When Melina woke up, Tulia was not in view. She looked around and sat up, rubbing her head.
“What happened?”
Melina looked up and say a short girl kneeling at her side. The girl wasn’t anyone that Melina had seen in school. She had curly blond hair, skim as white as milk and glassy blue eyes that shone like stars.
The girl smiled and color flushed her pale cheeks.
“Hi,” Melina said to her. “I haven’t seen you around.” She was surprised at the voice that left her mouth. Usually she didn’t speak in school, but this girl seemed nice.
“I’m new. I moved from Miami. It’s in the United-“
“Yeah, I know! I’m from there too.”
“Really?” the girl said.
“Yeah, but I moved when I was five. My family is Mayan, and my parents wanted to be close… I want to visit Miami some day.” Slowly, Melina got up. “My name is Melina Marquíz.”
“Nice to meet you.” The girl blushed. “Are you ok?”
“Yes. It was only a fall. Well… it was Tulio’s fault.”
“Who’s Tulio?”
“He’s a really mean boy. And- he stole Rosalita!” Melina looked at the ground for her doll but it wasn’t there.
“Is Rosalita your friend?” the girl asked her.
“No. She’s my doll,” Melina explained. “She has the spirit of my greatgrandmother inside of her.”
The girl nodded like she understood. The bell rang to end recess.
“But I don’t want to return to class.” Melina said. They walked together to the school. “And you didn’t tell me your name.”
The girl blushed even more than before. “Well… it’s not important.”
“No, what is it?”
The girl’s eyes fluttered back and forth between Melina’s face and the ground. “Well… in my old school my classmates laughed at me. Because of my name. I don’t’ like to say it… My name is Paraguas Paz (which means Umbrella Peace in Spanish.).” She cringed, but Melina didn’t laugh.
“I like it,” she said. “It’s an excellent name.”
“No it’s not. Nobody wants to be friends with a girl named Paraguas.”
“There’s one.”
Melina arrived in class feeling very happy.
Tulio arrived home in a cold sweat.
“Hey!” called his mother from the kitchen. “Put your backpack in your room, we’re having guests.”
Tulio ignored her and put his backpack on the floor. One the table, two cookies and some grapes were waiting for him.
“What happened in school today?” his mother asked him without turning around. She was cooking.
“A girl fell off the swings.”
“Is she alright?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who was it??”
“Melina Marquíz. She’s really weird.”
“Tulio, don’t make fun of her. I know the Marquíses, and they’re really nice. When your father left us they brought us a cake, remember?”
“Melina never talked, Mom. I’m going to do my homework.” Tulio stomped upstairs and sat on his bed. He didn’t want to think about what had happened.
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