leaving with a disease
...er, she would ask, “Why is everyone staring at us?” My aunt would pull my cousin close and whisper with gentle a voice, “Darling, they are not looking at us.” Mayra would magnify each kid with a mean expression and yell at them to “take a picture; it would last longer.” With a smile of satisfaction planted on her face she would watch as the kids went scared to brace their parents’ leg. My aunt did a great job hiding her true feelings because she would walk out of the store with a smile plastered on her face and her head held high. I knew my aunt very well and can remember seeing the steam float from her ears. My aunt felt that the parents of these children should have taught them better manners. Now that I am older when I visit my cousin’s house I have notice that her defense does not sky rocket anymore. When I think about how my aunt looked I recall her right leg dragging on the ground as she walked and her head always tilted down and to the right. Many times I would see her with her arm wrapped around her neck. I guess her neck ached from leaning the way she always did. Other than that my aunt looked pretty normal. As my aunt began to age occasionally she would lose her balance and would fall more often. When strangers try to help her up she usually gets upset with them. I remember a particular incident when Mayra’s mom was leaving the gas station and walking to the car. Suddenly I heard her hit the hard black gravel. Her hands and arms were scraped and smeared with black dirt and oil. This man quickly ran over to help her up and my aunt started screaming like a child “I don’t need your help, I can get up by myself. This man remained persistent and ignorant to her commands and heard him say while flashing a smile and wink her way, “But ma'm, what would my mother think if I didn’t help you anyway?” After the little embarrassment she apologized for her rude behavior and repeatedly thanked him for his generosity. Then with my aunt safely in the passenger seat Mayra turned the key in the ignition. While checking the rear view mirror she paused and reflected on the situation and many questions raced through her mind. How did this exp...