The Tale Of The Orphan Child

Some years ago, I lived one incident
That when remembered its only lament
For me, my family and memory,
That is just enough to tell my story

I lived with both my brothers and sister:
Andrés, José, and Sam, which I prefer
To call Ms. Eagle because she can see
And distinguish any inconsistency
Present in any place, at any time…
But now, I shall, continue with my rhyme.

One September night we went to the city
To watch The Road, that seemed a bit gritty.
My dad was still “at work”, well, that’s what he said,
So we went to the movie with my mom instead.

During the movie, Sam just kept staring
At a couple that was kissing and moving
In the front row, but only Sam noticed.
The movie was charming, I almost cried
When the man dies and leaves his son alone,
To find in this road, the good ones on his own.

The movie ended, and Sam kept looking
At this couple that kept kissing while going
Out of the theatres into the night’s cold.
She looked at the man, he was tall and old,
And someone she knew: it was her father
Getting into a Cab with his lover.

My mother also recognized my dad,
And she told us, instantly that we had
To follow dad, to see where that car
Was heading him and his lover so far
Outside the city, into the profound
Solitude of the suburbs empty ground.
In the highway, the Cab gathered speed
Up to scary limits, and nothing would impede
My mother from imitating the action
And speed up to the intersection
Of both lanes. Instantly in that moment
A car appeared, causing an accident.

I remember seeing a pair of weak
Lights coming towards us, hitting the peak
Of our car and my memory leaving
Until the moment I was standing
In the asphalt of the lonely highway
Looking at the still bodies, to my dismay.

Apparently, the crash had been between
The Cab, our car, and the other one I’d seen.
I looked around, spotting dad’s lover,
My mother, Andrés, José, my sister,
The Cab driver, and the man that was in
the other car. I grabbed my phone within,
and called the police, asking for vital aid,
“Hello? My name is Alex and I’m afraid
I need urgent help!” The voice on the line
Responded “Yes, sir, we will assign
A patrol to your place. What’s your location?”
Straight ahead, a sign read I-5 Intersection,
So I told the lady the place I stood
And thought about anything I could
Do to contain my mother’s grave bleeding,
And my brothers’ and sister’s constant weeping.

About two hours later, an ambulance
Arrived, and I focused at the quiet glance
Of the still bodies as the men carried
Them, one by one, as a few of them died
Little by little, in the arms of these
Doctors, hearing the voice of the night’s breeze.

I didn’t know how to feel, or what to feel
Waiting for the doctors to reveal
The fate of my mother, and wicked father.
My two brothers and sister, had rather
Survived the accident, and they sat
Besides me, in silence, waiting for that
Door to open with nothing but good news.
We waited, as I thought who to accuse
For this accident: my father, for depraved,
Or my mother for following the paved
Way behind the Cab he took, with his lover
To the outskirts of the city and uncover
The truth about him and the dissolution
Of our family, with no chance of resolution.

The doors of the room opened gradually
As my anxiety increased hastily.
A tall doctor appeared in my sight,
And he approached as I felt the night
Grow colder and colder as he grew closer.
I knew that his words would be either
Great or horrible. He asked for my name
And told me everything while my life became
The main factor of this story I’m telling,
While I sit here remembering and smelling
The loneliness of the road as I sat there,
Alone, accompanied by the dead air
Of the bodies of my mother and father,
Who died as their love died with each other.

And that’s my tale, which I bear in mind
So deep in myself as I try to confine
That loneliness I felt in the road,
Like the son, alone, with only one load
Left in the pistol, as his father died.
This movie marked the day that would divide
My life into two halves: the half with my
Family, and the half until I’d die.