Gude

When I worked at Taco Bell, a lady came to the register and asked me for a token for the bathroom.  I gave it to her, and when she reached her hand to take it, I saw a drop of blood fall on the counter.  I thought she probably cut her finger.  After twenty minutes, I told the manager that the lady had not left the bathroom. 

The manager knocked on the bathroom door.  She did not answer, so the manager opened the door.  The woman was on the floor in a pool of blood.  She had cut her artery.  Both her wrist and her next were slit.  The manager called the police.  The police closed the restaurant.  That was the scariest thing I ever experienced.

                                  Gudelia Sarabia

Farzaneh

It was a time of war.  The war was between Iran and Iraq.  Iraqi soldiers bombed Tehran all the time.  One day, my husband and I went to my sister-in-law’s house.  Suddenly, the air attack started.  The bomb fell so close that the flames of the fire lit the basement.  After a few minutes, we went out to see what happened.  One house was destroyed and all the windows of all the houses were broken.  Fire fighters came and helped people.  A few hours later, the neighbors said they found five dead people.  We were so scared that we went to another city immediately.

                      Farzaneh Allahbakhsh

Guillermina

One day, in the morning, I went out of my house.  I had to go to the store.  Suddenly, I heard a whistle.  I looked in that direction and didn’t know who was doing it.  I happened to look up and I saw it.  It was a parrot.  I asked my neighbor to help me catch the parrot.  My neighbor said, “If I help you catch it, I will keep it.” It took us all day to try to get the parrot to come down from the tree, so we gave up.  We decided to let it go.  I returned home and decided to take an apple for the parrot.  The parrot saw the apple and flew to my hand.  I brought it home.  I was very surprised.  The parrot talked and danced.  The parrot is now part of my family. 

                                   Guillermina Castro

Rosalinda

When I was five months pregnant with my twins, I had health issues.  I stayed at the hospital for three months.  My doctor told me not to get up from my bed.  The nurse took care of me.  I ate in my bed, I cleaned my body with towels in my bed, and I went to the bathroom in my bed.  I stayed in my bed all the time.  Sometimes, I felt very tired of staying in my bed, but I knew I shouldn’t get up. 

The doctor told me that the babies would not survive because they would probably come out very soon and they were too small.  They weighed only one pound each at the time.  I continued to stay in bed, and I continued to get shots. 

When I was eight months pregnant, my doctor told me, “Rosalinda, I have good news.  Your babies are fine.  Now you can go home.  But you have to stay in bed.”  I went back home, but I continued to go to the hospital for regular checkups. 

The babies were born at 36 weeks.  I had to have surgery, but my babies were born healthy and beautiful.

                                               Rosalinda Bravo                                                                                                          

Noemi

I remember when I was eight years old.  My family made baskets to sell.  We had to go to cut reed for the baskets.  One day, we were cutting reed.  My youngest brother told me that there was a cow near the river.  When he told me that, I felt fear, but I was also curious, and I said, “Let’s go to see it.” When we arrived at the river, we saw a woman in the middle of the river.  She was naked, and she was dead.  I was scared.  We ran to my father.  We told him what happened and he took us home.  Then he went to town to tell the police that there was a dead woman in the river.  Since then, I have never heard anything about what happened. Noemi Simon

Antonia

In 1981, in the month of May, my husband and I lived in an apartment.  One night, at 2am, my husband and I were sleeping.  Suddenly, I heard a noise like a fire.  I woke up and jumped out of bed.  I yelled, “Fire!  Fire!”  My husband got up rapidly.  I was in my underwear.  We went out of the room to the living room.  In the living room were my uncle and his wife.  They got up, and we looked from the window to see where the fire was, but we saw that there was no danger.  Suddenly, my uncle said, “Cover your bodies, women.”  In that moment, I remembered that I was in my underwear.  I ran back to my bedroom.

                               Antonia Oceguera

Asusena Valdovinos

When my son was born, I was 23 years old.  I remember I was scared, and my doctor told me, “Don’t worry Asusena.  The baby will wake up every two hours to eat.” But my baby cried, cried, and cried.  And I cried too because I didn’t know how to silence him.  My husband helped me, but when he was not home, I cried even more than the baby.  When I visited my doctor, I asked him, “Why didn’t you tell me that babies cry a lot?

Now my son is 16 years old.  He doesn’t cry anymore, but I still do because I don’t know how to silence him.

                       Asusena Valdovinos