Preeminent

Prologue

"Thou unrelenting Past! Strong are the barriers round thy dark domain, And fetters, sure and fast, Hold all that enter thy unbreathing reign." -William Cullen Bryant

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As a child, I was unaware of what was going on around me.

All I remember was being pulled up by the hands of my divine mother. Although I had no idea what was happening, I thought that everything would be okay.

Everything was always okay when mommy was around.

I remember her lifting me up and into her arms, walking out of my room to go somewhere. She opens a door and I see the sleeping face of my younger brother. She puts me down only momentarily to take the blanket off of him and carries him in one arm as she scooped me up and carried me in the other. As she rushed down the stairs, I look down to see the steps coming closer each time she walked down one. I started to cry. I think, that was how my fear of heights developed.

I remember my mom shushing me as she struggled to reach down in her pocket for something as she continuously dug around in both pockets. I heard something jingle and automatically figured out that she had been looking for her car keys.

Go figure.

She slightly lifts her hand to open the door knob as she steadies herself to support me.

Once the door was opened, she used her left foot to open it wider, and rushed out the door. Wherever we were headed was obviously too important for her to close and lock the door behind her.

She opened the car door and put my brother and I in the back. Adjusting our seatbelts, she quickly clicked our seatbelts on and slammed the door. She opened the door to the driver's side and jammed her car key in. She closed the door as she turned the key in the ignition.

Once we were on the road, my curiosity had started to edge its way to me.

"Mamá...where are we going?"

I remember my mother looking at the rearview mirror and smiling reassuringly.

"Don't worry, mi bebé. We're almost there."

I smiled back, unaware that that wasn't the answer to my question. But still, I was a child.

"Okay, Mamá."

"Hey, sweetheart? Be a good girl for mamá and try to get some sleep."

"...But mamá, I'm not sleepy."

My mother steered the wheel and made a turn.

"Well, how about this? I challenge you to close your eyes and count to one hundred. If you can do that, I promise to get you a pony."

"Oh, but mamá, I don't want a pony this year. I want a unicorn!"

I see a frown appear on my mother's face.

"Okay, okay. Fine. A unicorn it is. Just do it for me, okay?"

I smile.

"Okay, mamá. I won't let you down!"

I close my eyes.

"Te quiero mucho, mi amor" I hear my mother say.

She sniffled, but I thought nothing of it.

"Te quiero mucho también, mamá."

I close my eyes and start counting to one hundred.