Feel My Soul Avenger

Close Calls

        At 2:30, Leon came out of his office with a huge grin. He then proceeded to make his way over to the register, where I was currently sanitizing everything. I couldn't stand having crumbs on the counter.

        There was no one in the Cafe beside the dishwasher, him, and me, as everyone else's shifts had already ended. Not only that, but this was also the slowest part of the day. This was the time of day, where Leon would come up front, and tell me all about Julia and how they fell in love. We would share stories of our childhood, laugh, and sometimes even cry together. While my childhood had been filled with bullying and hate. Leon's had been filled with grief and hardship. The story of his life gave me hope, but it also made me want to punch things at times. No one should have had to go through what he went through. I know a lot of people in that kind of situation have it a lot harder than he did, but that didn't make me feel any better. In fact it made me feel worse.

        Leon's whole family had immigrated here from Mexico when he was just five years old. The reason sounded like a perfectly acceptable one to me. It was to get away from the drug cartels, and spree killings, that were slowly but surely getting closer and closer to his little village every day. Apparently, his father was being targeted by them for some reason. In spite of coming here to America. Leon's father refused to explain to his children the reason why he was targeted to this very day. 

        Now, when I say "the whole family immigrated", I do mean his whole family. His mother, father, grandparents, and two older brothers, as well as himself, found sanctuary in America.

        His grandparents were old, in their late seventies, when they found a ratty, run down, and cheap, two bedroom apartment to live in. The cramped space didn't do them any favors, and often made tempers run high. When the first blizzard of the year came through after they settled, they realized just how harsh the New York winters could be. It was a shock to all of them.

        It was through that first year that they lived here, when his grandparents discovered that their bodies couldn't handle the drastic change in climate, and temperature. They soon passed away quietly in their sleep, one mid winters night. Leon was the one to go and try to wake them the following morning. It was there, where he found them both gone. Holding hands and looking at peace.

        I could only imagine how traumatizing that would have been for a five year old boy. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried for him. He simply smiled at me gently, and wrapped one of his aging arms around me as I cried for the little boy of his childhood. Apparently only his wife had been the other person to cry for him, which I could barely believe! How cruel was the world that it wouldn't be upset for a child who found his grandparents dead? Did the world not realize how life changing that could be for a young boy? For anyone of any age? I cried even harder when he told me that, and I wrapped him in a hug. He shouldn't have had to face the worlds cruelness that young. No one should.

        But ,"That was just the beginning of his story." He told me.  Life in the Big City, was no walk in the park, and I agreed with him on that. His mother and father both had to work two jobs to make ends meet. Therefore, it fell to his older brothers to make sure that he got off to Kindergarten, and home safely everyday. That's a lot of responsibility to put on a ten year olds shoulders. Especially when they had to rush to school afterwards. 

        Manuel and Raul were both twins. With striking emerald green eyes and black hair. Leon told me once, "that all you had to do was look into their eyes, and you would tell your deepest and darkest secrets". As time passed and they grew up, the twins started spending less and less time at home with their family, and more time hanging out with friends. This wouldn't be a problem or unusual, except for the fact that their friends were known gang members. Soon they stopped coming home entirely, and it was just Leon and his parents in that small two bedroom apartment. "I have no clue where they are now. Probably thugs somewhere or in jail." Leon told me after he was done telling me his story.