Goodbyes-a very good story By Cristina Henríquez

Goodbyes on The American Scholar.org
http://www.theamericanscholar.org/goodbyes/
A very good story. Melli's feeling of living in US touched my heart.

[Excerpt]

In Houston, Melli was often alone. She would walk around campus by herself, hurrying from one class to the next with her backpack high on her back like a turtle’s shell. She strode briskly to give herself an air of purpose and to keep herself out of the gaze of other students, who she feared would try to talk to her if she remained in one place long enough to give them a chance. It was a paradox: she yearned to meet people and to make friends, yet she was so self-conscious about her rickety English that she couldn’t bear the thought of going up to anyone and introducing herself. Or, as she sometimes wondered, was language merely an excuse? 

After a few semesters, though, her English improved and Melli gained confidence—first, enough to answer questions during class, and then, to speak more freely with the employees in the dining hall, bookstore, and student center. Eventually, she started lingering after class, talking to other students, spending time with them on weekends. She started dating, a few men right in a row. She felt as if she had found a home, a new place in which to carve out her life, and that even though she had hacked away at it crudely for a time, she had cleared the debris and could settle down and feel respectable and happy.

Still, Melli lived with the sensation that people were oil slicked and that even when they collided, they slid right past each other, perhaps lifting one thin layer off the surface upon contact, but never exposing to anyone what lay beneath. It was different from what she had experienced at home, where she had felt affronted by her family’s rough edges and pointed elbows. There, Alfonso, Jaime, Melli, and their mother had constantly been in each other’s space – physically and emotionally – and yet, even under the blanketing of them, Melli had often felt alone. People surrounded her, yet she felt isolated, as if no one understood her nor she anyone else. ...