Shoes

You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. – Harper Lee

My feet are so cold.  I thank god to have these shoes to help.  My mom is holding me so close to her chest, but I am still scared.  We left the only home I have ever known, but my mom said we are heading to freedom.  What kind of country will this new place be?  Will we find peace and acceptance there?  Here in this crowded ship, I feel afraid that we have made the wrong decision.  I was happy at home, but I miss my father.  Mother told me he left before us to find a home for us and now we are heading toward that new home.  We will once be together again. 

As the ship rocks back and forth, my stomach feels queezy.  I so wish it would stop rocking.  I am hungry but am unable to neat.  I am thirsty, but am unable to drink.  We have been on this voyage for days and I have yet been able to see the sky.

Just now we are told to get up, grab our belongings and make our way to the deck.  As we climb the stairs I realize the magnitude of my father’s decision.  The decision to take this chance to find us a better place to live.  Will he be right?  Will it be better?  As the fog clears from the water, I see a huge statue appear before me.  Her arm is raised high in the air.  What does she hold onto with such vigor?  A torch?  Yes a torch to help guide us in.  a torch to light the way toward a peaceful life.  A torch to illuminate love.  And there he is in the illumination, my father waving from the deck below.  My feet are not cold anymore.