A series shorts by Carmen Robles

When I met Alejandra and her family, at the Sun Country pick up section, I was immediately humbled at their strength and boundless love. 

Alejandra’s story continues:

“As soon as I saw her, this friend, this reluctant volunteer, I felt immediately drawn to her. Her intense energy, the sheer power of her life-force made me feel safe in a way I hadn’t felt in a while.

As I settled my children and myself into this strange woman’s car, my husband took care of our luggage and rode with someone else. I was looking out the window, trying to drink everything in. “I’m not going to give poison to your kids”, she said while holding a lollipop that I had no idea where it had come from, interrupting my musings. “I avoid giving them refined sugars”, I believe I’d answered absently.

My mother passed away a few years ago and we didn’t have the best of relationships before that, so there was a vacancy and the position was up for grabs. She decided to apply for the position that night, right when the Minnesota nice gentleman at the front desk of the hotel told me I couldn’t stay there because I had apparently hallucinated calling the hotel and making a reservation a week prior, and because I didn’t have a “FEMA package”, whatever that meant.

She stood up for me to that gentleman like the mom I didn’t, but I should’ve had. “Well, you’re crabby and rude”, she told him angrily, “denying a room to this woman and her children after they lost everything in a hurricane and just got off a 7-hour flight to come here to rebuild their lives.” As if an invisible wand had been waved, a room was magically available for us.

“I’m a writer”, she told my husband. “My wife’s a writer as well!”, he said excitedly, ever proud of my work. Truth is, I wouldn’t have mentioned it; I hadn’t been feeling much of anything lately. “You should write something for me, anything. Just write from the heart”, she replied.

And I did.  As unfamiliar words formed beneath my fingertips, something within me began to heal. And as her eyes read my broken mind’s musings, wounds she hadn’t realized were raw began to heal as well.

We didn’t know we needed each other, but the universe did, and it conspired to bring us together, so we could each give the other what she didn’t know was needed. 

 Because of her I’ve had a mother’s love and support when I’ve needed it most in these hardest of times, and through my family she has found joys she had thought had been forgotten by her “souring heart,” her words.

We both had focused all our energies in the complete healing of our Selves, and the Universe brought us together, so wondrous things could happen.”

Wonderous things indeed, welcome to Minnesota!


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