The Only Road

The cousins wait for El Gordo in a state of high anxiety. Padre Kevin gives them all water, and his nervousness tells Jaime that whatever awaits them is “not going to be fun” (84). Jaime briefly wonders why Padre Kevin works with El Gordo before deciding maybe Padre Kevin, like Jaime, “didn’t feel he had a choice” (87).

When El Gordo’s assistant arrives, the waiting refugees are bundled into a van and driven away into the darkness. After a harrowing ride they arrive at a train station and are led through the phalanx of guards to an empty boxcar. They are shoved inside, and for a moment Jaime is terrified he has been separated from Ángela before he finds her. Just as he is beginning to relax in the safety in her presence, the doors are closed, and Jaime realizes they are “locked in a pitch-black train car with no way of getting out, prisoners in their escape for freedom” (90).

The train ride is an agony. There is little ventilation, and dozens of people are crammed in together, including a woman with two young children. At first they are just uncomfortable, but as the sun comes up they begin to roast in the hot metal car. There is no bathroom, so people must use the small gap of space where the wall does not quite meet the floor. Not everyone has food, but those who do share some with the two young children. Their mother is grateful, but Jaime notices “she didn’t take any food for herself” (93). The community tries to entertain the children and each other, but it is a miserable journey. At one point Jaime finds some solace in his sketchbook, trying to capture the inside of the train even in the near-total darkness, then day arrives and the walls become so hot no one can lean against them, further reducing the available space. The air is rank, and everyone feels short of breath. Ángela and Jaime discuss the things they wish to do before they die and share memories of Miguel, whose death spurred them on this journey.

They survive the day in the car, and night brings some relief from the heat. Few people have water or food left, and the group discovers one man among them is unconscious from heatstroke. There is nothing anyone can do for him, so they simply sit in the car and wait for something to happen.

When the train finally stops and the door opens, they are terrified to find an immigration officer there. He orders them out of the car, but when he is distracted by the unconscious man, the whole group runs. Jaime happens to notice an immigration officer grab and then release the mother and her two young children, and he smiles to think “there were some merciful migra officers” (102).

Jaime and Ángela make it to a place of safety and are overcome by their emotions, including their terror, their fear, and their great joy and relief at being alive. Jaime has seen signs indicating they are in a borough of Mexico City where they know there is a safehouse. They head in that direction, hoping to see their friends again, only to have those hopes dashed when they find the safehouse closed, covered in graffiti “directed to centro americano scum” (102).

Their euphoria dissipated, the children are again scared and alone. They search for a place to hide for the night, fearful of the sounds of loud men and breaking bottles, and eventually discover a car blocked in with weeds and trash that has clearly not been moved in a while. As they scoot underneath and spend the night on the ground, Jaime feels “strangely secure and relaxed” (105) despite their circumstances.