Julio: Part V

By Dorila Marting

Julio, a bright ten-year-old boy, is the only survivor of his family when the flood of the century killed about five thousand people on Saturday, December 7, 1941, at the northern part of Huaras, Ancash, Peru. His cousin, Esperanza, takes charge of him. Together they go to Lima and suffer hardships to earn their secondary diplomas in order to enter the United States of America as immigrants and become worthy, naturalized citizens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503587830

Dorila Marting

Dorila A. Marting gives us a riveting portrait of a land and a culture very unlike our own. Yet at the same time, her universal themes—the eternal struggle between the generations, the ties that bind—make for an astonishing debut novel filled with colorful characters and intriguing situations anyone can relate to. Coming to the United States as an immigrant, Dorila A. Marting is proud to be a naturalized American citizen. From 1959 to 1968, the author was a correspondent for the Arizona Republic in Phoenix and the Arizona Daily Sun of Flagstaff. A member of Arizona Press Women and the National Association of Press Women, she has received ten State Press awards and one national award for her journalism. Following graduate work at the University of Arizona, she became a Spanish language and ESL teacher. Now in her golden years at age eighty-seven, Marting is in perfect health and continues to write creatively from her home in Tucson.

Book preview

JULIO

PART V

DORILA A. MARTING

Copyright © 2015 by DORILA A. MARTING. 703472

Photo by Barton Robison

ISBN:    EBook           978-1-5035-8783-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 07/24/2015

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JULIO

J ulio, the ten year old orphan, victim of the 1941 flood in Huarás , Ancash , Perú, now eighteen years old, has graduated with honors from a high school in Lima, Perú, and as an immigrant, he is now on his way to California, United States of America, where he hopes to make his permanent home.

Julio, with his suit case at his side, nervously awaits the driver from Melinda’s Chalet who will pick him up and take him there. This popular place was located just five blocks from the famous Stanford University where he intends to do his undergraduate work. He had hoped that his cousin, Esperanza, would have met him, but she had told him that the distance from where she worked, near UCLA, was six hours by car nonstop. It was also complicated by the fact that her day off did not coincide with Julio’s arrival. Furthermore, even if she had met him, she would not have enough time to return back in time for her work shift. She, however, wanted Julio to notify her when he arrived at the chalet.

As nighttime approached, it brought out fears to the many strangers, including Julio, of being left in a lurch without a ride to their final destination. Most passengers spoke English and others different languages. The atmosphere was intimidating for a newcomer in a strange land. After one hour of waiting and waiting, Julio saw a paid telephone and he had the telephone number of the place where Esperanza worked. He cashed one of his American bills (Esperanza had conveniently mailed him some American currency prior to his trip) and received a handful of quarters, dimes and nickels. He did not know which one or how many coins to use. He wrote the telephone number for the clerk to see where he wanted to make the call and to whom. The kind clerk quickly walked towards the paid telephone and picked a coin or two from Julio’s hand, dropped the change into the slot and dialed the number for him; when it rang she asked the Manager of the Greyhound Bus Station if Esperanza was there and that Julio wanted to communicate with her. Then she handed the receiver to him, and she returned to her post. Julio’s face lit up when he heard Esperanza’s voice. She told him to remain there and she would immediately contact the owner of the chalet who had promised to send a driver to pick up Julio. The lady might have forgotten the time of his arrival to the airport. Esperanza promised to see him, as soon as possible.

One of the cook’s helper volunteered to pick up Julio. The greeting with the driver consisted of smiles, hand shake and the Thank you Julio expressed so well.

Melinda was impressed with the looks and manner of the young man who will work for her for four