Ale and I were close when we were little. I had other "BFFs" but I remember spending the night at her house on many occasions, and yes, I loved hanging out with her and playing but another very important reason for me to want to stay the night at her home was her mother.
If there was ever a woman who taught me how to show love to a child it was Ale's mom. She would shower me with hugs, kisses goodnight, and always told me how much she loved me as if I were her own. She would even tell me that she could easily adopt me as her own without any hesitance. She made me feel so incredibly special and would even call my mom to sing my praises, telling her how amazing I was and how much she loved me. She was really like a second mother to me.
I think around the 3rd grade (although Ale said it was much later, like in the 6th grade), Ale's mom was going on a road trip with her boyfriend, whom Ale hated. Ale begged her not to go because she was afraid she was going to die. Her mom told her to stop being silly, that nothing would happen and asked why she felt that way, since she had been on many trips and it was never a problem. I remember all this so clearly, as I was there when they had that talk and I remember my friend being angry at her mom for leaving. The next day (or maybe a couple of days later) I went to school as usual, and many (if not all) of the girls in my class were crying. I asked Oshi why she was crying, which surprised me as Oshi was Japanese and hardly ever showed emotion, she was always very composed and in control. She then told me that Ale's mom had been in a car accident and had died.
I started giggling, and then outright laughing, saying "no she didn't!". My brain kept telling me "STOP LAUGHING YOU IDIOT, she died and everyone's crying! You should be upset!", but for some reason the laughing wouldn't stop. It was the strangest reaction but one I could not help. I suppose that's what happens when you go into some sort of shock, but I was ashamed and embarrassed and couldn't talk about the whys of my reaction. I don't remember clearly what happened next, but I do remember that Alejandrina's dad pulled her out of our school and took her away to a different town. We never heard from her again.
Through the years, I thought about Ale, her mom, and her brother and felt really sad for her. She didn't like her father at all and was very miserable with him. I looked for her every so often on the Internet, on MySpace, on any kind of people search, anywhere I could think of.
Then, a few days ago she friend requested me on Facebook. To hear her voice again sent me to immediate tears. I cannot explain the feeling, as I know no name for it. Almost like a mixture of nostalgia, peace, love, bittersweetness, longing and happiness, but even all that doesn't cover it. We spoke for a really long time and she told me of what she had to endure at the hands of her abusive father. How she wasn't allowed to answer the phone an he had gotten rid of all the phonebooks she had. She wasn't even allowed to see her mother's family. Although she eventually left her dad's, was married and had four kids, she also lost a baby girl of 2 years old, her mother's namesake, who also died in a car accident on the same day as her mother... some day in November, I think about ten years ago...
Ale is now a very strong woman, and talking to her gave me tremendous amounts of peace. I so wanted to hug her, to get on a plane right away so I could see her, as so much of how she looks now reminds me of her mom, sans the reading glasses that were always on her face.
In the best way I knew how, I told her that her mother made a huge impact on my life. That every time I show any child that I love them, I go about it the same way her mother did. And I hope that, just like her mom, I make them feel incredibly special and that love is and should be unconditional. Her mother was the brightest star.
Celina, for the short time I knew you, you gave me a gift that I could never repay you while you were alive. But know that in my memory and in my heart you will live forever, with those glasses on your nose and a smile that's never ending. I love you still, so very much. And the love I have for you is now for Ale. I hope I won't lose touch with her again, as I'm not sure such a loss repeated is something my heart could bear.
Keep an eye on us, and shower us with your love from Heaven.
All my love,
Gabriela
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