Part of That

You're twelve when your mama and Abuela realize too many memories are here, and they pick up and leave. You nod your head as they tell you about this new place. As they tell you about new opportunities and of new places filled with wonder. New things for you to do.  Maybe you're lucky that you moved away from this small town when you were younger. Moved to a place with more people, more sights to see, and more opportunities for heartbreak to hit you when you did. Here you learn how to fight. You don't get into too many, but you know that people think you'll fight back. Something you can never see yourself doing. You learn slowly to not want to give so much anymore. Because people learn to take that and use it to their advantage against you. And you wish there was less pain as you hear your mama's sobs on events that happened on the news. And you wonder, what happened for all of this to be deserved. She sits you down and explains all you need to do to keep going.