21 March 2018 • Victor Perez

It was early October in the very recent year 2017, and I was standing at the PRT station thinking. The thoughts consumed me, sharply dulling all of my senses. Though the thoughts were focusing on a very bad thing, I strangely felt a neutral feeling while I unpacked each and every one of them.

“Hey, do you remember me?”

Suddenly I could see. Before me stood a vaguely recognizable figure. After a short moment putting away my thoughts, I pushed out the words: “Aubri, right?”

“Yeah, aren’t you Victor? I remember you from Culturas.”

Culturas: the student organization for hispanics. It was a name that beckoned the thoughts back. Again, I paused to put them away. I responded. “How have you been? Haven’t seen you around in a while.”

“I’ve been doing good, haven’t been to the club in a while sadly.” She paused. “Hey, you’re Puerto Rican right?”

Puerto Rico. The thoughts broke out of the cage again. “Of course, why do you ask?” I knew why she asked.

“How have you been holding up after hurricane Maria? Is your family alright?”

“There’s only a few people in my family I haven’t heard from, but they live in the places that didn’t get hit too hard.”

“I heard the island isn’t getting power back for six months,” said Aubri. Or was it me? The thoughts were screaming.

“Yeah, it’s been pretty terrible,” I said. “The island is ruined.”

The station lights suddenly flashed the word “BEECHURST”, and it was time for Aubri to leave. “I’m glad you family is at least safe, hope everything ends up okay,” she said before walking away.

I didn’t recall responding, but I remember thinking about my family. I’ve never had a strong connection to my family, especially the ones that spoke spanish. The language barrier was too strong for me. Yet still, I was worried. Without water, heat stroke was a very real concern. Without power, there was no way to refrigerate my grandmother’s insulin. I was so distant from everything, I heard nothing. The short conversation with my sister I had the day before only fueled my worries. But I couldn’t worry. I had to worry about my studies above all else, and I couldn’t afford to stress about something I could do nothing about. The station lights suddenly flashed the words “WALNUT”, and it was time for me to leave the thoughts behind. Though I haven’t seen Aubri since then, a pleasant thought of her surfaced as I enjoyed my grandmother’s cooking over thanksgiving break. I appreciated it more than I ever have before.