat. Alberto took off his shoes and
socks. He soaked one sock in water from a milk jug, and squeezed it on
Female's head. Female stifled her giggles.

"Do not waste the water!" Senor Yanez cried, as the water ran down
Female's face. "Stupid boy! We need that water!"

Alberto squeezed until his sock was dry, going so far as to tickle
Female as he did so. Female tried to keep from laughing, as did
Alberto. Both knew why they shouldn't laugh, but the pressure in their
ribs grew until they both brayed like burros and Senor Yanez's hand
shot out and slapped them both across the face. Even then, Female
laughed, and Alberto admired her bravery.

Before she was slapped again, Female felt the van stop. Her brothers
hopped out of the van in a hurry, as did her parents. Female stayed for
a moment, until her family's hands begin pulling on the duffel bags and
she jumped down as well.

"Take a deep breath," Senor Yanez said. He laughed as the Yanez family
headed towards the river. The river was silent except for the trickle
found at all such locations. "Jump in!" Senor Yanez yelled, his hands
in the air as he spun around. "Jump in, jump in, jump in!"

Female watched her father spin, but she was more interested in her
mother. Senora Yanez sat on the river's edge, her arms around her
knees. Female turned her head so her right eye could take in her
mother. Senora Yanez was sad, and Female knew it, but she approached
her mother anyway.

"Mama?" she said.

"Mama?"

Senora Yanez turned towards Female and opened her arms. Female went to
her mother, and found herself picked up and carried towards the river.
"Jump in!" her father shouted, and Senora Yanez did.

Female remembered security, then the filmy coldness of falling in water
while still dressed. She heard a shout, and went under. Her scar
throbbed in the cold water as she watched the swirl of white eddies
next to her mother's dress.

Female was a mediocre swimmer. Alberto had taught her the basics,
enough so that water did not scare her. She knew how to dog paddle,
moving her hands furiously while her legs kicked behind her. But the
basics abandoned her as she felt her mother's grip lessen, and then let
go altogether. Female drifted in the water, her face broaching the
water just enough to breathe. When the water swirled over her face,
Female let go. Her arms and legs stopped kicking, and she slept.