Amá, Your Story Is Mine: Walking Out of the Shadows of Abuse

Escape to a New Life

~ 17 ~ Escape to a New Life ~ No one ever left Rancho Salado. It seemed as impossible as touching the sky. In Amá’s time people didn’t have money to just leave when they wished. Yet, Amá could dream. Dream about a life somewhere else, somewhere else far away from her inlaws and the cursed ranch. Amá prayed to the little ones in heaven to help her change her life. She never imagined that her wish was but a step ahead.This night would be different. Apá and Doña Demetria were both out on a drinking binge. Amá was left to look after her youngest brother-in-law. She never knew when to expect Apá back. Through the noise of rain pounding on the roof and water dropping outside into puddles, Amá heard a commotion. She grabbed her lantern to give enough light to see her way to the door. In burst Apá, breathing hard, as exhausted as a runner finishing a marathon. He was frantically spitting out words, “¡Elisa, me vienen siguiendo y me quieren matar! ” (“Elisa, they are after me and they want to kill me!”) He knew nobody ever lived to talk about it after being caught in bed with another man’s wife. No sooner had Apá finished talking than the thundering hoofbeats of galloping horses filled the night air. For a second Amá thought they were going to tear through the door. Apá shouted, “Elisa, tell them I am not here!” When the men pounded on the door, Amá got close to the door and said, “Is that you, Fidencio?” Hearing this, the men thought their wanted man hadn’t made it home yet, so they left in a hurry. Frightened, broke, and with no destination in mind, Amá and Apá escaped that night to start a new life. My mother thought, “Now we are free,” never realizing Apá was her curse. ~ 18 ~ While traveling on their journey on primitive roads, sometimes in buses and other times on foot, they would stop for a short time to work on ranches. Sometimes they just earned their food for the day. Other times they were paid with what they helped grow or harvest. But Apá was a devil of a barterer and would find a way to turn goods into change. The young couple continued to work their way from one ranch to the next with the intention of getting closer to the North. Amá would tell us later about the times that she was almost ready to give up. She grew so tired of living in the huts and shacks, being treated like animals by the rancheros. Undernourished and underpaid, almost destitute, they carried on, working the corn, bean, and cotton fields. That was when Amá found out Joe was on the way. Again with child, Amá knew she had to continue on. She must survive for this baby. The months and days passed by, and Joe was born as they traveled through a pueblito called Salines, Mexico. They didn’t plant any roots, and their pesos seemed to disappear almost before they were earned. Amá spoke later of the days they went without eating at all. They spent only what was necessary for Joe to survive. They were saving the pesos needed to cross the river to the land in the north where everything came easy and money grew on trees. Finally, they reached Torreón, Coahuila. It was not long before Apá became familiar with the town and made some friends. He felt comfortable and safe leaving Amá and Joe behind while he went to try his luck across the river and to make money for the enganche (the “contact man”). Amá didn’t hear from Apá for several months. She was frightened, at all times expecting the worst. She thought he had left her, as he was accustomed to doing in his other relationships . This time Amá was wrong. One day Apá appeared very mysteriously in the front yard, where Amá happened to be doing her washing. Apá had arrived to arrange with an- ~ 19 ~ other man their crossing over the river. Amá was advised to not carry anything except her child in one arm and a light parcel in the other.They instructed her to be prepared to run in any direction if necessary. Amá did as she was told, leaving everything behind, even her wedding treasures. Their mission...