“You have to wait, mi hijito.” Dad said as they carried my mom away in the flashing ambulance.
I stood alone in the middle of the street and watched as the truck drove away.
                                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyday after school I walked 15 miles through the streets in Puerto Rico , to the hospital in Guaynabo, where my mother was being cared for. Everyday, the doctors told me she was too sick to be seen.
                                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~
“Sebastian?” My mother whispers.
“Si.” I answer.
Her eyes flutter open and tears fall out of her eyes.
“I missed you, baby. I’ll be home soon. Wait for me, mi hijito.”
A doctor comes in and I watch my beautiful mother wipe away her tears and quickly gather her emotions.
“You’re being released today.” The doctor informs my mom.
My mom looks confused and the doctor must see it so she moves on to elaborate.
“You have a chronic kidney disease and although we do not wish discharge you, you can’t afford the treatment. We can only do so much without any form of payment. I’m sorry.” She gave my parents and I a half smile and walked out of the room.
The room stood still , enveloped in an uncomfortable silence. What’s next? My family could barely afford the clothes on my back. We eat one meal a day. Only one of our rooms has running water. How could we possibly save my dying mother?!
“Yo puedo ayudar.” I offered. I could help.
“No matter how many jobs you get, we still won’t be able to afford it, baby. Llevame a la casa, por favor. Estoy cansado.” Even saying a simple sentence seemed to make my mother exhausted.
The doctor came back with a bag full of the clothes my mom was admitted in and a bottle of pain relievers.
“Sorry to see you go. This will ease the pain for a little. Go get some rest. Con cuidado.” She said, sending us off.
                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~
“Maryana, you are selfish! You care of no one but yourself! Porque haces esto?” My dad woke me with his yelling.
The house seemed to tremble at the sound of his voice. Maryana, Maryana. Her name rand throughout my ears. I could hear my mom sobbing in between her replies. Dad walked out and slammed the door behind him. Slowly, I got up from bed and creeped into the living room. My mom sat huddled in the corner, surrounded in her tears. I stood and stared for a while, noticing how vulnerable she looked. Her long, thin hair clung to her face as she sat in her fetus position. Something she said protected her from harm.
In between a sob she must have sensed me because she lifted her head and looked at me. We stayed there for a while, just staring into each other’s eyes. Her eyes were puffy and red, indicating she had been crying for some time.
                                                            ~~~~~~~~~~~
A few days later. Dad comes home with a family. Three kids, the mom and dad. They walk in with boxes and suitcases and stand in the doorway. I don’t even know what to think.
Dad walks into the room and says nothing. My eyes follow his every move. From the attic to his doorway and back again. He comes out into the living room where my mother and I spent the last few days pending his arrival.
“Pack your things. We’re leaving.”
Surprisingly, my mother and I don’t protest. We grab a box and head into our rooms . I hear him tell my mother to pack her most important things and nothing else.
On our way, to my Aunt’s house we are informed Dad sold the house. The very house he spent two years working on, making sure every detail was perfect.
“You didn’t ask.” I mumbled.
“I didn’t have to.”
“It’s not just yours!” I yelled. “We lived there! Not just you! It’s the house we grew up in!”
I could no longer stand being near him. I walked off, leading the way to Tia Alani’s house.
As we arrive, Dad grabs mom’s things and she walked toward a different direction. I watch as Dad sets their things inside and walks outside to join her.
“I’ll be back as soon as she’s settled in for treatment.” He sighs and turns around so that all i see is the back of his head.
                                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~
“You’re failing your classes, Sebastian. Every single one. What’s going on?”
I glare at the guidance counselor , not wanting to spill out my troubles.
“Nothing, everything’s just great.”
“Clearly it’s not. You are an A student. Not a B, not a C, and definitely not an F. But here we are.” She acknowledges my report card, showing me I have not turned in a single assignment in a little over a month.
I realized how bad this was. I didn’t even realize until now , how bad I was doing when it came to school.
“It’s my mom. She’s in the hospital and that worries me. When i’m worried, i stress and when i'm stressed, i cannot focus.” I needed an excuse so that later, I could make this up.
“You may have ten days to resolve this issue or we’ll have no choice but to expel you. I want to make it clear , we don't tolerate this behavior.”
                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~
Walking home I took the time to think. Really thinking about everything going on. Mom had been readmitted into the hospital for about three weeks now. Things were not getting better. Felt like that had sold our home for nothing. We were Already in poverty, the house was the only thing we owned. The only thing we had a value.
I reach my aunt’s house where we’ve been staying for the those few weeks. I see that sitting on the porch with the three boxes filled with our only belongings. As I got closer, he rose to his feet. He grab two boxes, leaving the last one for me.     
“We must go. Please don’t ask questions at least not right now.” I blindly follow him to an unknown destination.
We’ve been at my uncle’s house for exactly 7 days. Worst days of my life. We need to get out, the only problem is that we have nowhere to go.
To get away I visit the hospital. Not my mom, just the hospital. Seeing my mother made things so much worse. Seeing her slowly give up on herself was such a hurtful thing to see. I could see her mood changing and her appearance. She no longer had a full head of hair; she was balding on both sides. Lines had seemingly engraved into her face. Sadly, I couldn’t bear to see her if i didn't have to.
Instead, I spent time in the lobby waiting watching people come and go. I go to the waiting room to study people‘s expressions. The amount of sadness in this room is unbearable so I leave.  I wander the halls in search of God knows what.
Oddly enough, I reach my mother’s room. Gathered around the door were what looked like surgeons. I could only hear  muffled yelling and the sound of machines whirring.
My mind starts to wander and i imagine what could possibly be going on in there. A loud beep sounds, bringing me back to reality.
                                                            ~~~~~~~~~~~
For some reason, i know what they will tell me when they exit the room. I have this strange feeling so i decide to wait outside instead of even trying to go in. Sure enough, the doctors come out. A man and a woman. The man doctor genuinely looks sad. I guess it must be hard to continuously be there when patients die. All those deaths seem to take a toll on him, day by day. The tragedy of not being able to help, i suppose. The woman reminds me so much of my mother, i almost cry because i know i’ve lost her. The only thing left to do is wait for them to tell me.
                                                           ~~~~~~~~~~~