non fiction

Lost in Black Coats

     My mom was the only one who seemed like they had an idea of what they were doing. It was a family trip to Mexico. We were visiting my moms family that I had never really met before, but I was so excited being in such a different place. It smelled, and felt different in every way. It was the smallest, but biggest place ever. Mexico city. Maybe due to how short  I was. But we were all settled in and comfortable. My dad had a different flight so it was just my mom watching over us for the first week. I didn't trust any of her family yet, due to how young I was, and since it was the first time I had ever met them, I was hesitant, but they were family, so I had to end up liking them. I got comfortable quickly though. We had a really big dinner the first night we got there. A big pan of paella. Shrimp, Clams, Spanish Rice, and delicious seasoning all pan fried together into a delicacy. I didn't like anything but the rice but I still enjoyed it a lot. Those were just my young undeveloped taste buds not wanting to be anywhere close to seafood. But I matured to eat three plates as time moved on. Never mind that though. This is about the first fair I had ever been to, and the most memorable moments of the whole trip. 

      My dad had arrived, my mom was happy spending time with her family, as when she arrived, and my sister and my cousins slowly started to dislike each other for some reason. We had a jealousy war for some reason. Something you would laugh about together 10 years later. Well it was just another day, although this time we went to a family member's house. I think it was a cousin of my mom. Seemed kinda random, but they lived down the street from the fair and I hadn't even realized what in the world we were doing, I was just going with the flow. It goes a lot quicker using my memory, but it was at least a couple hours till we actually left. I had time to play outside in the dark playset that rested in the backyard, time to eat, and do whatever my young self found interesting. Randomly my mom calls me.

      “Time to go”, she yells.

      “Ok”, I yell back. Still have no idea where and why we are where we are, we walk out to the street, and I remember it as me leading the pack. At least it felt like that. I was just following a random sand trail with candles, and colored patterns painted on the sand, it was so cool. Looking down the whole time, as I did 90 percent of the time as a kid, I was blindly being led to a fair full of the craziest rides, ones you would see in movies. We slowed down to get tickets so we could enter, and my mom quickly grabbed my hand. We moved way faster than before. Kids run past me on my right, people desperate to enter on my left, and a herd of people behind me. Right as we pass the tall, black, rusty, gate in front of me,  legs rub against my arms, black coats scrape my face and my mom leads me down a stream of coats. She says in a loud voice

      “Go to grandma, she's right there”. She shoves me to the side of the stampede. I look around, my head turns faster each time I don't see my grandma, adrenaline rushes through my body. I turn my head one more time and she's standing right there next to a big bush. The first step I take, I am consumed by coats, I lose full visuals. The coats clear up and she is gone. Just like that she had been swept away by the river of black coats. I panic, no one was with me. I didn't hesitate to go back to the start. That's where it's safe. I flip the switch to lock in and race to the entrance. Bouncing back and forth, hitting against black coats, like a ping pong ball, I start to lose balance. I slip to the side to catch myself and I see an opening, moving like an eel, I made it. Looking around there is still no one I know. I was a lost fish out of water. There was a ledge of cement I sat on. I rest my head on my knees, and hope someone finds me. Will my mom come back to get me? I was a lost fish. “I am lost” I repeat to myself. I hear voices all around me, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I smell food, I feel cold, and I see gray cement with old confetti in between my calves. I look up to my right. Tears slowly filling up my eyes, my dad comes out of a corner. He walks towards me in his black itchy coat I never liked to touch from how uncomfortable it was. I didn't care though, I had been found. The adrenaline rushing in my legs and chest left faster than me getting lost. I stand up as fast as I can and sprint towards him. I don't think he knew what I just went through but it didn't matter, he asked where my mom was and my response was nothing helpful. He didn't really seem to worry about it which confused me, but I wasn't lost anymore and we just went the rest of the night like nothing happened.