When the Stars Align (Anthony Rizzo)

1| Hard Ball

Kelsey

When I was a kid I had this dream. I would sit on top of my roof and I would look up to the sky for hours letting my mind drift off to another world, somewhere out there. Every single night that I could see the stars I would be up on that roof, off somewhere else in the universe, and I would be dreaming. And every time the dream was the same. I was a part of the solution in the world, I wasn't so worried about being a problem. I was a part of the answers to the questions we often times ask ourselves when we grow up. I wanted to be there for my friends and for my family, I wanted to make a actual difference in the world, then when I looked to the sky like I did most nights, then maybe this place wouldn't seem so big.

But it doesn't look like that was ever meant to be, I was born into a situation that wouldn't allow me to have this dream I've always wanted to achieve. My dad temporarily moved to America in 1985 on a work visa from Brazil for what was supposed to be one year. He was to help build the city of Chicago and do constructive work for his agency back home to make more money. But he fell in love with a little local woman who worked at the museum in the planetarium and didn't end up ever going back. He stayed here illegally because he decided his love for my mom was bigger than any immigrant law they could pass. He risked everything to be with my mother, and to him it wasn't much of a decision at all. He and my mom ended up having four kids together and built an amazing life here in Chicago. They never officially got married because my father was scared they would catch him or say it was staged before they got married and he would be deported or they would hurt my mom or our family. He didn't want our family to be torn apart because of what society decided what was right and what wasn't. He knew that we have no place to decide who to love and where to love. Luckily for my parents they knew a ring and a marriage license doesn't mean much for two people who are deeply in love. When the love is true it doesn't matter what the government says, it only matters how you feel.

But when my mom died late last year in a awful accident everything kind of fell apart. Our house caught on fire from lightning strike one night and we lost everything in that house, and we lost our mother in it too. She made sure we were all safe but she got trapped inside after she got my youngest sibling up from bed. And to the public this never happened. Us kids are citizens but all our legal documents were burned in the fire and our illegal father couldn't have claimed anything or gotten any money without being found out. So we had to pick up what we could and start all over, nothing but memories and the clothes on our backs to start all over again. And with my dad being here illegally and our birth certificates gone, we were in a sticky situation too. As long as we don't do anything that asks for our documentation we should be fine for the mean time. But it's a dangerous line between safe and sorry, they're deporting more and more people every day. My siblings and I could end up in a detention center somewhere or locked up with the government. Chicago is famous for being a melting pot of cultures and different beliefs. And people know this is where many illegal immigrants reside so they're always on the lookout around here.

But this is our home, we could easily return to Brazil but that's not home to us. Chicago is where our family starts and ends. We don't want to be anywhere else. So we're going to keep fighting, we're going to do everything we can to be under these stars for as long as we can.

"Come on Cici, it's time to go" my younger brother Isaiah yells out from the kitchen. He grabs my hand and pulls me towards the door of the apartment while trying to keep his baseball cap on.

"Alright alright, I'm coming" I laugh. I grab my purse and my baseball cap and head on out of the apartment.

While I was 25 years old, my youngest brother Isaiah was only 14. Then there was my sister Tatiana who was 17 and my last sibling Trevor who was 22. We were all pretty well spread apart, but we were so close you would have never known. We all stick together to protect our dad and each other as we grew up. We never had it easy, but we always had it good. Even though our mother is gone, her heart lives on though us all.

Isaiah and I drive on off to the baseball game my brother had been dying to go to. It was May 4th 2014 and for the first time Chicago was actually pretty warm. He was so insistent to being at the game today and heaven knows why, the Cubs were anything but must see baseball recently. It's not 2008. But he was super excited to be here and see his favorite players play.

Once we get our tickets scanned we find a good Chicago style hot dog and sit in our seats. We were right behind the dugout and I was honestly just excited to feel the sun on my face. I loved working in the museum for educational reasons, but I loved being outdoors even more. Nature always seemed to have my heart and being here was a pretty great way to spend my off day.

"Oh Cici look" he yells as he points to the field. The players come out to do their normal warm up stuff and get ready right in front of us. I knew enough about baseball but I wasn't a huge fan like Isaiah was. And since my dad was working and Trevor was off on a business trip I got to play mom and bring him out.

So we sit and watch the game and it was pretty interesting. Thanks to my dad being from Brazil my skin had a natural tan look to it, but I can feel a little more of a tan work around my Cubs tank top. My long pitch black hair whips around in the wind as it tries to stay contained by my basketball cap. I determined that this was bliss and I never wanted to leave.

But as I start to day dream about the beautiful Wrigley Field sky I check out a little. It was the bottom of the eight and we were winning so a few more outs and we could go home. Anthony Rizzo was battling in the box like he does so well and I try to enjoy the last few minutes of this weather. It's not until I hear a bunch of yelling and I feel a clonk on my head that I realized that sitting behind the dugout and day dreaming really doesn't add up well for me.

I eventually wake up laying on the ground with a bunch of people around me looking at where the ball hit me on my forehead. I could feel the impact spot and it most certainly sly did not feel good. I see my brother with his phone out taking pictures and if my head didn't hurt so bad I would so yell at him.

"Miss, are you okay" someone asks as I blink a few times.

"I think so" I mumble as I start to sit up. I suddenly get light headed again and fall back down before someone catches me.

"Alright, we need to get you to a hospital" a person in a workers shirt says and my eyes get big. Not focused, but big.

"No! I can't go there. I uh... I can't afford it" I try.

"Well you need to be checked out by a doctor. You got hit in the head really hard and something could be seriously wrong" the man insists.

"I'm not going to the hospital" I promise.

"Alright," he sighs. "Then let me take you down to the training room and have the trainers check you out. We won't charge you" the man insists.

"That's fine" I agree.

A few people carefully help me up and my brother comes up in front of me. He was smiling big as he held a ball up in front of my face.

"Look! I got the ball that hit you" he cheers and I send him a playful glare.

"Seriously Isaiah" I laugh.

"I figured that now we can have a souvenir to remember this amazing moment with. You know, in case you got hit so hard it'll take away your memory" he claims and I roll my eyes.

"Great, we all win."