A roadside park was across the road; I figured someone had probably stopped there and that their dogs had gotten out to walk around.

Meanwhile, my mother and my sister had opened the hood to our car. I walked up to it; smoke was coming out of the engine. Had I forgotten to check the oil? Had I burnt up the engine? I thought I had recently checked the oil. Then I realized the smoke was actually steam. I looked at the water hose coming off the radiator; the steam was coming out of a small hole in the hose. We were losing water and would soon have to get water in it.

I put down the hood, got back in the car and we continued on. We arrived at a small town, through which I drove until I saw a small grocery store. I pulled up in front of the store, got out of the car and walked into the store. The store was empty except for one shelf in the middle. I was looking for canned goods, but only five or six different types of can goods, including sardines, were on the shelf.

A man standing behind a counter appeared to be preparing small square pieces of brown meat. I didn't see anything I wanted, although I was quite hungry.

When some other people walked in, I realized everyone spoke Spanish; no one seemed to understand any English. I wanted to buy some canned soup, and I thought about telling the man behind the counter that I wanted some "sopa," but I was uncertain I should ask him. So instead I snared one fellow's attention and said to him, "Donde hay una tienda de almuerzo in esta ciudad?"

He looked puzzled, as if he couldn't understand what I was saying. I spoke again in Spanish, both to him and another person, but they didn't seem to understand me. It occurred to me that they might be offended because I had asked for another store, when they wanted to sell me what little bit of food they had there. I started to leave. Just as I headed out, however, I noticed a side room which appeared to have some canned goods in it. I specifically noticed some jars of honey in the other room.

I walked outside. I was astonished to find that the car was gone and nobody was waiting for me. I didn't even know where I was. I thought, "Well they must have driven up the street and they're going to come right back."

Nevertheless I was irked. I thought, "What I probably ought to do is just hide, so they can't find me. When they come back I won't even be here. Then they'll have to look for me."

I kept walking up the street. It was a small village. I looked down a side street and saw some large black towers, apparently for a large factory. I kept walking. Suddenly, a small gray car pulled up in front of me right next to me. Some Hispanic men were in the car; one motioned me to him. I walked to him. He was wearing black gloves, and he had something in the car, but I couldn't tell what it was. I immediately realized they were going to try to harm me. I backed off and began running back up the street. The men just sat there.

I ran up the street until I saw a sign to my right which said, "Grocery Store." I didn't think the men in the car could see me and I turned into the store. I noticed some sardines for sale. I saw one long shelf in the grocery store, and thought I might be able to hide behind it, but instead I stood by the window, where I could see the gray car coming up the street. The grocery store was on a corner, and the car went around the corner of the store and continued on down the street. When I had run into the store, I had hoped the people in the car would think I had turned the corner and run down the street. Apparently, they had.

After the car had passed, I stepped back outside. I walked down the street, wondering where my mother and my sister were. I didn't think they would abandon me. Perhaps someone had kidnapped them.

Other people were out walking around. The street was dirt. Off to the left of the street I came to a group of seven or eight couples lying on the ground. They were kissing and hugging, and although they were dressed, they seemed to be having an orgy. I watched them for a few minutes. I got so close to one couple that I was standing right over top of them. The man pulled the woman's one piece suit down all the way to her navel, exposing her breasts. I thought he was going to pull the top all the way down. I didn't quite know what to make of what I was seeing. Finally, I turned and walked off.

By this time I realized no one wanted to have anything to do with me and that no one was going to help me. I walked up to another man on the street and I asked him something. He answered, "No hablo ingles."

I said, "Yo hablo espanol."

He looked at me and turned away. Other people were standing nearby, and I screamed to them, "Yo hablo espanol! Yo hablo espanol! Pero ustedes son muy alejados!"

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