Real romance between brother and sister
My heart started to pick up speed as the bus got closer and closer to Brawly. The road was framed with beautiful fields of green and yellow. Tractors and trailers were moving around carrying farm supplies and farm workers to their designated destinations. Many fields were shimmering under the bright afternoon sun, indicating the presence of water as the irrigation canals emptied into them. Rows of white birds were spread all over those fields, searching for food and maybe even socializing at the local watering holes.
Occasionally a large orchard of fruit trees broke the continuity of this otherwise never-ending view of knee-high crops. Workers were busy in many places picking vegetables or fruit, weeding, or tending to other farm related activities. Many farm houses scattered along the road were also showing a lot of activity as people tended to animals and other chores of the day.
Most of the landscape, along with the landmarks that I was so familiar with, showed no signs of aging. Even the city of Brawly had the same look and feel; despite the cosmetic differences I noticed from before. There was a certain amount of comfort in knowing that as my personal life had gone through drastic changes, things around my area had stayed pretty stable.
I was excited—and apprehensive at the same time—about coming home. I was excited at the prospect of seeing my mom and my sister, but I was apprehensive about the fact that there were bound to be complaints about not having written or having called often enough, and grievances about not having visited in the last three or so years, considering I was only half a day’s drive away from home.
I had no answers for them. I didn’t write because I was busy with studies, lab work, writing programs, and having to work to supplement my scholarship and student loans. I didn’t call because most of the time there was nothing to say and whenever I thought of calling, something came up to make me postpone the call, until it became so late that not calling seemed easier than calling. I didn’t visit them because…well, because I was hiding from them, from myself, and from my past.
Our farm was about midway between the city of Brawly and the city of Imperial in the heart of Imperial Valley in California. The main highway that connects the two cities, takes people to Palm Springs on one side and to El Centro and Mexicali on the other. There is a small road that branches off of it in the direction of our farm, located about four miles off of the main highway, tucked away in the middle of nowhere and completely surrounded by a fence of tall trees—a legacy of my grandfather and his fondness for seclusion. Considering that our farm is only fifteen minutes away from either of the cities, it’s not a total isolation, but it does make socializing a bit difficult because it requires some effort from those who want to visit us.
I asked the bus driver to drop me at the start of that road. My mom and my sister did not know I was coming because I wanted my visit to be a surprise. It was going to be one hell of a surprise because I was coming home carrying a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of California, Riverside. I was on the verge of a successful career and my life was about to change forever—hopefully for the better.