The Imposter

Chapter One

Life is always something that we value. Sometimes we get the perfect life that we always dreamt of, but sometimes we get stuck with a life that no one wants.  But what happens when someone takes that perfect life that you always dream of? That’s what happened to me, well sort of. I didn’t have the perfect life, but I took someone else's life. I became an imposter and not only did I ruin my life, but also the life of those who I loved. Before I tell you more about how I became an imposter I need to tell you a little bit about myself. 

My name is Erick Torres-Chong. Yes, I’m Mexican and Korean. My dad was born in Yucatan, México and my mom in Seoul, South Korea. You might be wondering how in the world my parents met (or maybe not). I’ll tell you. My mom, Lucy Chong, was on a work mission (you see she’s a traveling nurse)  in México, there she met Oscar Torres. It was love at first sight. They spent days talking on the beach, but when it was time for my mom to go back she couldn’t without her beloved Oscar. The two fell in love even more as the days past and one day Oscar had the nerve to ask Lucy to marry him. It was a very intimate wedding. So intimate that only they attended it. That day they went to Playa Las Tortugas for their honeymoon. About a month later they found out that I would soon be in their life. 

    My parents were so excited that they would be parents. It was too bad that they didn’t have anyone to give them any advice as to what they should have expected. Eight months later, I came home with them. My parents loved taking care of me and wished that there were many more of me to come. Five years later my baby sister, Valeria, came along. She was our world and still is to this day. Valeria became the princess of the house, anything she wanted she would get. I never cared that she took so much attention from me. I always wanted a younger sibling and I got one. I would always watch over her and love her until I couldn’t anymore. 

    Everything was going so well. I had a family that I loved and we lived in a house that we all loved. But one day, my father and mother were both relocated from México to the US. You see my mom was a nurse and my dad worked as a social media consultant for a very famous company. We packed our bags and left for Seattle, Washington. At first, it was difficult, we knew some English since my mom was a traveling nurse, but we missed being home. It wasn’t the same and it never would be. 

    Okay, so now you may be wondering, Erick why are you telling us about this stupid love story? What does that have to do with you becoming an imposter? Well, that’s a long story so I guess I should start from the beginning. 

It was  Monday morning. The weather at this time was cold, but bearable. It was  September. That morning,  my parents informed Valeria and I that they had to go on a trip. My mom would be traveling to the Philippines to help give  children vaccines. My father was going  to New York to help the new social media consultant set up the new headquarters. It was devastating, once again they were leaving us alone. I hated that they left so much, we never really got to see them even when they were home. 

 When my parents left our next door neighbors Abel and Lailah were in charge. I hated it. They were nice, but they weren’t our parents. Valeria and I wanted them to be more aware of us. They never attended Valeria’s dance recitals or my soccer games. Work always came first. 

Saturday morning came along, we took mom to the airport. It was sad saying goodbye to her. I gave her a tight hug and she said to me “Remember, when we are gone, you must look after your sister.  She looks up to you and you have to protect her from anything that is out there. Do you understand?” I nodded my head. “ I understand mom, but promise me that you will come back soon.” She looked at me with the sweetness that she always had in her eyes. By the way that she was looking at me I could tell that it meant that she promised she would come home soon. 

In the afternoon, we took dad to catch his fight. We gave him a tight hug and said our goodbyes. For my sister it  was difficult to understand why my parents were leaving. Yes, she was thirteen, but for her it was as if she were still a little girl. That night after coming home from the airport, Lailah took us to her home and prepared us a nice dinner. We loved her spaghetti and meatballs. Afterwards they took us home. There, they made sure that my sister went to sleep. Before they left, Abel came to check in on me. I had a bad feeling that something was going to happen. I had checked my phone multiple times since we had gotten home.“You know, you should probably get some sleep. It’s getting late and your parents would want you in bed” he said as he took my phone. “I know, but I have a bad feeling as if something was going to happen” I told him and he looked at me as if I were going to tell him a grand story. “It might be that your mom calls you and tells you to go to sleep!” Abel said laughing. I laughed, but it wasn’t my usual laugh. It was a laugh to hide what I was really feeling. I took Abel’s advice and went to sleep. I knew something would happen, but I never imagined it would be what happened next.