A number of years of ago, in the midst of working
on a business plan; I opted to work for a temporary employment agency
to have some cash flowing in. One sunny Friday morning, I received a
call for an assignment; I was advised that it would be in the immediate
area.
However, late in the day, I was notified that the
assignment would be in the middle of the most heavily traveled
corridor, my first thought was to gracefully decline, but on second
thought, I knew it was best to honor my commitment.
In th following weeks, I would encounter a young,
soft-spoken man, Manuel, who I would meet at the door as I was
attempting to dash out in the evening to get that two minute lead on
traffic, and thus get to the gym, then home to work on my project. Our
conversations were always short, and went something like this:
Manuel: In a few days I will be
going to Cuidad Obregon, Sonora, to bring my parents to San Jose for a
little vacation.
Helyn: My mother had a half
sister, that she never met, that lived in Obregon
Manuel: What is your aunt's name?
Helyn: Antonia S. I have some
photos of her when she was in her early 20's; do believe she was born
in 1929. The only lead that I have is a Christmas card she sent my
mother over 20 years ago before her passing
Manuel: I could try and locate
her with the address on the envelope
Helyn: You have not seen my
messy stack of photos, and papers that I have been attempting to
organize for several years
Over the next few conversations, Manuel continued
to pursue me with questions,
looking back, I do not know why I was being so
evasive
Manuel: This is your last
opportunity; I will be taking my parents back to Obregon in a few days.
That evening, I skipped going to the gym, and
went straight to my disorganized stack. Well, lo and behold, staring me
in the face was the Christmas card.
Upon his return, Manuel summoned me to meet him
in the cafeteria. When I arrived, he suggested that I better sit down.
Then he presented me with some photos he had just developed, and I
instantly recognized the lady in the photos as my mother's sister. My
heart skipped a beat.
Manuel proceeded to tell me that while he was at
his father-in-laws home, he had told the family to excuse him as he was
going to go out to attempt to locate an aunt for a co-worker. Manuel
said that his wife asked for the name of the lady and he replied that
she was a much older woman and he did not think that she would know
her, but that her name was Antonia S.
Manuel said that his wife gasped..."what do you
mean...she took care of us..she was my second mother". With that, the
family sped off in pursuit to find Antonia. The had several detours,
but with the help of neighbors they finally found her.
On Saturday, I called my Tia Antonia, and I
immediately wanted to go and meet her and her family however, I was
told to stay away from the hot Sonora sun and to come when the weather
was a bit cooler. I was delighted to hear that in a few months her
grandson would be getting married, and that her older brother, Tomas,
would be attending the wedding.
So off I went with a camera, recorder, pens and
notepads.
I returned with a treasure of Oral History from
Tio Tomas, which is priceless. Also, I was given a photo of my great
grandmother, Dionisia Magallanas, her name, I had never heard.
I was told the story of how their mother,
Efedelia Herrera, ended up in Tepic, Nayarit from Tlaltenango,
Zacatecas. I felt a bid of sadness that my mother never knew the other
side of the story.
Talk about fate, and 6 degrees of separation.
Sadly, Tio Tomas passed away a few years later.
Oh, by the way, my newely found cousin had been
engaged to marry the brother of Manuel's wife when they were young.
Actually, this is a very long story with lots of twits and turns, but I
have attempted to make it as brief as possible. And yes, I finally met
Mrs. Manuel, a very special lady,...it was as if we had known each
other for a long time...she said that she still get chills when she
recants the long story.
Helyn de Castaneda
