A/N: Italics mean it's in Spanish.
Camila rode in the back of dusty and beat up jeep with her mother.
She was seven years old, she was wearing her faded Barbie t-shirt and a pastel jacket over. Her mom wore her faded denim jacket and had a canvas bag on her shoulder carrying all the clothes and necessities they might need for their trip. Around them in the back of the jeep was a spare tire and a rubber boot.
Camila was scared. She was leaving their home in Mexico even if it was a place she only became familiar to recently. It was a cold night, the sky the color of dark blue, the stars barely shining. Camila felt hot sweat trickle down her neck and that made her shirt stick to her back.
She was breathing heavy, she was tired because they had just ran from one block to another to get to the jeep. Sinu looked scared as well, and Camila could see it. Her mom turned to her and smiled a warm smile, and instantly felt better. Her mama pulled her in a hug as she was leaning on side of the truck.
"Mami, I'm scared," she said, the sound of her tiny voice in the cold night scaring her.
"Don't worry, you're with me, mija." Sinu's voice was steady, though her eyes contained all the fear and apprehension.
The road they were taking was bumpy and each bump made Camila jump, but Sinu just held on to her tightly. The man driving them was a distant relative of her papa who agreed to help them cross to the United States.
Camila thought of the home she left in Cuba, and the home she was leaving now in Mexico. She thought of her papa.
"Mama, why are we leaving papa?" she thought of the last time her papa had his arms around her, keeping a calm composure as he said goodbye for the last time.
Sinu looked at her gently, smiling despite her eyes saying otherwise. "We have to. We're doing this for our family."
"But why, I don't understand-"
"Mila," Sinu's voice dropped and she put her thumb under her daughter's chin so that they were eye-to-eye, "maybe you will understand when the time comes but this is for the family. Four our family. Sometimes sacrifices must be made for the people you love."
Camila didn't understand. But what she got was that love meant sacrifices. Sacrifices that meant you had to leave your home and go to a different country just with the clothes on your back to get a better life; that you had to leave everything familiar and start anew at an entirely different place.
Camila trusted her mother. She was doing all of this because of one thing she believed in: love.
/
Camila found herself waking up in the middle of the night.
Wearing her pajamas and her fluffy socks, she crept out of bed and went to the kitchen of their small Miami apartment. Her mother was sitting at the table, her head on her hands.
Camila went up to her and Sinu looked up in surprise. Camila could see she was tired as she had dark circles under her eyes, visible against her pale skin.
"Mami why are you still awake?" she softly asked. She had been practicing on her English, which she was learning thanks to TV.
Sinu forced a smile. "I'm just thinking of a lot of things, mija. And I'm waiting for Ale."
Camila nodded. Ever since her papa had told them that he was going to America finally after being left behind in Mexico, it made her anxious. Her mama would always stay up late, waiting for the time her papa would eventually come.
Camila took the seat next to her mama and leaned on her. Sinu wrapped an arm around Camila's small frame.
"Is papi coming home tonight?" she asked, trying to remember her papa who she hasn't seen in a long time.
"We can only pray, mija." She said, rubbing her arm gently in reassurance.
Camila didn't realize it, but she fell asleep in her mother's arms in their dimly lit kitchen. She was waken up when her mother gently shook her awake. Camila opened her eyes to see her mother leaving by her side and going to their front door after some rapid knocks.
She rubbed her eyes to see her mother standing on tiptoes to check the peephole. She heard rushed breaths and she watched as the door opened and Sinu buried herself in the arms of the man in the other side of the door.
Camila stood up and walked to get a better view.
When Sinu separated from the hug she could see it was her papa. He looked a bit different from what Camila remembered in her memory, more worn out and tired, but it was still him.
"Papi," she felt tears well up at her eyes. The man went in their apartment and in a few quick strides, he knelt beside her and pulled her in a warm hug.
"Mila, I missed you so much," he said in Spanish, his voice just as warm and deep as Camila remembered. Camila couldn't stop crying, burying her face in her father's neck.
"I missed you, papi." Camila sobbed. Her father rubbed her back gently.
"I'm here now that's what matters. I'm so happy to see you and your mama." He said. Sinu joined them and enveloped the two of them in a hug. Camila never felt more at home then, in America, a land foreign to her, but with both of her parents who were her rock and support.
Camila thought of all the sacrifices her mother and father made for their family. Leaving Cuba, leaving Mexico, and going to America with practically nothing. Her mother working two jobs and at the same time learning English just for them. She didn't understand then what they meant and why they always had it hard but in that moment in the presence of both of her parents, she realized her mother was right.
Love required sacrifices and if all of their sacrifices meant they could start anew in America together, she realized it was worth it.
