Narrative Essay Winner

     After a long night of planning out directions to the border and trying to make a map, I was ready to go to bed. It was well past midnight and my brain was tired. I was going to try to get some sleep, even if it was only for six hours. I would wake the girls up early in the morning and we would leave right away.

           

     I fell into a dreamless night and woke up with the sun in my eyes. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was 6:03. I was relieved I didn’t sleep too late. I rubbed my eyes and stood up, still feeling a little bit sleepy. I went to wake up Delia and Velia first, since they were in the same room and could help me wake the other girls.

 

     Silently, we crept down the hall into Pita and Juanita’s room and shook them softly to wake them up. Even though I didn’t want to wake up Abuelita Remedios, I knew we had to say goodbye and thank her for letting us stay the night. After everyone was woken up and fed the delicious breakfast of huevos rancheros, we set out. Abuelita Remedios gave me a backpack full of water and food so I figured we were good to go for the first day and night.

           

     It was hot and sticky outside as we started walking through the forest. When we stopped to rest, I gave everyone a bottle of water even though we only had nine of them. Pita chugged hers and so did Velia, so they split another one. We were down to only three bottles, but I was sure we would be okay.

 

      Four hours later, we stopped again to eat food. Abuelita Remedios gave us delicious tamales which were devoured quickly. When I looked up at the sky, the sun was in the west which meant it would set soon. I urged the girls to get going because I didn’t want to be out in the forest in the dark with all of the monsters we’ve encountered.

           

     The hours walking through the forest flew by, and soon it was dark. We drank all of the bottles of water, and Pita was whining that she was thirsty. I knew I had to find water quickly or else everyone would throw a fit, and I didn’t want that. According to the roughly drawn map I made last night, there was a small town nearby where we could hopefully find water. I told the girls to stop and asked them if they wanted to find shelter for the night and get water in the morning, or if they wanted to keep walking through the forest to find the town.

 

     Jaunita and Velia voted we should find shelter and worry about the water later. But, Delia, Pita and I voted we should keep going to find the water. After arguing with Juanita for a few minutes, we finally agreed to find the town.

           

     Even though I was originally against walking through the forest at night, I knew it had to be done. After twenty minutes of walking we came across a young woman. I figured we must be close to the town if there was a person there, so I called out to her.

 

     She walked over to us and I noticed she was wearing a veil, which was a little bit odd. She asked us if we needed anything, and before I could say anything, Pita said yes. She told us that she knows of a place that has water and shelter. We began following her, and as we were walking I had a brief thought that this seemed a little fishy. I pushed the thought aside and tried to focus on getting to the shelter.

           

     I felt a little confused on why she led us to a graveyard, but I guess the shelter was one of the small huts at the back of the graveyard. As we were walking through the graveyard, I was silently reading the names on the tombstones. I came to a stop when I read one that had Papá’s name on it. Suddenly I felt confused as hot tears started streaming down my cheeks. “Why are you crying Odilia?” Juanita asked.

           

    “Look at the name on the grave Juanita,” I replied softly to her.

           

     As she read the name silently, she began to cry. The other girls crowded around her and all started sobbing. Our beloved Papá was gone, dead. Just then, the young woman walked toward us. She seemed angry. “Come on girls. We have no time to waste,” said a raspy yet sweet voice coming from beneath the veil. We obeyed and scurried behind her. She led us to a dark corner of the graveyard, and I was suddenly confused.

 

     She unlifted the veil and beneath it lay a pale, slim face. She grabbed us all by the arms with cold hands, her bony fingers pressing down into my bones. I remembered the tale Mamá once told me about The Lady in the Veil. She was a young woman who seemed kind and helpful at first, but then will trick you and you will be pulled into her grave. As soon as I remembered the tale, it was too late. I could hear Pita screaming my name. Then, everything went dark.

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About the Author Originally from North Carolina, Miss Hathaway currently lives in Colorado with her little brother and parents.