ARRIVAL PROJECT

Josh Hill

His Family always meant so much to him. He

would do anything for them. And now he had to

do the hardest thing he could think of for them.

He had to leave.

Explaining to his daughter why he had to

leave was difficult, made only slightly easier

by his hopeful promises that they would see

each other again some day.

The ship that took him across the sea was as

large as his fears that he may never see them

again.

The picture he brought of his beautiful family

was his only company, but served as a

constant reminder of the distance between

them.

When the ship arrived at port there was a

lot of excited shouting, but he could not

join in the fun. He could only think of

what he left on the other side of the sea.

The shouting soon turned quiet as they were

put into a long line.

When it was finally his turn, he couldn’t

understand what the man was saying. He

just repeated his name and where he was

from hoping that the message was clear.

The strange man must have understood as

he stamped an ID card with his face on it and

handed it down.

He walked out into the foreign streets

and knew he was a stranger in a

strange land.

He consulted his translation book trying to find

a place to stay. He finally made a connection

with a sign and began walking.

He met a lady who understood his

predicament much better than his native

tongue. She helped him greatly, giving him

what he thought was a good deal on a room.

She gave him the key and he walked upstairs

trying to follow her handwaving instructions

as best he could. He found a door with a

symbol that matched the one on his key and

went in.

What a strange place. Little looked familiar

and everything looked odd.

He unpacked, taking the picture of his family

out first. He stared at it wondering if he

would ever see them again.

He woke up slowly. Dreading the day to

come full of confusion and frustration. But

he had to push through. His family was

depending on him, no matter the distance.

He picked up what he thought was a lead

on a job. I wasn’t what he did back home

but it would have to do. Sacrifices had to

be made.

He arrived at the factory, and the foreman

seemed familiar with his situation. It took

them a while to communicate but from

what he could gather he started tomorrow

and the pay was decent.

He arrived bright and early the next

morning and began the grind.

A grind that would last two years.

It was difficult, but the money he sent back

to his family kept his spirits up from failing.

He hoped someday that they would

receive enough money to be able to

afford tickets on the boat. But he knew

how much those tickets cost when he

bought one, and the price was only

going up.

He received letters from home every

now and then. The postage wasn’t

cheap and he told his wife to not waste

too much money on these

communications.

But when he opened the letter he was

glad she sent it. It was that happiest he

had been in years. They were coming.

On the day they were scheduled to

arrive he ran around the platform where

newly cataloged immigrants came out.

He saw them. His wife looking around.

She seemed worried.

His daughter looked scared and

alone.

He yelled in their direction. Waving his

hand in the air frantically trying to

stand out from others who were doing

the same. They saw him and the

embrace that followed none of them

would forget.

They were finally together

again.

And they would remain together for

the rest of their lives.