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Ellis Island and The Fuscos

A Short Story

By Patti CakesPublished 6 years ago 7 min read
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The Copper Lady

January 8th, 1893 – My name is Patrizia Fusco and I am 10-years-old. My mother, Catarina and my sisters Silvia and Katia have been travelling in what they call the steerage room for over 2 weeks. Silvia is 17-years-old and Katia is 13-years-old. I am the youngest. The steamship is crowded down here-- and dirty. Mother tells me to stay away from the other children because they have head lice. She has been caring for Silvia, who has been limping for 2 days now, because this room is so crowded someone stepped on her ankle in the middle of the night. It is blue and greenish colored.

January 9th, 1893 – There was a party on the deck today. Everyone, from different classes heard the news that we are almost there to America and we danced until our legs gave out. Even Mother danced, that was funny. Silvia couldn't dance so I helped cheer her spirits by clapping her hands for her. She seems tired. I wonder if my dad will be there to greet us! He left a few months ago and sent for us to come. I miss my father. He is strong and handsome and he will make our lives happy again. I looked at the horizon searching for the big copper lady until it felt like my eyes would bleed.

January 10th, 1893 – I seen her! I really seen her! She is the tallest woman standing and is on her own island. Silvia even rose to her feet to see it. My mother was acting crazy, crying and squeezing us. She mumbled something about the economy back home but there was too many shouts and excitement going on that I couldn't hear. She seen my face and pulled me close. She told me in my ear, so I could hear better, that we could talk to God here. She said we wouldn't be hungry anymore here, that there is double the food for everyone and then poked my ribs and joked that I will be plump soon. My mouth started watering thinking of the food.

June 11th, 1893 – We waited an eternity before the tiny boat came for the people in the steerage room. We couldn't move that fast because we were helping Silvia, who has gotten worse and looks pale. Mother carried the bundle, which had all of our things in it, which wasn't much. She had the money from father in a secret pocket on her dress. From there these men in uniforms were waiting for us. How strange. They were shouting in a weird tongue and pointing at a red brick building. They gave each of us a tag. Mother, Katia and I with Silvia limping still followed the path of other people into the building and the men brought someone who spoke our language finally to tell us we were to leave our belongings and go to the Registry Room upstairs. I looked at Silvia when he said upstairs. She winked at me. She is always too tough for her own good. We followed a crowd up the stairs and the strangest thing was when I looked up I seen men in white coats staring each one of us down. I was getting scared. I looked at the people around me and they seemed tired, anxious and spoke in strange languages. I made faces at the other kids I seen and they made them back. At least that hasn't changed. Silvia was sweating and Mother and Katia tried to hold her up straight and kept looking up at the men who were looking back down at us. We got nearer to the top of the stairs and Mother looked nervous. Silvia straightened out and didn't even wince. She's strong. She told me the men staring were doctors and we had to look healthy. She messed my hair up and said "so smile!" I did. As we passed the doctors they pulled an elderly woman to the side and marked her with an X in chalk. I was appalled.

We reached the top to be in yet another line. What was this place? It had big tall desks and stools and really stern looking men talking to everyone. We waited by long metal rails and I realized they were calling people's name's out. I asked my mother how they knew the names and she laughed. She reminded me of the ship captain's notebook where he sloppily wrote our names down and a description. I laughed remembering the experience. Then we heard a loud "Catarina! Catarina Fusco?! 3 daughters!" Mother went to help Silvia up but she insisted on doing it herself since we were not out of the clear as she put it. We stretched our necks trying to see where we were being called from and 2 gentlemen at a tall desk smiled and beckoned us. "Catarina Fusco? Italiana?" Mother smiled and said yes and introduced each one of us. He asked her 29 questions, I counted. Silvia was beginning to sweat again. Mother was so beautiful and charismatic when need be that the men hardly noticed. I wondered where they took the old woman they marked with an X.

After that, we were led down another staircase. There were 3 isles and 3 doors. I wondered why they would do that. We were told to go down the left isle to head to New York City. Once I heard that my spirits lifted and I fainted from the excitement of seeing my papa again. Mother found where we could exchange our money for American money. It was funny looking. Mother told me we can buy a lot with this funny money. Enough bread and milk as we pleased. My tummy rumbled, but I remembered Silvia's leg and asked mom about it. She said she cannot look at it here or we will be detained and won't be able to see Father right away.

We searched crowds of people looking for Father. I stood at the top of the stairs to get a better view. I screamed and Mother, Silvia and Katia turned around just as I was rushing down the stair case. From the opposite side of the room, Papa had seen me and was running towards us. He had toys and chocolate in his arms for us and flowers for Mother and the petals were shaking off as he sprinted. Time seemed to slow down. It seemed this one moment stretched longer than the months and hours and seconds of anticipation to see him and be in America. It seemed the crowd multiplied, quadrupled in seconds and we would never make it through to him. Silvia was lagging behind and when I felt her hand leave mine I turned round to see the crowd enveloping her. Her fingertips disappearing into a blanket of people. I heard her moan and couldn't push through the crowd. There was too many people. My tears were hot as I tried to push the grown ups out of the way. No one spoke Italian, they couldn't understand me. Where was Mother and Father? Why did Katia keep going? I heard My father's voice cry out for me and I sobbed "papa" over and over until he found me against a wall. "What's wrong? Where's Silvia?" He shook me and I couldn't stop crying. I pointed towards a suitcase that was a few feet away from me. There was an arm in a pile of swirled golden hair and a completely black leg stretched out underneath it. The suitcase was a first class passenger's and among the commotion it somehow fell onto my sister. It was far too heavy for me to push off of her. I was shaking as I fell to the ground. The man who owned the suitcase was on the other side when he seen the crowd cleared and the damage done. It was too late. I lost my sister before we stepped foot in New York City, before she got to hold our Father and smell his embrace. The chest did not break her bones, but she suffered from asphyxiation, which in terms I understood was suffocation.

To Be Continued.

immediate family
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About the Creator

Patti Cakes

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"22 yr old Gemini writes Poetry , Short Stories and Comically Inclined Tales. Wouldn't Wanna Miss This. . ."

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