In the third issue of The kNOw (our most recent issue), you’ll find Anna’s article on page 20. She writes about the special father-daughter bond she has with her dad. The article is written from her first-person perspective, but you’ll be surprised to learn that the original vision behind the article was a play/skit she had written based on the same topic. Another interesting fact, it is based on a real dream she had. We didn’t have room in the mag to publish the play, but we’d love to share it here with our readers.
[divider]She wakes up like every other day; early, tired but happy. It’s 5 A.M. Her alarm goes off. Her little eyes open wide with excitement. She jumps off her warm, soft, comfy bed and slips her little feet into a pair of furry purple slippers. She puts on her soft pink & purple jacket, and walks out her bedroom into the hall.
She is six years old, has dark long curly hair and is about 3’5” in height.
Suddenly, she gets a bad feeling about something. She starts to think about her Dad coming home, and then she gets happy again, her frown turns upside down.
She walks to the front door to greet her dad from another hard long night at work at a construction site. She looks at the cat clock hanging on the kitchen wall. The time is 5:13 A.M. Her little ear listens for the truck pulling around the corner, but all she can hear are the howl of the neighbor’s dogs. It’s now 5:20A.M. Still no sound or sight of her father’s arrival.
She worries, because every morning he gets home at 5:15 A.M. but not today. She opens the door and sits on the porch. Ten minutes pass and then she hears a truck pull up. She jumps with joy to see her Dad, but then she realizes her Dad is not in or driving the truck. A tall, light man gets out and walks up to her.
Mark: Good morning princess, what are you doing up this early?
She looks at him with her light brown eyes, wondering about her Dad.
Mark: My name is Mark. Can you please run in the house and call your mother out for me? I have something to tell her.
Still, the little girl makes no sound or motion. After a few seconds, she finally speaks.
Little girl: You can’t call me Princess! (She says angrily.)
Mark: And may I ask why?
Little girl: Yes!
Mark looks at her waiting for an answer.
Mark: Why not?
Little girl: Only my daddy can! Why don’t you go inside and call my Mom out because I’m not moving till my Daddy shows up. (She says with an attitude.)
Mark: Well I work with you’re Dad sweetheart. (He touches her shoulder as he speaks. She looks up at him with her eyes wide open.)
Little girl: Where’s my daddy at?
Mark: Call your mom out. (He says, trying to change the subject.)
Little girl: NO! Where’s my daddy! (She insists.)
Mark: Your dad is at…Your dad he’s… (he stops trying to find a way to speak) Call your mom out please.
Little girl: NO! (She yelled.)
A short, but somewhat tall lady who appears to be in her 30s comes out of the house. She is about 5’5” in height, and is wearing a black robe. Her dark hair with light highlights is tied back into a ponytail.
Maria: May I help you, Sir?
Mark: Good morning Ma’am. Are you Mrs. Gonzalez?
Maria: Yes I am, how may I help you?
Mark: My name is Mark. (He says, reaching out his hand to shake hers.)
Maria: My name is Maria. (She replies, extending her hand to shake his.)
Mark: Your husband works for me in construction.
Maria: Yes? (She responds, confused and wondering what he wanted.)
Mark: Well I don’t have an easy way to say this, but your husband…(He pauses for a moment.) I’m afraid your husband is…
Maria: He’s what??? Is he okay? (She says in a worried tone.)
Mark: I’m sorry.
Maria: What do you mean sorry? (She says confused.) Where is my husband?
Mark: I’m afraid your husband died.
Maria: What??? How???
Her jaw suddenly drops in shock. Her hands begin to tremble, and her knees begin to weaken, as if her breathe is caught between her gut. The little girl comes up to her side.
Little girl: What’s wrong Mom? Why are you crying? And what does he mean died? Who died?
Maria: How?
Mark: He was fixing pipes, and he was climbing out the hole, but he got stuck somehow. (Mark pauses a second, then continues).
The man driving the tractor didn’t see him, and he was buried with the dirt. We didn’t realize it until we already covered the hole. By the time we unburied him, he wasn’t breathing. We called an ambulance but when he got to the hospital the doctor said it was too late. (His voice rushes.)
I’m sorry, we did everything we could. (He says in a sad, sorry tone.)
Maria: Why? (She cries, shocked, and looks at the ground.)
Mark: We are going to pay for all the hospital and funeral costs.
(Maria looks at him.)
Maria: You think that’s going to fix everything? (She says, angrily.)
I lost a husband, (she puts her left hand on her heart) and yes I can get another one. But my daughter lost her only dad.
Yes she can also get another dad but it won’t be the same. (She says, while pointing at her daughter.)
How do you think she’s going to take it? He was everything to her. (Her tone is sad now, and she raises her voice.)
She wouldn’t go to bed until he read her a bedtime story and tucked her in, before heading out to work. She would get up early in the morning to see her dad come home from work. (She slapped the back of her right hand into her left palm, as if she is ready to fight Mark.)
She doesn’t let me dress her for school because she wants her Dad to do it. That’s how she starts and ends her days. You think that’s going to fix everything? Do you? (She says, angrily.)
She’s going to grow up seeing other girls and boys with their Dads, and how do you think she’s going to feel? A girl needs her father as much as she needs her mother. (Her voice rises again.)
Little Girl: Mom where’s my Dad? Is he okay? Why do you look like you want to cry?
[divider]Ten years passed, and the little girl is now a teenager. She still wonders about her Dad. Her mother told her about her Dad and what happened to him, but still, she wakes up early every morning and cries herself to sleep every night. And she doesn’t know why she does that.
This is not a true story but a dream. This dream may have happened to someone, anyone in the world. Some of you may not even believe in dreams coming true or even nightmares in this case, but they do one way or another. If you have someone in your life cherish them, because you never know when might be the last time you will see them. To all daughters that are close to their fathers, try to understand. No one lives forever.
In 2006, over 25 youth began participating in weekly after-school writing workshops where they congregated in the hallway of a two-story building in West Fresno and learned the essentials of creating media and telling their stories. The group evolved over the next five years and is now proudly recognized as The kNOw Youth Media.
Through our program, we create opportunities for our youth participants, who in turn create long-term positive change in their communities. Our approach weaves youth development and youth media innovation to produce our biannual youth publication, multimedia projects, and community forums.
The kNOw began as a project of New America Media, which was the country’s first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000 ethnic news organizations. In 2018 The kNOw became a project of Youth Leadership Institute.
