The Yellow Umbrella
My sister stirred next to me. At the moment I didn't know it was her.
"Tati..?"She whispered, pulling on my dirty sand colored hair as if it was a string. Just like she had done, I stirred to let her know I didn't want to be bothered. She got the message and stopped.
Once again, the bugs and howling of some monkeys in the bamboo forest across the small river began; My lullaby is what I called it.
"Donde esta?"Grandpa questioned."Where is she?" Some wind signaled he had passed in a hurry by my mat. With all the ruckus, who could sleep? Peeking an eye open just in case I felt sleep again, I opened my mouth in a silent yawn.
"Quien? Who?"
"Valeria. Where is she?"
My little shoulders shrugged and my elephant of a head punched the pocahontas pillow once again. We were asleep in the tiled corridor on the outside of the house just in front of the small garden; I would've though someone would have seen Valeria leave onto her adventures. In contrast to how she is now, Valeria was usually the obiedient one and never strayed off for anything or anyone so she couldn't have gone too far as far as I was concerned. With all my grandpa's alert calls to my mom, daddy, and younger cousin Juan David, I wasn't surprised the geese and chickens and pigs began to make their noises.
Who could sleep with all the ruckus?
With all my tiny strenght, I pushed myself up with my forearm and then made it up to my real height. As if my hands were noodles and my eyes were carrying rocks, I drowsily entered the kitchen and exited the undoored hole to the backyard which was really the play pen for the geese. For protection against Lucas, one of the geese, I brandished a stick at him while I passed by. His eyes narrowed and he followed my every move but never dared take a step at me. I liked geese, I really did but Lucas was different. He'd jump at you, wings out and honking like a mad man if you turned his back to him and he had no mercy. I was usually safe from him because Juan David was always being chased but since Juan David was too busy searching for my sister he wasn't here to protect me this time. For safety measures, I chucked the stick at Lucas and ran off with a satisfied smile of revenge when it hit his stupid ugly mean face. I had made a giant circle to the other side of the house where the pigs were kept and walked along side the river.
"Valeria?"I called, making it to the bamboo bridge. It wasn't fancy or anything. If anything, it was a death trap. Later on I found out one of the dogs my grandpa had died because his foot got stuck between the sticks and he had fallen into the river. "Valeria?!"I called again, turning my body this way and that to see if I could get a better view.
"Estephany! Come here!"My mother yelled in her worried mom kind of voice. I frowned and obeyed, avoiding the mud."Do you know what she had on?"
I shook my head."Asleep. I was asleep."
Sighing in desperation, she shook her head as well and took off.
What was she wearing?
It had been raining while she had left I remember that much so she must have taken a coat!
At ease, I walked inside to the closet and stood on my tippy toes to open it up. Just as I had thought, she had taken a coat. Her yellow rain coat wasn't next to my clear one and her yellow umbrella wasn't at it's place next to my Barney one either. Of course, I caught up with my mother and told her so she went and spread the word. She was really good at gossip, I would know. Once, she complained to me about her friends and how big of jerks they were. I nodded and agreed, not really knowing what to say. Nodding and agreeing usually gets you out of trouble faster than talking.
So now we were searching for the girl with the yellow umbrella. My grandma and mom had ran down the road to the town while Grandpa and I stayed behind looking. I had looked everywhere! I even went around the house twice and so I stopped with a hard breathe once again by the bridge.
The bamboo forest across the bridge was yellow so I didn't notice it at first.
"Bananas."I said, letting my eyes cruise upward. My grandpa caught up to me, resting a hand on his shoulders. His blue eyes were shiny and he had shine lines running down his cheeks.
"Porque lloras? Why do you cry?"I asked quietly, defending my shoe from ants.
He looked up, sighing and his mouth hung open. I expected soft, soothing words from the way his mouth and face were set but instead, he screamed out in a way of excitement like the one men give out when they're watching football and they're favorite team's losing streak was finally over.
"Valeria! Valeria!"
Sure enough, there was Valeria hidden by her big yellow umbrella. When she turned around, she looked like a turtle with that thing hung over her shoulder. She too had shine marks running down her cheeks as she cautiously crossed the bridge.
"Where did you go?"I asked later that day when we were back on our mats in the corridor.
Valeria shrugged."I wanted to see the other side."
"How was it?"
"Yellow. It was yellow like the bananas and it was very stinky 'cuse of the pigs. Also, wet."
I grinned, covering her up as I played mommy."Is that why you were crying?"
"No. I don't know why I cried when I saw you and grandpa. I didn't feel sad. I was happy."
I looked at the ceiling cry rain."Happy the umbrella saved you?"
She wrinkled her nose and suddenly she had a billion tiny wrinkles between her eyes."Umbrella's don't save people. Buenas Noches."
We kissed each other's cheeks and then laid back down to sleep.
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I just wanted to write some short stories of true stories in my life, you know? :)
This one...This one I'll never forget. Ever.
