Pedrito’s Diary, Day 23
February 13, 2025
We were in the new facility for about 1 hour when an announcement came through the megaphone: “ATTENTION EVERYONE! Start moving toward my voice, 1 of you at a time. You are to form 4 lines. There are 4 tables here with your lunch. After you pick up your food, go quickly back to your spot.”
We were going to have lunch! I was so excited about this extra meal! They gave us 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 slice of bread with yellow cheese on it, and 1 bottle of water. They didn’t tell us our water had to last until tomorrow evening. They had told us that in the other hangar. The older brothers and me exchanged smiles. I’m not sure if Gabriel and Jesu understood what this meant. Once they saw the food, they would know.
We picked up our food and water and went back to our beds. I thought about the cold of the floor we sat and slept on all those days and nights before coming here. A bed to sit on felt so very good! Also, they gave us lunch here, and with much food. We never had lunch in the other hangar, and never these many items for our breakfasts or dinners.
All the new things here made me so very happy. I could see that everyone in our “Brothers’ Club” was feeling the same joy.
I finished my meal fast and drank some of my water. This time, I didn’t need to worry about not having enough water all the way until tomorrow evening. Everyone in our group started chatting happily after lunch. With Gabriel by my side on my bed, I made a list of what we had new here: A bed for each of us, 2 bathrooms inside, lunch with much food, and a bottle of water (not for almost 2 days but only for 1 day). “Awesome!” I said out loud. “What is awesome?” Alejandro asked. “We have many good things in THIS place. THAT is awesome!” I answered.
Just then, Gabriel shouted – he had never shouted before: “Why are you saying ‘awesome,’ Pedrito? Nothing is awesome! I WANT TO GO HOME!”
I hugged him and whispered to him softly: “Me, too, Gabriel. Me, too.”
© hülya n. yılmaz, March 3, 2025
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