To Mend Heartache

From Here to the Sky

For over ten years, I have gone to Mexico each summer to visit my parents. This was the summer before college. Steven and I got into the same school, we were both really happy about this. We've been together six months now and we agreed it was time he met my parents, so this summer he accompanied me to visit them.

A day after coming to El Refugio Zacatecas, my Dad came into my room, awake and full of energy. "Hey Diana, I was wondering if you wanted to spend the day with me today?" He asked.

"Is there a particular reason why?" I ask curiously.

"I've just missed you is all. I got home pretty late last night from the store and didn't get a chance to welcome you and Steven. By the way I still need to meet him." My parents own a small convenience store in town and usually take turns closing it up, it was my Dad's turn last night.

"Sure thing, maybe we could all have dinner tonight." I suggest.

He agrees and gives me twenty minutes to get ready. We're probably going to spend the day in the festival on Main Street. Every summer there's a huge festival in town that lasts about a week. There's rides, games, food stands, rodeo's, and even concerts. It's the liveliest part of the year in this small, quiet town.

I finish getting ready and go outside where my Dad is waiting for me. He gets this really goofy smile on his face and wraps his arm around my shoulders. I trip constantly because of all the rocks along the way but my Dad still has his arm around my shoulders so I don't worry about falling.

When we get there he leads me to one of my favorite games. It's one where you have to pop balloons with darts, pop three balloons and win a big prize and pop two balloons to win a smaller prize. My Dad pays for the darts and shoots them all quickly. He pops two balloons and misses the third one by about a centimeter. He tells me to choose a prize. The smaller prizes consist of piggy banks shaped like dogs, cats, and even the Virgen de Guadalupe. I decide to get the Virgen de Guadalupe, it's really small but I love it because my Dad won it for me.

We go on to the next game, I don't actually know the name of it but everyone calls it the chucky game. It's a game where you shoot at these little toy soldiers and if you hit one there's a chucky doll that pees. It isn't real but it's funnier if people believe it is. There's also a creepy, evil laugh that comes from chucky when people hit their target.

My Dad pays for three tries on the gun and aims it at the target. He hits a soldier and we both step back to see chucky pee while his head moves back and forth from laughing. People gather around because it's not often someone hits the target on their first try. When chucky stops moving my Dad aims the gun once more and hits the target again. More people gather around because no one has ever made chucky pee two times in a row. This time when it stops I hold my breath and I could tell other people are doing the same. For the last time, my Dad aims the gun, concentrates on the target, and shoots, making chucky pee for the third time in a row. Everyone is now cheering and congratulating him and I don't know if I should feel safe or worried that he's so good with a gun.

"When did you learn how to shoot like that?" I ask seriously.

He just smiles all goofy again and says, "Wouldn't you like to know."

"You're seriously not going to tell me?" I persist.

"I'm seriously not. Come on, let's go on to the next game."

I want to keep asking him about it but he is a very stubborn guy, if he doesn't want to tell me nothing I say will change his mind. I'm worried about him, I've only known dangerous people to be good with guns around here. There are rumors of a gang that call themselves los zetas. No one knows who is in it unless you are part of the gang. I have a really bad feeling that my Dad is somehow involved and if he is, that would explain why he can't say anything about it.

"What's wrong Diana?" My Dad looks back, noticing I'm not following him.

"I'm just worried about you, please be careful." I plead.

"I always am kid. How much do you love me?" He asks.

I ponder this for a while and answer, "Te amo desde aquí hasta el cielo." 

"De verdad? Tan poquito? Porque yo te amo desde aquí hasta el cielo un millon de veses." I smile when he says this. I know he can take care of himself, but I have a feeling that something bad will happen and not even he can make it go away.