Pedrito’s 30 Days with ICE.Fictional Memoir

Pedrito’s Diary, Day 7

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

I don’t know how long I was asleep. There were no windows in the hangar. So, I couldn’t tell if it was still nighttime or morning. I sat up, shivering in the cold. I wrapped myself with the blanket. I still felt the cold of the concrete floor. I thought of home. How Mama would read my sister and me a story at bedtime. How she would then tuck us in. Gabriela and I feeling all snug and cuddly. I miss Mama, Papa and my little sister so very much. Where were they now? Were they warm enough? Had they enough food? I started to cry. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to make any peep. I covered my mouth, just like Mama had done to Gabriela before she and Papa were taken out of the van. Leaving us children behind. I remembered the terror in their eyes when they looked at us before going out of the van. Mama’s wailing ringed my ears. My sobs were so strong now, I folded the blanket and pulled it over my head.

I laid down with a piece of the blanket covering my mouth. I kept crying and wishing to see my family when I woke up again.

© hülya n. yılmaz, February 5, 2025