“Hey, sergeant, over here!”
An Arizona border patrol officer kicks at a bundle of clothing and realizes it’s a body. The other officer runs up with a flashlight in one hand and rests his other hand on his holster. They recoil from the smell of decay. Carefully removing the clothing for any form of identification, the sergeant says,
“Poor hombre. I bet his coyote stole his stuff and left him here to die.”
The deputy peels back the body’s dirt-matted shirt. Across its back, the words tattooed in a banner nailed to a cross spell “Mi hija, Acacia.”
Jeaninne Escallier Kato is a retired teacher and author of the children’s book Manuel’s Murals. She has been published in online magazines, educational journals, and has a short memoir piece in the anthology book, Gifts from Our Grandmothers, by Carol Dovi. Her writing muse is fueled by her love of the Mexican culture. She speaks Spanish and has developed a college scholarship program for adolescent male Latinos called “Lincoln Hermanos Mentors.” Jeaninne spends time every summer in Oaxaca, Mexico. Book site: manuelsmurals.tumblr.com. Blog site, Viva La Vida: example1667.wordpress.com.
A Quiet Courage 