December 17, 1982

A small gust of wind rushed through the village of Santo Domingo de Guzman, a small girl sat on a hill overlooking a market center. A small smile sat on her lips as she continued to look out past the buildings towards the open fields behind them. Her attention drifted from the scenery to the small cage that sat next to her, a small brown bunny hopped around the cage looking for a place to settle down for a nap; she smiled at the bunny. She turned to look behind her at the large building that her parents had walked into more than ten minutes ago, they had told her to stay put and play with her bunny. Like any daughter she had obeyed without a second thought, but now she was beginning to wonder why they had come to this place, a place she had walked past everyday but never walked into.

"Está bien, senor."

The sound of her native tongue caught her attention and she realized that the doorway was now occupied with her mother and father as well as a woman in a long blue dress. The woman, who she had decided was the owner of the building, looked middle aged and tired. She got up from where she had been sitting grabbing the medium sized cage that contained her bunny before walking over towards the three adult figures.

"Papa."

Her soft voice carried through the wind letting the adults hear her before she had reached them. She stopped walking when her father gave her a look of sorrow, her gaze went over towards her mother.

"Es ella?"

She turned to look at the older woman noticing for the first time the amount of attention that the woman was giving her. There was something different about the way that the woman talked that made her wonder if she was from a different place that wasn't Olivenza, Spain. She remembered her father telling her once that there are people who speak another language called Portuguese instead of Spanish in Olivenza. She had asked why and had received the answer that because of the location of Olivenza allowed them too.

"Si, es ella."

"Of course."

She tilted her head at the odd language that she had just heard the woman speak in. Her father seemed to understand what the woman had said since he nodded and took her mother's hand in hers. She began to walk towards them again ready to leave the woman and the building behind them, she wanted to go home.

"No, Jemena."

She stopped walking as the woman addressed her and turned to look at her. She ignored the woman and continued to walk towards her parents, who hadn't stopped to wait for her. She began to run and only just caught the fabric of her mother's dress before the woman had grasped her shoulder.

"Jemena te quedas ."

Confusion waved through her, why did her mother want her to stay. She didn't want to; she wanted to go with them. She only registered what was happening when she felt her mother undoing the fingers that were holding her dress. They were leaving her with the woman. Panic ran through her as she felt the woman begin to walk her back towards the building.

"¡MAMA! ¡ PAPA!"

Despite her screams for them, they continued to walk away from her and the woman. Her heart rate quickened and she began to panic. They were more than halfway down the path leading back to the village below; she needed to get to them.

"It's okay, you'll see them again. They're just going to go buy food in the market and then they'll coming back to get you."

She didn't understand a word that the woman was saying but the tone in her voice suggested kindness, her instincts told her to not believe the woman but at the moment all she wanted was her parents to come back and get her. Anything that told her that they were coming back gave her comfort, it was like when she went to visit her aunt, they'd come back… they had to.

Jemena nodded allowing herself to believe that her parents just wanted the woman to look after her for a few hours, they wouldn't leave her with someone they didn't trust. It also wasn't strange for kids to have someone who wasn't family to look over them; her best friend had a nanny that she went to every time her mother went away, maybe this was what she would have to do now. Yes, the thought comforted her and she willingly allowed the woman to take her into the building.

The inside of the building held a feeling of warmth allowing Jemena to relax a little, paintings hung from the walls allowing her to get her mind off of the fact that her parents weren't with her and instead on what she saw in the paintings. She smiled down at her bunny and walked into what seemed to be the living room, surely the woman wouldn't mind if she let her bunny out for a while.

"What's its name?"

Again she didn't understand what they woman had said but decided that if anything she was probably asking what she had named her bunny.

"Simón."

Jemena looked up at the woman and saw her nod before she sat down next to her, she smiled at her before watching Simón hop out of his open cage and onto the carpet covered floor. A small giggle escaped her lips as Simón hopped over towards her.

"Me llamo Rocio."

Jemena stopped playing with Simón when she heard the woman talk in Spanish; she smiled lightly before going back to playing with Simón. The woman's name didn't matter to her, she wouldn't be there much longer and even then she'd only see Rocio on occasion.

It was about eight at night and Jemena was fighting the need to sleep in order to wait for her parents. She stared out through the window and only allowed herself to look away from the window when she heard the phone down the hall ring, maybe it was her parents telling Rocio that they were going to be there soon. She got off of the sofa and walked down into the hall, she stood a few feet away from Rocio waiting for her to tell her that she needed to get Simón before her parents got there.

"Jemena."

She didn't like the tone that Rocio was using with her, it was much too careful. Jemena tilted her head unsure of what Rocio was going to tell her. She took a step towards Rocio and looked over towards Simón suddenly concerned for his safety.

"Tú mama y papa han fallecido."

Jemena looked up at Rocio not completely sure of what she had just told her, she knew that it had to do with her mother and father. Were they not picking her up that night? She looked up at Rocio and saw that Rocio had noticed that she didn't completely understand.

"Tú mama y papa no van a regresar por ti. Tú te vas a quedar con migo por unos dias, ok?"

That was something she did understand. Alright so she would stay with Rocio for a few more days, she could handle that. She'd be home before she knew it. This would all be behind her within a few days.

"Okay."

Jemena smiled and ran back towards the sofa not wanting to leave Simón alone for another moment.

"Okay."

She didn't hear Rocio reply to her.

Days turned into weeks and eventually Jemena understood that on the night that she had first stayed with Rocio, she had been trying to tell her that her parents had passed away. She was given to Rocio and not her aunt because of economic reasons, though that hadn't stopped her aunt for trying to gain custody of her. So Jemena began to attempt to live with Rocio, Simón was the only reminder that she had about her parents and she was thankful for that. If there was one thing that her parents had taught her it was to be strong no matter what happened they would always be with her in her heart.

January 19, 1984

Jemena was now five years old and had changed. She was taller, and her black hair reached the small of her back. Simón had grown as well, he had gained a few pounds and though he was still small he was larger than before. Yes, Jemena had fallen into life with Rocio better than she thought she could. Yet, she still missed her parents and attempted to keep memories of them fresh. She had begun to dress in a similar fashion that her mother had and certain traits she had learned from her father. Yes, it helped her to think that she kept them alive through her mannerisms, it was odd but it kept her from falling into a depression.

"Jemena come here."

Jemena, who had been sitting on the hill side, looked over towards where Rocio was calling her. She understood bits of pieces of the language, which she had learned was called English, and could even speak it in bits. However, she still depended on hand motions to help her fully understand some of the words.

"Yes?"

She got up as Rocio motioned for her to follow her into the house; she picked Simón up and walked back into the house. She smiled at Rocio as she placed Simón in his large cage before walking over towards her.

"What is it?"

It was a rule in the house that she should try and practice speaking in both Portuguese and English whenever she could, Rocio had told her it would help her when she started school the following year. From the praise that she often received, she determined that she had caught on faster than expected. Her father had always told her that she was a quick learner; a blessing in disguise had been how he had addressed it.

"We are going to take a trip to another country."

Jemena took a moment to understand what Rocio had said; a frown appeared on her lips. She didn't recall ever agreeing to take a trip.

"Simón go too?"

She heard Rocio chuckle lightly at her question and she wondered why, she was being completely serious. She would not go unless Simón was allowed to go with them.

"Yes, of course he can go with us. You didn't think we would leave him behind did you."

This, however, was too much for Jemena to process at once. She looked at Rocio for a moment seeing if she would help her understand by giving her a hand motion, but when she didn't she figured it was time to wean herself from the hand signs.

"Good. Where are we going?"

Jemena wasn't sure if she had used the right words but she knew that she had gotten what she wanted to ask across. If anything, she knew that she was capable of doing that.

"England."

Jemena wanted to know why they were going to another country, but decided against asking. Instead, she simply nodded and walked away from Rocio.

"We're leaving tomorrow, Jemena. Pack now what you want to take, this is going to be a long trip and I don't want you to leave anything you care about behind, okay."

Jemena stopped walking in order to process what she had just been told.

"Okay."

With that she ran towards her room and began to put her favorite clothes in a small backpack that she found on her bed. It was clear that they were suppose to travel light and this was a challenge that Rocio had given her. She had to choose carefully what she wanted and needed to take. She instantly packed Simón's food bag and a few of his toys before placing any of her clothing in the back pack.

She wasn't sure why but she had the feeling that this trip would bring another change for her, and she wasn't completely sure that Rocio would be able to help her through it. The thought of losing Rocio honestly scared her, after losing her parents Rocio had become someone she thought of as an older sister and losing her would hurt just as much as it did when she lost her parents. She wasn't sure she was ready for that. Like any five year old, she had tired herself out and soon found that she was on her bed, packed and ready to leave in the morning.

"Rocio… good night."

She didn't hear if Rocio responded or not, instead she fell asleep within seconds of laying down on her bed. Rocio stood at the doorway watching Jemena for a moment before she closed the door and walked towards her own room. She wasn't suppose to have grown fond of her charges, but she had taken Jemena away from her family with promises that she wasn't sure she could fulfill, she had lied to her about her parents deaths, and had gone to great lengths to make sure that she would believe it. By no means had she done what was right but it was for the best, for Jemena's best and that was what mattered. She just hoped that Jemena would understand if she ever found out. With a sigh Rocio walked into her room and got ready for bed, in the morning they would board that flight that would take Jemena away from her and to where she really belonged.

"It's for the best."

Jemena wasn't scared of heights, but being so high up had unnerved her. She figured it was because Simón hadn't been allowed to ride with her in the front instead he had been placed in the back. Needless to say, she was worried.

"He's fine."

Rocio knew how much Jemena cared for her bunny and though she wasn't entirely sure that she would be able to keep Simón, she held onto the hope that she would. She wrapped an arm around Jemena, they would be in Winchester, England before noon and she was sure that before than she would have to say good bye to Jemena. For now she would enjoy the time that she had left with her.

"Do you think Simóm like place where… we …are going?"

It took a moment but Jemena got out what she wanted to say. Yes, she would much rather be speaking Spanish but she had to practice her English if she was going to a place where they only spoke English. It made sense in her mind and really to her that was the only thing that mattered in that moment.

"I think he will love it there. There is a garden where you could get him the treats he likes."

That was how the rest of their flight went, their conversation changed from topic to topic. They only stopped when they heard the voice of the captain over the intercom telling them to buckle up just before they began their decent onto English land. Jemena glanced out of the window and noticed the differences that this country had to hers. It looked much newer and from the people she saw in through the glass window of the airport, they were much more focused on appearance.

"Jemena, we have to get off now. We can go get Simón once we get off, come."

Jemena took the hand that Rocio had offered to her unsure if she was ready to enter the new world that they were in. She straightened up remembering that first impressions were important and for all she knew they could send her back to Spain if they didn't like the way she looked or talked.

"Ah, here he is."

Jemena noticed that there was a change in the way that Rocio was talking; there was an accent that she hadn't heard before. Yes, Rocio had always had an accent in Jemena's mind but it was only barely there but now it was thick and it made it harder for her to understand what she was telling her.

"Oh, Simón. Are you okay?"

She was aware that he wouldn't answer back but at the moment, he was the only thing that seemed to have not changed during the flight. She noticed Rocio had begun to walk away motioning for her to follow her. Jemena, had always been obedient and sure that her adult figures wouldn't take her somewhere she could get hurt, however she doubted that feeling. To put it plain and simple, Jemena was scared of where Rocio was taking her.