The Thankful Tree

This story is called The Thankful Tree by Lorena Romero. This is a LibraryCall recording. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING The school bell rang. If this were a normal year, José Luis would be jumping with excitement. He would be dashing out his classroom door, running out of the school, and hopping into his mom’s car. Every year during fall break, José Luis’ school had a whole week off, and he would use that time to play his favorite games, day and night. His family doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, so he got to stay up late and play Minecraft for hours. His mom wouldn’t tell him to stop and do his homework, like usual. She would just come by and drop off some Takis at his computer from time to time- a gamer’s ultimate dream. Except this year, there was nothing to celebrate. This year, his parents had decided to plan a trip to Mexico to see his family. He hadn’t seen them since he was really little, so he knew it was going to be awkward. José Luis had asked if he could at least bring his gaming computer, but his parents said no. That’s when they broke the worst news of all: they were going to his dad’s pueblo in Jalisco, where there was no wi-fi. That’s right, no internet. At all! Even if he wanted to bring his iPad to keep himself entertained with Roblox, it wouldn’t work. This was going to be a disaster. “Alright class,” said Mrs. Ali, his 3rd grade teacher. “Remember to drop off your thankful leaves on my desk on your way out. I hope you all have a wonderful fall break!” José Luis was so upset about his upcoming trip that he had completely forgotten about his homework. Mrs. Ali had asked everyone to trace their hand on a brown piece of paper, cut it out, and write five things they were thankful for- one on each finger. She was going to display all the handprints as leaves on the big tree she had made out of paper on the back wall of the classroom. He put on his backpack and walked to Mrs. Ali’s desk to see what everyone had written. “I’m thankful for my family,” “I’m thankful for my dog,” “I’m thankful for my ballet teacher.” His would have been so easy, had he not forgotten to do it. “Mrs. A, I am so sorry. I am leaving on a trip to Mexico tomorrow and I forgot about making my leaf. Can I turn it in to you when we come back from break?” “José Luis, you know how I feel about late assignments” replied Ms. Ali. “But, I can tell you’re a little upset. Maybe you can tell me right now what you are thankful for.” “Honestly, Mrs. A, I am not in a thankful spirit this year” confessed José Luis. “I don’t want to go to Mexico. I want to stay here and play on my computer. But I guess if I have to pick five, I am thankful for my family, for my gaming computer, for my RGB keyboard I got for my birthday, for tacos because they are my favorite food, and, of course, I am thankful for Minecraft. It is my favorite thing in the world.” Mrs. Ali gave him a skeptical look. “Ok, I will give you an exception, but only under one condition. I want you to think some more about your answers during the break. I know you aren’t excited about your trip, but it might be different from what you expect. When I was a kid I went to Algeria for the first time, and I was so nervous. It ended up being amazing and I still visit once a year to this day. I love visiting my family back home.” “Thank you Mrs. A! I’ll think about it and bring you my leaf as soon as we get back from break.” José Luis knew that his answers probably wouldn’t change, but he was happy he had an extension on his assignment. The next day was a blur. José Luis woke up late which caused his mom to panic. His older brother, Jonathan, took forever in the bathroom. His dad couldn’t fit their luggage in the Uber because they had brought three extra suitcases full of gifts for the family. They somehow made it to the airport just in time, but the flight to Jalisco seemed like it was years-long. His baby sister, Aylin, would not stop crying the whole flight. He thought it was cool that the back of the seats in the airplane had little TVs, but they only had a couple movies he had already seen like 50 times. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally landed in Jalisco. Even though it was November, it was hot, so hot, and there were mosquitos everywhere. The streets looked different and everyone spoke so fast he could barely understand them. José Luis felt insecure since he spoke English better than Spanish, but no one spoke English here. Aylin was still crying, Jonathan was in his own little world, and his parents were scrambling to track down one of those little green and white taxis to take them to his grandparents’ house. He felt so cranky. Meeting all the family was overwhelming. All these people came out of nowhere, telling him how they hadn’t seen him since he was just a chamaquito. He didn’t remember any of these people. All his tias ran up to him to pull his cheeks, and they were all talking so fast. Everyone was obsessing over the baby, his parents disappeared to talk to the other grown ups, and who knew where Jonathan went. José Luis just stood there awkwardly. He hated being there, and there was an entire week left to go. He felt a tap on his shoulder. Was another tia gonna pull on his cheeks? “Hola,” said a young voice. José Luis turned around and saw another boy that looked very much like him. Same tan skin, brown eyes, and fluffy black hair. It was almost like looking in a mirror. “Me llamo Omar. Soy tu primo. Your dad is my mom’s brother.” “Hola,” replied José Luis. “Me llamo José Luis.” “Welcome, primo!” replied Omar with a giant hug for José Luis. All of a sudden, he didn’t feel so cranky. “Hey, is that a creeper on your shirt?” asked Omar, pointing down at the blocky green creature on José Luis’ chest. “I love Minecraft!” “You play Minecraft?!”José Luis asked. “My dad said you don’t have internet here.” Omar giggled. “Yeah, we have internet! We don’t have it here at the house, but I play it at my school or at internet cafes.” José Luis smiled. He was so happy he had someone to talk to, but he immediately felt self-conscious about his Spanish again. “Oye, primo” continued Omar. “I know you live in California. I am learning English at my school, but I could use some practice. Do you think you can help me?” “Claro que sí, primo” replied José Luis. “But only if you can help me with my Spanish.” In that moment, the two cousins became inseparable. They talked about Minecraft, and about how much they both love the Lego Movie. Omar told José Luis about the time he visited the Aztec pyramids near Mexico City, and how he climbed so many stairs to get to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun that he almost passed out. José Luis told Omar about the time he went to Disneyland and he got stuck in the Indiana Jones ride, and he too almost passed out. They promised to take one another to these destinations, because the experience would be so much more fun together. Omar took José Luis to the tienda every day, where they had flavors of Takis he had never seen. They even had blue ones! One night, the boys snuck out during la cena to get tacos from a taco stand that only opened after 8 pm. It was the best food José Luis had ever had, just like Omar had promised. In return, José Luis promised to take Omar to his favorite burger place– In-N-Out– in California someday. When they returned home, they got in so much trouble for sneaking out, but it had been worth it! On the last day before going home, José Luis and Omar sat on the curb outside the tienda, enjoying a big Paleta Payaso. “Oye, primo,” said Omar. “Aren’t you gonna have, like, a mountain of homework when you get back?” “Nah,” replied José Luis, “we’re actually on break. I only have one homework assignment and it’s super easy.” “Qué es?” asked Omar. “I just have to make a list of five things I am thankful for,” José Luis answered, taking a big bite of the delicious marshmallow candy. “Five things. That’s so easy. I can list five right now” said Omar, holding up five fingers to his face. “I am thankful for my family, of course. I am thankful for the internet cafe, because I can play games there. I am grateful for the taco stand. I am grateful for la tienda right behind us.” Omar put down his fingers one by one, until just his index finger was up. “And now, I am thankful for you, my favorite primo.” José Luis felt his eyes watering up. Trying to clear the giant lump in his throat, he could only reply with one thing.“Gracias, primo. Thank you for everything.” Time went by so fast in Mexico. The whole family worked together to shove all the luggage into the taxi to the airport. This time, José Luis and his family were returning with three suitcases full of gifts they had received from the family. After spending several minutes saying goodbye to the adults, José Luis and Omar gave each other a giant hug. In between tears, they promised to see each other again soon, and that they would chat on Minecraft as soon as José Luis got back to California. On the first day back from break, José Luis ran up to Mrs. Ali as soon as he arrived at school. “Here’s my leaf, Mrs. A!” he exclaimed. Mrs. Ali took a look at the paper and noticed that the responses were different. She read it out loud: “I am thankful for… my family, Jalisco, tacos, blue Takis, Omar.” “What happened to Minecraft?” asked Mrs. Ali. “Yeah, Minecraft is still my favorite game, but it’s a lot more fun when I play it with my cousin Omar,” replied José Luis with a big smile. He headed to his seat and got his school supplies out. “Welcome back, everyone!” announced Mrs. Ali. “I have just hung up our last thankful leaf. Great job!” José Luis looked behind him at the Thankful tree. Staring at his paper handprint at the very top of the tree, he had quick flashbacks of the tienda, the tacos, the blue takis, and the amazing week he had with his new best friend. José Luis smiled to himself. Just last week, he couldn’t think of anything better than spending a whole week playing his favorite video game. Now, he couldn’t wait to spend a week back in his new favorite place: Jalisco.