My Father’s New Family
Names have been changed. It was Christmas Eve, just after my 12th birthday. My parents had divorced earlier that year, and I had just found out that my dad had already married someone else. I’d never even met his girlfriend-now-wife. My dad picked up my younger sister Ana and me outside our mom’s to take […]
Read More
Did I Get COVID-19?
During the last week of March, my older brother came home from work one day a little sneezy. The following day I began to sneeze. I hoped it was seasonal allergies. I did not want to assume the worst. My brother works as a supermarket clerk, delivering groceries. Our family is practicing social distancing and […]
Read More
I Was a Second Mother to My Baby Sister
Names have been changed. “Valentina, stop crying!” I said, frustrated. I was trying to do my homework, but my newborn sister was fussing. “I don’t know what to do with you anymore!” I was 12 years old, and it was my job to take care of her, even though I didn’t know anything about babies. […]
Read More
Saving Myself—and My Sister
Names have been changed. When my sister Kimberly was born, I promised her that I would never let anyone hurt her. Four years later, when I was 11, I was changing Kimberly’s diaper when my mother said, “Jasmine, come over here, we need to talk.” Scared that I was in trouble, I asked, “What’s wrong […]
Read More