Esperanza Rising

Esperanza was quiet for a moment, clinging to
one possible thought.
Then she said, “I am still rich, Isabel. We will
only be here until Abuelita is well enough to
travel. Then she will come with her money and
we will buy a big house. A house that Papa would
have been proud for us to live in. Maybe we will
buy two houses so that Hortensia, Alfonso, and
Miguel can live in one and work for us again. And
you can visit us, Isabel. You see, this is only tem-
porary. We will not be here for long.”
“¿De veras?”asked Isabel.
“Yes, it is the truth,” said Esperanza, staring at
the ceiling that someone had covered with news-
paper and cardboard. “My papa would never have
wanted us to live in a place like this.” She closed
her eyes and heard Isabel tiptoe out of the room
and shut the door.
The weariness from the days of travel flooded
over her, and her mind wandered from people pee-
ing in ditches, to Marta’s rudeness, to the horse
stalls at El Rancho de las Rosas.