Rosa had already planned out where to go, since she needed to do a little food shopping, as well as pick up some new shoes. She led them through street after street. Even Phineas got lost, which was rare, since his sense of direction was always so keen. Finally, after alleys of shops, they came to a one-way avenue that was transited by lots of traffic.
On the other side of the street, was a type of plaza, with a park and bandstand. A block away, a Catholic cathedral stood in its magnificent beauty, on elevated ground. Presumably, this was the center of the city of over one million people. Phineas and Isabella put their wonder to the side, as they followed Isabella's aunt, who led them into another side-street, finally walking into a small dry goods store.
The store was owned by one of Rosa's uncles, Toño. Even though the store looked really small from the outside, squashed between two other storefronts, he really knew how to make the most out of the tight quarters. Every dry and canned good imaginable to the Mexican palate was readily handy.
The most commonly sold goods, which were several varieties of rice, beans, dried peppers, and peppers in powder form (chile en polvo), were at ground level in Rubbermaid containers for easy access. Other types of peppers, sunflower seeds and other seeds, canned soups and goods, evaporated milk, beef jerky, among other things, were orderly stacked on the wall. The racks reached almost up to the roof of the small shop. A lone ladder leaned on the back wall, in case anything was needed from the top.
Toño greeted Rosa and Manuel first, and commented in Spanish about how tall and strong Manuel had grown. Then he approached Isabella and greeted her in Spanish. His northern Chihuahua accent dominated his voice's inflection as he spoke.
"Hola mi'ja, como estas? Vaya, que bonita estas, cuantos años tienes?" Hi, how are you? You're beautiful, how old are you?
She responded, with a barely detectable accent. "Gracias. Estoy bien, y usted? Tengo quince años." Thanks, I'm good, how are you? I'm fifteen years old.
"Ah bueno, asi que eres quinceñera? Pues estoy bien, nomas haciendo la lucha para salir adelante." Oh, so you're sweet fifteen? I'm good, just working hard to make ends meet.
Toño then greeted Phineas with a firm handshake. "Y quien eres tu?" And who are you?
Phineas returned the firmness of the handshake. "I'm Phineas Flynn, encantado en conocerte." He said the Spanish part with his still-heavy accent.
Toño grinned, "Ah, Phineas…que nombre tan unico. Pues bienvenido a Juarez." Phineas huh? What a unique name. Well, welcome to Juarez.
Phineas half-understood what the man said. He just replied a simple "Gracias."
Toño noticed the incomprehensive look on Phineas' face and smiled, turning his attention to what Rosa was going to buy. She had asked him to get a kilogram of beans, half a kilo of dried California peppers, and a small bag of sunflower seeds. While he was busy scooping the products out of their buckets and weighing them, he was conversing with the woman. The conversation was too fast for comfort, and Phineas tuned out. He looked at Isabella, who gave him a look that said that she was just as confused as him.
Once the goods were bagged and Rosa paid at a reduced employee price, they left the store, saying goodbye to Toño. They then walked through more alleys, with shops and vendors packed on either side. The shops sold everything: jeans, shirts, boots, shoes, hardware, wallets and leather goods, CD's with mixes of every genre imaginable, pirated movies, and other things. Each shop played their own music full blast. The cacophony was annoying, but it made the experience more fun in a sense.
Phineas was especially surprised with a shop that was selling pirate DVD's of a movie that been in theaters for less than a week. This is piracy on steroids, he thought. He walked up to the guy running the shop and asked an accented "Cuanto cuesta?" How much for the movie?
The guy replied promptly, "20 pesos."
Phineas' jaw dropped. Holy crap, that's not even 2 dollars.
Rosa led them onto the sidewalk of another major street. They walked for a block or two before entering a shoe store. The entrance was wide and doorless, so Phineas could still see and hear the street. Most of the display inside the store was devoted to women's and children's shoes. He took a seat in a chair while Rosa and Isabella had girl time dreaming about the shoes on display. Manuel had ventured outside, checking out a stand next to the entrance that was selling wallets.
Phineas sat looking at the men's boots on display. They were noticeably of good quality, some made with crocodile skin, others made of ostrich or snake skin. But they were surprisingly cheap for the quality; ranging in price from 20 to 30 dollars.
As time wore on and Rosa couldn't decide between a two pairs of heels, Phineas listened to the radio playing within the store. It was the same station that they had heard on the bus, now pumping another cumbia mix. Man, all these people listen to is cumbia, he thought. But he enjoyed the rhythm of the music, it blended perfectly with the sounds coming inside from the street.
He closed his eyes and took it all in. The music pumping, the hum of motors of cars, trucks, and buses; the squeak of brakes. The slight smell of burnt diesel, the rumbling sounds of foot and automotive traffic, the voices of people talking and haggling. Phineas thought the sounds, smells, and sights were all beautifully orchestrated. It was the heartbeat of a hectic and busy city, the sound of the struggle of many people to make ends meet. He couldn't help thinking; things are so much easier only a few miles away, across an imaginary political line.
Isabella sat next to him and asked, "Whatcha' thinking?"
Phineas turned over, a serene expression on his face. "Nothing…this city, it's simply beautiful."
"A bit too hectic, if you ask me. And it's a very rough city, there are murders every day."
He replied, "True, it isn't my cup of tea when it comes to choosing a place to live. But for this instant, it just seems so electric and perfectly synchronized."
Isabella smiled. She was happy that he was enjoying the trip across the border. Part of her wanted to hug him right in the midst of everybody, but she refrained. Phineas took the initiative, by grabbing her hand and giving it a playful squeeze. "Thanks for inviting me to come with you, it's wonderful."
She went into Phineas-Land, dreamily replying "You're welcome."
By then, Rosa had finally decided which shoes she wanted. She chose some silver high heels. Both Isabella and Phineas rolled their eyes, because it had only taken her about an hour to decide. When the shoes were paid for and bagged, they left the store, and started on the journey back to the bus stop that brought them here. It was already 3 in the afternoon.
The walk back to the bus stop was different than how Phineas had remembered it. Rosa led them through some different streets. He wondered how the woman managed to keep her sense of direction in such a confusing web of streets and alleys. Isabella was just as bewildered, and Manuel just tagged along thinking nothing of the walk.
When they finally reached the bus stop, a small crowd was already gathered waiting for buses. Some other bus routes stopped at the same stop; buses with green stripes, purple stripes, and red stripes stopped, taking most of the crowd. Finally, an orange-route bus arrived. The group got on the bus, paid the fare, and took their seats. The bus sat around for a minute. A popsicle vendor took the opportunity to pitch his products, and got on the bus. But when he saw nobody interested, he got off and tried his luck elsewhere. The bus pulled out of the small street, and left the downtown to continue its route.
The bus got stalled for a moment in a traffic jam on the major avenue. It sat idly, boxed in by cars and trucks of all sizes. Phineas looked out the window. A truck full of Mexican soldiers, armed and ready, was stuck in the traffic, next to the bus. The soldiers were part of the Mexican government's war against the drug cartels. So far, the tactic saw no success.
Phineas nudged Isabella and pointed at the truck. She gasped and grew a little nervous. She knew that if any violence arose between the soldiers and gunned cartel members, they were directly in the line of fire. He noticed her nervousness, and took her hand. Somehow, this gesture was more than enough to calm her down. To Isabella, it signified that everything was going to be okay.
The traffic jam let up a bit, to a slow crawl, but then stalled again. This time, the bus was stopped in front of a pedestrian bridge. Lots of people were using it to get from one side of the street to the other. The soldiers were still next to the bus.
Everybody was calm, talking and enjoying the moment as best as they could, when they heard what seemed like a succession of cracks. Nobody really paid attention, until one of the soldiers fell off the bed of the pickup, unconscious. A pool of blood formed where his head landed.
Until then it became evident what the cracking sounds were. Gunshots.
The soldiers started panicking, getting in position for any possible ambush by armed cartel members. The traffic jam essentially made them an easy target, like turkeys on Thanksgiving. Manuel was the first one to start freaking out. "Oh my God, they're getting shot at!" Him and Rosa immediately ducked below the window of the bus.
Phineas and Isabella were slower to react, since they had never been in this situation. Isabella leaned towards Phineas, who had taken the window seat. She asked, "Phin, what's going on?"
Phineas saw the panicked soldiers, the dead man on the ground, and the fear in the faces of the drivers that were next to the truck. Some had actually ditched their cars and ran somewhere else. He responded quickly, "They're getting shot at; we should duck and protect ourselves."
He put his hand on the back of Isabella's head and guided her to duck into her lap. A fraction of a second later, he did the same. He was halfway down, his head and neck still visible through the window, when another crack was heard.
All of a sudden, Phineas' world temporarily went black. An instant later, it held nothing but raw pain.
Uh-oh, a cliffhanger. What is going to happen to Phineas? Stay tuned to find out :)
I hope that these two chapters weren't confusing. Please review to let me know what you think.