CH 5: An Unexpected Visitor

Miguel had the dream again. In it, the thugs were kicking him. He yelled at Carlos to run, but Carlos didn’t understand. He thought it was a game and started running in a circle.

"Carlos... DANGER! DANGER!" Miguel shouted. Maria taught Carlos a few words and told him what to do if he ever heard the words. If he heard "Bad", Carlos knew that meant to stop doing whatever he was doing. If he heard "Good Boy" he knew that meant to smile and clap for himself. If he heard "Danger" he was taught to run and hide.

Miguel yelled again, "Danger Carlos! Danger!" Carlos began rubbing his hands together, his face turned upward as he repeated, "Oh boy. Danger. Danger. Carlos must hide. Ok. Carlos must hide. Danger. Yea. Carlos must hide. Danger. Yea. Carlos will hide."

One of the thugs knocked Carlos to the ground and yelled, "Shut up, you freak!"

Hearing this, rage overpowered Miguel. He pushed the guys off him and roared, "DON'T CALL MY BROTHER A FREAK!" Then a gunshot went off. The dream quickly faded to black, and Miguel woke up screaming again. Maria rushed into the room to comfort him, as usual. She held him, telling him, "It's alright. I'm here, mijo."

Miguel was sweating and punching the air, roaring with anger. Maria held him tight and calmed him down. Once he was settled, she asked softly, "Miguel, are you ever going to tell me what happened that day?"

He turned away, his voice strained. "I don't want to talk about it."

She sighed, stroking his hair. "At some point, you have to talk about it, or the nightmares will keep coming."

Upset, he shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

Maria persisted gently, "I heard you calling Carlos' name in your sleep."

He responded the same, "I don't want to talk about it."

Raising Carlos

Maria took a deep breath. "You know, when Carlos was born, I had met a guy I liked a lot. He first the first man to take my mind off losing Nasir. I thought he’d be around, but when the doctors told us Carlos would be born with Autism, he disappeared. His name was Alberto. He wanted me to give Carlos up for adoption, but I refused. He said he didn’t sign up for a special needs kid and accused me of cheating. He left, and I never heard from him again."

Miguel listened quietly as she continued, "I decided to raise Carlos alone. I was already struggling with you being almost three years old and then having a newborn with special needs, but the neighbors helped out a lot, and so did Tito. Everyone was devoted to caring for Carlos." Maria admitted she never would have been able to raise Carlos without the help of family and friends.

She explained, "Autism doesn’t mean a child can't be productive. It just means they learn differently, and it takes patience. Carlos might not communicate in the usual way, but he has his own way. He knows how to take out the trash and replace the trash bags in all the cans without being told. He lines up the canned vegetables neatly in the pantry and knows when one is missing. He used to take the mail in and sort the bills into stacks according to the names. He didn’t know what the names said, but he knew how to match the letters."

She paused, her eyes filled with love. "There are days when it feels too hard, but then I see Carlos' smile, it brings light to any room. I remember when he was about seven years old. You came in from playing basketball at the park, and Carlos' face lit up. He ran to you. Carlos has always been your biggest fan."

Knock At The Door

They heard a knock at the door. Maria and Miguel went to see who it was. When Maria opened the door, she found a tall, slender Black man standing there. He wore a fitted black shirt with a colorful lion on it, decorative African beads around his neck and wrist, and a low haircut with little facial hair. His body poisture and build was evident he worked out and was very strong. He wore a ring with a tiger’s eye on it. His teeth were pearly white, and he smelled like expensive cologne. He appeared to be in his late thirties, and despite his African accent, he spoke English very well.

"Hello, I’m looking for Maria Garcia," he said.

Maria, still wary, replied, "That’s me. Who are you?"

The man smiled warmly. "My name is Ade. I’ve been searching for you for years."

Maria, puzzled, asked, "How do you know me?"

Ade took a deep breath. "Well I don't know you. I am hoping you knew a man named Nasir."

Maria looked at Miguel, who looked back at her. Miguel asked, "How do you know my dad?"

A tear slipped down Ade’s face. "If Nasir was your daddy, that makes me your uncle."

Miguel’s eyes widened with shock. Maria steadied herself against the doorframe. "Please, come in," she said, her voice trembling slightly.

As they moved inside, Carlos was in the living room, carefully sorting the mail into neat stacks. Ade took in the small but cozy home, absorbing every detail, his eyes lingering on the family photos and the signs of their daily life.

"I can’t believe I’m here," he said, finally sitting down. "I’ve been searching for you for years."

Maria, still processing, asked, "How did you know Nasir?"

Ade smiled wistfully. "Nasir was like my brother. We grew up together in Nigeria. We were very close. I allowed him to live with me years ago but as soon as he arrived my job called me to work offshore. By the time I returned I found out he had crossed over to the other side."

As Ade continued, he told Maria that Nasir had sent him letters about a man named Miguel Garcia who gave him a job. "In one of the letters, he was excited to let me know he had fallen in love with Mr. Garcia's daughter. Later he told me he was going to marry her and that he was to be a father. He was excited and very eager to be a daddy," Nasir explained with enthusiasm.

The letters stopped after a few months. I figured he was working and just didn't have the time to continue writing but I always knew we would catch up once I returned to Dallas. Unfortunately, when I returned no one knew to give me information of his death or any details about his life. It would be months before even his mother back in Africa found out about the tumor that had grown in his body and eventually claimed his life. I found out about his death from his mother back in Africa. I tried to find you guys, but with limited resources, it was difficult. Over time, it became even more difficult but I never gave up trying to put the pieces to his life together."

Nasir's Dreams

Miguel leaned forward, curiosity overcoming his initial shock. "What was my dad like?"

Ade’s eyes softened. "Nasir was the kind of man who would do anything for those he loved. He was brave, kind, and incredibly smart. He made everyone around him feel important. He loved deeply and worked hard for everything he had."

Maria listened intently, her heart aching with memories of Nasir. "He was a good man," she said softly. "But life wasn’t easy for us in those days."

Ade nodded. "I can imagine. He always talked about his dreams for a better life. That's why he came to America. He wanted to be first in the family to go to university. It was both our dreams to come to America and be successful. I’m sorry I couldn’t find you sooner. When I finally had good information, I knew I had to fulfill my promise to find Nasir's family."

Miguel looked at his mother, then back at Ade. "So, you’re like my uncle?"

Ade smiled, a tear slipping down his cheek. "Yes, Miguel. If Nasir was your father, then that makes me your uncle. We grew up together like brothers. Our mothers were best friends and I knew him my whole life. Neither of us had siblings but we were inseperable since little rascals and we were raised like brothers."

Maria’s eyes filled with tears. After so many years of struggle and heartache, a piece of Nasir had finally come back into her life. She reached out and took Ade's hand. "Thank you," she whispered. "For finding us."

Pictures & Questions

A sense of hope began to fill the small, crowded room. Miguel felt a new resolve forming within him. His family, though small and battered, was growing stronger. And now, with Ade's arrival, they had a new ally in their ongoing battle against the challenges life threw at them.

MIguel had a million questions and he was determined to get them all answered in one night. "Hold up, mijo," Maria told him. "Let's give Mr. Ade a break. There'll be plenty of time to ask all your questions. You will be around won't you?"

Ade told her his job is based out of Dallas. He gets two weekends per month to be home and he'd love to spend as much time with Miguel as she would allow. Maria told him she'd love that. As she fixed him a glass of sweet tea he pulled out his phone and began showing Miguel tons of pictues of he and Nasir. Ade even had a few pictures of them as teenagers in his phone. Miguel was magnetized and so was Maria. Ade had pictures of Nasir that they had never seen.

Miguel said, "Uncle, if you're only here for two weekends out of the month, what do you do that keeps you away so much?" Ade told him for years he had been working out of Atlanta but he recently he accepted a better opportunity working for a company based out of Dallas. Miguel asked again, "But what do you do?

Ade reached in his pocket and pulled out a figurine of an airplane. He placed the small airplane in Miguel's hand and told him, "I work for Southwest Airlines. I'm a pilot." Miguel's eyes lit up like Christmas tree lights. Maria knew this had to be a sign from God.