Desert Passage (14 page)

“We went to the Grand Canyon, Grandpa. You were right, it was amazing. Miguel told our friends there about what happened at school and they believed us!”

Grandpa Esteban stopped Ramón. “I know everything, son. I'm so proud of you and Miguel because you're on the right path. But you have a long way to go, you have to promise to be careful and think about the choices you make in life, okay?”

Ramón looked into the old man's kind eyes and nodded his head. At that moment, he saw another man step out of the passenger side of the truck. The figure was hard to see at first then he realized who it was. It was his dad.

“Ramón, this is your father, Enrique,” Grandpa Esteban announced, taking a step back from his grandson.

Enrique walked slowly toward Ramón. He resembled Tío Rodrigo, but looked many years younger. Both father and son stood looking at one another in disbelief.

“I wasn't sure if I would ever have the chance to meet you as a young man,” Enrique said. His voice trembled as he held out his arms, “I've never stopped loving you. Can you forgive me,
mijo
?”

“Dad? Is that really you?” Ramón looked at the familiar face and flashes of the pictures in his grandmother's house filled his mind. Enrique looked so young, like he did in the pictures. Ramón took a step toward his father and touched his hands, they were strong and warm, but he dared not look into his eyes, fearing that he wasn't real.

Ramón fell into his father's strong arms, shutting his eyes tight. Feeling all the strength of his father's embrace, he stood there in silence, trying to absorb all the affection that he had never before had the chance to feel.

“Why did you have to go? Why did you leave us?” Ramón could no longer restrain the tears and started to cry.

“It was my time,
mijo
, I had no choice.”

“But I needed you, I still need you.” Ramón's voice quivered as he spoke.

“I'm so sorry. We can't control when we are born or when it's time to die, I know that now.”

“But what about me? What am I supposed to do?” begged Ramón.

Enrique's eyes swelled with tears and he strengthened his embrace around Ramón. “I will always watch over you, even when you think that I'm not there. Look for me in your dreams and in the stars at night. I am forever with you. You're my life.”

Ramón felt the loving embrace of his father as the dust clouds stopped swirling and the sky became brighter. The truck lights faded and with the lightness of the day, the dream was over.

Miguel managed to sleep for a few hours during the night and was stirring the fire when Ramón woke up. He had heard Ramón talking in his sleep but wasn't sure what he was saying. He knew that his cousin missed his dad terribly. Miguel thought of their grandmother crying on Tío Enrique's birthday and when they would go to the cemetery. Miguel also recalled how his father would walk away from Tío Enrique's grave not wanting anyone see him cry. Ramón moved in the sleeping bag and turned toward the warm morning fire.

“It was pretty cold last night,” Miguel said, putting more sticks on the fire. “You're lucky you had the sleeping bag.”

Ramón stayed quiet and did not respond. He closed his eyes and tried to remember his father's face and the sound of his voice.

“Hey, guess what I saw just a minute ago?” Miguel's eyes lit up and he looked directly at his cousin, hoping he would listen.

“What, what happened?”

“As the sun was coming up, there was an eagle flying around over our rocks. It came real close and landed on the
top of the rock where we were sleeping!” Miguel exclaimed, “Isn't that something? A real eagle, and he was big. I didn't know they were that big!”

“Oh, yeah?” responded Ramón, slightly interested. “Why would it come here?”

“Maybe he's here to watch over us. He had a strange look in his eyes, like he knew who we were or something.”

Ramón felt a pang in his heart and he knew instantly why the eagle had been there. He closed his eyes and quietly told his father that he loved him.

 
Chapter 28
 

“H
ow many more miles to Albuquerque?” Miguel asked, looking for the map in Ramón's backpack.

“Probably three hundred or so, maybe more.”

Ramón finished rolling the sleeping bag and started tying it down on the scooter.

“You gotta be kidding me. That far?”

“Yeah, we better get going.”

Ramón wheeled Natalie over toward the dirt road and motioned for him to get on board. “I'll drive for a while. My arm doesn't hurt that bad.”

Miguel was still tired from the night before and was glad not to have the responsibility of watching the road. He climbed onto the back of the scooter and let Ramón lead the way.

The interstate led them out of Sedona and into secluded desert country. The boys traveled for miles without seeing any buildings, or even road signs. All that was visible was the endless stretch of black asphalt road and the gray silhouettes of mountains in the distance.

Ramón drove steadily. He was glad to have the road to focus on. As the black asphalt melted underneath the wheels, blue cloudless skies hung overhead. It was a perfect desert morning.

“Hey, what's that sign say?” Miguel shouted in his cousin's ear.

Ramón focused on the green piece of metal standing alone on the side of the road and said aloud, “Hot Springs, 10 Miles.”

“Hey, let's go,” Miguel insisted.

The boys had been traveling for almost three hours without a break and Ramón liked the idea of swimming in hot pools of water.

“Okay, but not for too long.”

The exit took them down a two-lane road between a couple of small hills and into flat ground surrounded by a rocky formation. No one was around and the boys looked in amazement at the natural pools of water.

“No way! No one is here! We have this place all to ourselves!” Miguel shouted. He ran over to the nearest pool of water and put his hand in. “Its hot, like a hot tub!”

Ramón laughed and stripped off his shirt. They jumped in and laughed at the surprising heat of the water.

“This is awesome, I can't believe this is out here,” said Miguel, dunking his head under the warm bubbles.

Some of the natural springs were warmer than the others. The boys took turns jumping in and out of each pool comparing the temperatures and splashing the warm water on the rocks.

After a long soak in the hottest pool, both boys got out and stretched out under the clear blue sky. The surrounding rocks were flat and comfortable to lie on. The sun's hot rays felt soothing and soon their thoughts drifted to the simple joys of boyhood.

“This is awesome,” Miguel repeated. “Life should be like this all the time.”

Ramón allowed the additional heat from the smooth granite rock to warm his body. He opened his eyes for a moment and replied pensively, “Our lives will be what we make of them.”

“You're getting heavy. Maybe you should get out of the sun,” Miguel teased.

“Whatever, man, let's get out of here. We gotta keep moving.” Ramón laughed and closed his eyes for a few minutes longer, feeling the healing energy of the open desert.

 
Chapter 29
 

A
lternating stripes of blue, turquoise, coral, and black were stacked in the mountains. They followed one another closely, each one more colorful than the next. White stretches of clouds drifted easily over the sky and disappeared just as quickly as they formed.

Natalie hummed onward, not giving any signs of fatigue or weariness. Miguel rode along admiring the scenery and sometimes commenting to his cousin about how they should move and live in the middle of whatever mountain range was currently in view. Ramón would laugh and pretend to agree that it was a good idea. The boys were happy. Life was in perfect order and the future seemed boundless. The road had become their source of inspiration.

They were making good progress toward the New Mexico state border when Miguel saw something that caught his eye. A group of blue tents was pitched below a cluster of mountains along with a few white trailers.

“What's going on over there?” he asked, pointing to get Ramón's attention.

Ramón looked out toward the sight and said, “Looks like some campers.”

“That's a lot of tents to be just campers, let's go check it out.”

“Miguel, we have to keep going.”

“Maybe we should stop anyway. We don't know how much further before we see a town. We also need to find a place to sleep for the night.” Miguel knew that Ramón would agree to stop if he made it sound like he was concerned for their safety.

Ramón took a dirt road which appeared to lead to the encampment and drove in. The blue tents were scattered all around the campsite and three large white trailers were grouped together on one side. Ramón drove on the perimeter of the tents to see if there were people around. A door from one of the trailers opened and two men stepped out. They were similarly dressed in long khaki shorts and hiking boots. One of the men had a rough gray beard and was looking into a notebook. The other man had a long ponytail tied at the back of his neck and was checking his glasses for smudges. Both men looked up from their activities at the same time and saw the scooter drive up.

“Hey, could you tell us where the next campsite is?” Ramón had stopped Natalie within a few feet of the men.

The men looked with curiosity at the two boys on the dusty old scooter. The bearded man spoke first.

“Where are you headed to?”

“We're headed to Santa Fe, but we need a place to stop for the night,” replied Ramón.

The bearded man glanced off toward the interstate thinking about the great distance to Santa Fe, then refocused his attention on the two young faces in front of him.

“Are you traveling alone?” he asked.

“Yeah, my brother and I are meeting our parents in Albuquerque tomorrow.” Ramón lied quickly, afraid of what Miguel might say.

The bearded man turned his head slightly in bewilderment at the boys' situation. His thoughts had been occupied by the importance of the project he was working on and suddenly his mind had been forced to turn to the predicament of two children. He looked to the man standing next to him for his opinion on the subject.