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“Wak! Wak!” The woman motions to me, and the girl turns.
She looks at me, and I’m struck by her clear green eyes. Clear green eyes, wavy dark hair, tall and skinny… She’s so much like—
“Hello!” the girl says, skipping to my cot. “I’m Selena. What’s your name?”
I’m taken aback. “You speak English,” I say through an exhale.
“I go to school,” she says with a cute, superior look.
Her friendliness and happy manner are so out of place. My throat tightens, and I miss Ava. “That’s good,” I say, blinking fast, swallowing my tears. “I’m sure you’re a very good student.”
“I’m at the top of my class!”
The woman says something, and she replies in their language before turning back to me. “Mama says do you feel like eating?”
“Yes,” I answer quickly. “Si!”
Her mother smiles and returns to stirring the pot on the stove. I smell tomatoes and peppers, and I wonder what type of meal she’s cooking.
That makes my little companion smile. “So what is your name?”
“Zelda,” I say. “But you can call me Zee.”
“Selda,” she says, substituting the Z sound with an S.
“I like the way you say it.”
“I’ve never heard that name before.” She walks to the table. “Where do you come from, Selda?”
“Miami.” I’m starting to feel better, and I push the blankets aside to try and stand. I’ve got to move around. I’ve got to get my strength back.
“It’s in America,” Selena says. She looks down as if I said I came from heaven. It gives me an idea.
“Where are we, Selena? What is this place?”
She blinks around the tiny room. “This is our house.”
“Yes, but where are we? What is this island?”
“The island is Uranu.”
It’s the same name Wade said on the boat. The tiniest spark of hope lights in my chest. “And where is Uranu?”
Her slim brows pull together. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Taking a careful step forward, I do my best to remain friendly and not intimidating. “I just mean… Where is Uranu? Is it part of Mexico? Puerto Rico?”
Again, she looks confused, and her mother interrupts our conversation. “Tempu na kome.”
My eyes flicker to the woman’s then back to the girl. Selena smiles, “It’s time to eat now.”
Three plastic chairs surround the metal table. We each have a small bowl containing corn meal mash mixed with tomatoes, jalapenos, and okra. I take a bite, and exhale a groan. It’s delicious. The slimy okra cuts the spice of the jalapeno, and the tomatoes give it a savory goodness. I’m so hungry, Selena and her mother have barely started eating, when I empty my bowl.
They don’t notice or comment, and I sit at the table, feeling the comfort of a full stomach. That small flicker of hope grows stronger, and I start to think I might be able to get out of here. I just need to know where is here.
I’m on the verge of trying to find out again when a man bursts through the curtain door.
“Tendé!” he shouts.
