Going to the park and skipping school went on for about three months. I would go to school once in a while just to see what was going on. I had fallen far behind and the teacher wouldn’t even notice I was there. That was fine with me. My biggest concern was that sooner or later, my parents would be called to come to the school, to be asked of the reason for my absence. I didn’t know how it would all end up, but continued to go to the park hoping for the best.
It happened one rainy day, when we couldn’t really hang out at the park and were sitting at the portal del comercio. This was a big Spanish style porch that extended for a whole block with majestic round columns and fourteen foot high ceiling. There were many clothing stores here and several people waiting for the bus. A kid from the parque concordia (Concordia Park) came over and started making trouble. The parque concordia was another smaller park in the city about five blocks away. He was drunk and seemed to be on drugs, he was also very big and forceful. Pablo which was one of our bigger kids told him to leave, the kid charged Pablo and knocked him down, Pablo was a very skilled fighter, and after pinning him down, he punched him in the face a couple of times and told him to leave. The boy got up and left without saying a word, then as our group turned to go to the other end of the porch, we heard a lady screaming and turning we saw the boy coming back with a butcher knife in his hand, and heading straight for Pablo! Pablo took off running through the crowd who were eager to get out of the way. Then the worst thing that could have happened became a reality! Pablo slipped and fell on the wet floor with the other boy just a few yards behind. He caught up and tried to hurt Pablo with the knife as he struggled to get back on his feet. Pablo managed to get away so that there was a cart of apples between him and the other boy.
By now there were other people trying to stop the attacker as well. But the kid just went crazy, swinging the knife at anybody in sight! I was about twenty feet behind the boy with the knife and had my sling shot loaded. Without giving it much thought, I shot him on the back of the head with a steel ball bearing. He screamed, drop the knife, and fell down to the ground. A man jumped on him to hold him down but there was no need. The boy was screaming in pain and was bleeding profusely. I was paralyzed as I saw the wave of people rush to the kid. Then the police were coming! Somebody grabbed my hand and pulled me away. It was Pablo. He took me down some streets that I didn’t know and before putting me on the bus he gave me a hug. I was scared and asked him if he thought the boy was going to die. He just smiled and said, “I don’t think so, but he will have a mark on his head.”
Years later, when I was about seventeen years old, I saw that same boy at the parque concordia. He was selling sunglasses, and I could see that with his crew cut that he did have a mark on the back of his head. I chuckled, remembering Pablo’s words, and of course I bought a pair of sunglasses. As I walked away, I felt a sense of relief and was glad the guy was alive.
The next day, I went back to school not feeling very good about it, but not wanting to go to the park. All night I prayed and wondered if the boy was okay. Because of the amount of blood gushing out of the wound, for sure I was in trouble. I had dreams of the police coming for me and taking me away.
When I walked into the classroom, I noticed that something was different. The teacher seemed happy for a change, but I did not trust her, because I knew that could change any moment. She stood in front of the class and started calling names. As she did, all the boys whose names were called, were to come up front and stand next to her. My heart was pounding and I was feeling kind of dizzy and didn’t know what to expect. I said a short prayer, but I didn’t think God would hear me anyway. Then I heard my name, I froze! She called me again. As I picked up my books, I felt a strong urge to run out of the class never to come back. But I didn’t, because she did not seem mad. My fists were clenched, my teeth grinding and I could feel sweat running down my back and the sides of my face. Then as she handed me a piece of paper, she announced that we were not to come to that school anymore. I immediately thought of my poor mom and felt ashamed. But then the teacher gave me the best news I ever heard. I was being transferred to a new school!! My heart pounded harder and I could hardly believe it! Running to the bus stop, I felt so light I could fly and suddenly the whole world seemed so bright and beautiful. My mom was glad that I was going to a school closer to home too.
The new school was really small, and I found that some kids from my neighborhood had been transferred there also, so we could ride the bus together. On the first day, the teacher walked in, and introduced herself. Clearing her throat she said the sweetest words ever. “Today we will have a new beginning. I know we are having a late start this year but we will catch up, because with God everything is possible.” We did catch up, and it was a great year in which I passed my classes with flying colors. I made many friends and my teacher was very kind and pretty. Her name was Sofia and she was my first teacher crush.
That year was a pivotal one in my life. By the end of the year, I was a different kid than the day I got on the bus for the first day of school. Because of the difficulties I had encountered at school, I had found an inner strength I never realized was there. I never did skip school to go back to the park, but often thought of the kids there. Later on, reflecting on the whole thing, I realized that God had heard my prayers and that He was there, with me all along.