Julie by Jesus Nieves

Life has its stories of heroes and mine is my mom Julie. A mother of three. A best friend and protector with a loving soul who treated all people the same. A single mom due to my dad's adultery. We were poor, but my mom always did whatever to make us happy. She worked long hours to support us. Mom and I had a close relationship, I could tell her anything, no matter how bad or good it was.

Julie deserves her story to be told, just like you have a story that should be told. One day, my aunt Carol and Julie were talking in my grandma's living room. At this point, my aunt Carol and aunt Liz are both living with my grandma- a full-blown asthmatic who always spent time with her chest machine. They are excited because my cousin Ann, who lives in Massachusetts, calls my aunt Carol with news of buying a two-family house for cheap. They are willing to do it if Julie accepts to move in with them. I was not around to even have my say in the matter. Poor choices landed me in prison. Julie pays me a visit in jail.

I entered the visiting room to see my mom again who faithfully visited every weekend, this time was different. I looked my mom in the face and saw her hurt. I could see she had something to say. I asked her '' hi ma, what's wrong?” she faintly smiles ”am ok, am ok… I want to ask you something and I don't know if you're going to be ok with it”. In my mind and soul, I could feel that what she wanted to say was breaking her inside. She looks at me with glossy eyes and lays it on me” what do you think of me moving with your aunt? So I am thinking to myself, gotta be my aunt Carol. To my suspicion, she admits "yes carol, and your cousins’ tiff and Jules with your brother Danny and sister Jessie". So immediately my mind is racing, I spit out whatever that comes out first "what about Jessie? Is Raymond going?" I said.

Julie shakes her head “no they broke up and Jessie wants to start brand new” at this point I’m confused “why? I was getting to like him, he seems to treat Jessie right”. Julie nudges her seat closer " your sister is tired of Raymond and the drama he brings with him, and you haven't heard, but he is in the hospital because of some guy and his woman”. I was surprised but understood my sister’s view, “so, did she go see him?" Mom shrugs "no, Jessie just wants to leave” I change the subject "so, do you want to go?”. She smiles with wet eyes "am 50/50, I want to go because NY is getting expensive, and I could save money on rent plus having your aunt around will help a lot… I just won't be able to see you every weekend because I will be farther”. “I know your girlfriend sees you more, but I don't know“ she says. I cut her off “mom, it’s cool, you need this … you always wanted to live in a house, and it's a chance to escape from New York”.

Julies’ eyes were alive with hope, but I can still see she didn't want to abandon me. She replies, "are you sure? I can't leave you” I grab her hand “ma, I will be alright, and you could always come to visit me when you can" my mom with tears of relief “thank you and I will visit you as much as I can”she says. The visit was 30 mins of precious moments with my mom. A correctional officer breaks up the visit “ok inmate, time's up” my mom and I hug each other and I whisper in her ear "I love you ma… I’ll see you next time”. My mom looks me in the eyes ''I love you so much, am so proud of the man you become, I know you are special, your grandmother knew it too …live your dreams, Tito”.

A correctional officer shoves his arm in between to separate us. Julie nodded her head to relieve the situation. So, I decided to listen. As I was being escorted out of the visiting room I continued to look back to see my mom and I could feel a sharp pain in my heart. The further I walked away, The more I felt like I was losing my mom in those brief seconds. Just like that, the C.O closes the door, blocking my last view of my mom. I didn't want my mom to move, but I had to accept what she thought was best. A week later, my family finishes moving with my aunt and two cousins. The family is unpacking, getting situated in their new home. Julie senses things off with my sister, so she checks up on her.

Julie walks to my sister, in her empty bedroom staring at her phone to what appears to be an open text message from Raymond. Julie asks her “is everything ok?” and my sister tells her that Raymond is non-stop texting and calling her. Raymond wanted my sister back and wasn't going to give up. Jessie thought that Raymond was the one, the man that would be accepted by the family. Jessie loves Raymond, but she doesn't feel safe with Raymond. Raymond always has that street mentality and loved to test his inner thug on whoever. Jessie made a decision to end it because she knew her future would not be safe with Raymond.

Jessie knew that it was best to stay away farther from him. Jessie tells my mom that she is done with Raymond, but it hurts her that she broke up with him after he got hospitalized from a brutal gang attack. My mom knew my sister needed her, especially at this moment. They continue to unpack and enjoy living for the first time in a house. My girlfriend Jen has been with me for years, and my mom sees her as another daughter who she could count on. My mom knew I was in good hands with visits and things I would need. Jen looking gorgeous as usual sits across from me in the visiting room. I am infuriated because C.O’S are scanning our every move, so even a hug can get them to end our visit.

I was not the type to be spoiled, but the only thing I really appreciated was getting a visit from my mom and Jen. Jen tells me the usual of how her week was, and then we go into the topic of my mom. Jen tells me that my mom is good and that my brother and sister love it in Massachusetts. I tell her that I am happy for them and can't wait to see my mom. Jen tells me that she spoke to my mom. My mom tells her to tell me she loves me and soon will visit me. Jen was reassuring me but something about that feeling I got when I last saw my mom, really scared me like knowing I won’t see her again. Jen is the love of my life and I would be with her for the rest of my life, but my mom is something more.

My mom gives me breath to breathe, a friend I can always rely on no matter what. Jen and I talked and laughed until the visit was over. I remember it clearly. In Rikers Island, everything is broken up into buildings. I was living in a dormitory and not a cell. I was at my bunk drawing and C.O de la Ventura tapped my bed.

De la Ventura tells me that I am wanted at the chaplain's office. I didn't know what the chaplain's office was and why I was called to it. C.O de la Ventura tells me to take my time. I found it weird that he would say that. So I cleaned up my area and headed out to the chaplain's office. Now, being a first-timer, I didn't know what to expect. C.O de la Ventura's face was of worry for me. In the movies, they always portray the C.O’S to look evil. C.O de la Ventura was different, he treated us as men with respect and never treated us like we were animals.

The panic is alive in my skin, and I can't feel myself breathing as I knock on the chaplain’s door. The chaplain, tall with dark hair kinda looking like George Clooney in a way, opens the door. I enter and look around to see if there are any surprises like evil C.O’S popping out to haul me out pig-tied style. The relief came down a bit like a harsh cold slowly leaving. The chaplain stands behind his desk and tells me to take a seat. I comply fully and notice on his desk there's a phone on my side, which seems weird. He introduces himself and tells me that my family is trying to get in contact. Now, from panic, I go into vertigo.

Everything in my mind and body is spinning. I ask him what would be the reason for my family to contact me this way instead of a visit. He tells me that he is not at liberty to discuss and even if he knew he couldn't tell. Vertigo became sharp pains in my heart and I could feel my stomach was taking that impact. The chaplain tells me that I am granted 5 mins to call my aunt carol. As soon as he said aunt carol, I knew I died right after that. I can barely pick up the phone and start dialing. Everything in the room seemed silent and all I could hear was the rotary dial telephone as I punch in numbers.

The phone rings at least six times, then my aunt Carol picks up the phone. Her voice sounded cracked and broken. She answers with a “hello, Tito?” I was hesitant to answer. Aunt Carol again says "hello" and I answer “hi auntie”. She wasn't full of energy as she told me that I have to know something and that I wasn't going to like it. I said to her, “just tell me, auntie”. She begins cutting me open alive as she explains that the house they just moved in to was set on fire. She continues with how 90 percent of the house was burned.

She is relentless with the details that Raymond was the cause. He was released from the hospital and traveled to Massachusetts, bringing with him gallons of gasoline. Raymond stealthily soaked the front of the house and wanted to burn my sister and family inside. They were all sound asleep with no sense of what was happening until the fire's fragrance woke them from dreamland. Everyone in their bedrooms, my sister and brother shared a room, and aunt Carol and my cousins slept upstairs. Mom and her female chihuahua Tuffy slept in a separate room. Tuffy was really my aunt's dog, but she became incredibly attached to my mom to the point they were inseparable, becoming my mom’s dog eventually. Tuffy never left my mom’s sight, only when she had to go to work.

That night my mom was tired and fell into a deep sleep with Tuffy not knowing the fire was creeping to consume the rest of the house. Aunt Carol wakes to hear glass breaking and immediately smells fire. She looks outside her window to see the ever-consuming flames working their way around the house. She runs to her daughters and tells them to wake everyone else. Tiff and Jules begin running down the steps frightened to hear Raymond yelling "Jessie come out now, you either be with me or we all will burn in hell”. Jessie and Danny are already up in their room. They could hear loud knocking on their bedroom door. Tiff and Jules whispered onto the door for them to open. Danny opens the door to be rushed by his cousins.

He holds the door open to hear Raymond breaking things in the kitchen. The staircase to upstairs was close, and he could see aunt carol running frantically for his room. Aunt carol pushes Danny back and closes the door behind her, locking up against any danger and forgetting Julie. Everyone, including my aunt, is scared and frozen to react. Tiff uses her phone to dial 911. Just like in the movies, they take their time to arrive after the hell is unleashed. Danny and Jessie remembers my mom is still sleeping in her room. My mom's room was opposite my siblings' room, and the kitchen was right in between.

Raymond stands in between the two bedrooms. Raymond begins making his way to the living room. Julie wakes up startled from a deep sleep. Julie’s motherly spidey senses are going crazy and all she can think of is saving her family. She runs for the door, and the doorknob feels like a hot skillet fresh off the oven; it burned her hand. Julie grimaces from the stabbing torture of her hand, looking like tender meat. Julie wraps her hand with a shirt. Julie opens her bedroom door to see flames burning everywhere. She sees Raymond with his back to her.

She hears both Jessie and Raymond going back and forth. Raymond, enraged, continues calling for my sister to come out. Jessie yells back, “leave us alone! Please, Raymond, it's over … I can't deal with your drama”. Raymond demands that she comes out, or he will storm in and kill them all . Raymond loses patience and begins to violently kick and punch the door. He begins to give the door holes, exposing the room inside. Raymond peeks in to see Jessie torn in fear. Raymond tells her how beautiful she looks in the yellow-orange glare of the fire. Raymond continues with “come out, come out, come out! Now or I will take each of your family members and toss them into the flames” with a menacing smug.

Julie is getting desperate, blocked by fire. She sees Raymond almost entering the room, and her mother's instinct kicks in. Julie grabs Tuffy and throws her over the flames on the other side. Julie storms the flames to escape the death trap of the room. In the mix of escaping the room, she is engulfed with the flames working their way through her clothes. Julie could feel the fire getting intimate and destructive. The pain was not the issue, she couldn't stop for agony or the smell of her flesh melting within the milliseconds. Julie only can think of saving her kids, even if she has to sacrifice her own life.

At that moment, Julie only can see Raymond, and he needs to be stopped. Julie runs and jumps on Raymond's back. Raymond immediately can feel that he not only was wrestling my mom, but he was also fighting the fire that was consuming my mom, and it began eating at his neck. Raymond now is in fear and can feel the painful burns on his arm and neck. He tries with everything in him to remove Julie from his back, but Julie keeps a firm hold. While my mom is fighting Raymond, my family is still in the room.

Danny and Jessie can see our mom burning alive, fighting to protect them. Danny tries to open the door so that he can help her, but my aunt Carol instead took the cowardly route. Aunt Carol blocked Jessie and Danny from opening the door. Aunt Carol preferred to save her own butt than to help her own sister. She was more determined to stay in the room until the police arrived. Raymond manages to violently pull Julie off of him. Tuffy was always protective of my mom and did what any loyal pet would, and that is to protect her owner. The chihuahua weighing less than 2 pounds managed to jump on a chair and right into Raymond’s face. Tuffy did as much as she could to defend my mom but was too small to avoid what came next. Raymond infuriated all scratched up in the face, grabs Tuffy and throws her into the flames, instantly burning her alive. Julie is weakened but pulls herself together only because her kids give her breath to fight.

Battling third-degree burns all over her body. The unimaginable pain to suffer, but still fighting for the safety of her family. Now she fights to buy time for the police. No men to help and only a boy 13 years old. My brother Danny was too young to step in for his mother. Jessie is living a nightmare, feeling responsible for all the tragedy unfolding. Julie is the only hope and chance that this family will need to survive until firefighters and law enforcement arrive. Raymond was wounded as well from third-degree burns on his whole right side and left with a half Freddy Krueger face. Raymond gathered more energy for Julie, who no matter what will stand in his way.

A mother and a killer going for the prize, Jessie. You asked yourself how I know all this if aunt carol could at any time withhold parts of the truth. I knew that in my soul from the time my mom visited me in jail, that it was the last time I saw my mom smile back at me. Losing my mom and not being able to protect her or sacrifice myself to show my love for her. Life is the test of love, loving every day, even means when you lose someone. The unconditional love a mother can show is to be our protector who loves even if it means death and sacrifice.

Julie knows death is fighting her too, but she is the protector until she can't breathe anymore. Raymond rushes her into the kid’s bedroom. Julie is still swinging all parts of her body, no matter if it hurts. She knew Raymond was bigger and stronger, but she didn't care because her family had to live. She explodes on top of him biting his left eye causing his eye to be blinded. Raymond, now feeling pain, is given a shock when he could hear the police sirens closely approaching. Raymond now wants to just get away. Julie is grabbing onto him, taking shots in the face.

Raymond, blind on the left side, could not see and Julie knew that, so she would swing with an iron she had grabbed. Julie is now taking elbows shots, still holding onto Raymond with her right hand and using the left hand to strike the left side of Raymond’s face with an iron. The family is in trauma from the scenery of Julie fighting off a predator, a bully. Aunt Carol is in full-blown happy mode to hear the police sirens getting even closer. She screams, "they are almost here, Just gotta wait" she says. she whispers “a little more” staring through the door. Raymond’s eyes bulge wider, he can hear the police and fire trucks rushing closer. At this point, Raymond is dragging Julie, but she continues to keep hitting him in the face. Raymond is now getting desperate, so he grabs Julie's head and strikes her his knee.

Like that, Julie’s grip loosens, and she falls back, letting Raymond go. Raymond is looking around, scanning because now the authorities are in front of the house. Fire trucks unrolling water hoses and police standing by. The family begins screaming for the police to hear them through the walls of flames. The authorities can hear the screams of the victims. Now they are going in more determined. Raymond leaves through the back, wounded, blinded, and nowhere to go. Water hoses opening a way through the front.

Police rush in with firefighters to see Julie on the floor, barely alive. Aunt Carol pops out of the room and yells, “he went through the back!”. Police call in other patrols to surround the area. Jessie and Danny run to their dying mother. The two can only sit by her until the paramedics can rush her to the hospital. Julie now realizes her adrenaline is dropping, and she can feel everything. The burns, the broken ribs, and the dislocated jaw. Barely breathing, she mutters “ now I die so that you can live'' Danny and Jessie hush her to rest. Paramedics enter, pulling the kids from their mom. They strap her up to the stretcher. You wouldn't believe it but my no-good aunt carol started giving her best performance. Jessie and Danny could hear the police officer's walkies. Another officer on the other end said they caught Raymond.

As the paramedics lift Julie off the floor, Carol begins screaming and shedding crocodile tears for her sister Julie, who she left all alone with Raymond. How can we not recognize the hypocrisy of this woman who is family, to leave her sister to die? The authorities swiftly pull out everyone. The whole family was sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation and trauma. This night will never be forgotten, of the sacrifice Julie made. The realization, a calling to become selfless like a hero. Julie didn't think of her life to be more valuable than her children. To her, if we were to die before her, she dies anyway. She sacrifices herself so that they can live their lives. Everything flipped and my life with my only best friend ended.

Julie suffered third-degree burns all over her body. Doctors considered skin graphs if she came out ok, but Julie suffered too much damage and scarring. The battle wounds were too great for a 50-year-old woman to beat. Like nothing, 36 hours later, Julie died. The real heroes are the ones who put themselves in front of danger for others, like a determined mother. A mother, a true mother, bleeds undying love for her children. A mother becomes the guardian who is by god-given the honor to protect the child until death. In this story, my mother, julie is the hero.

Fear didn't beat her because we always think if we die it's the end, but for her, she needed her children to live and tell this story. The world is filled with evil, selfish people who will not act on love. We all can agree that life is meant to see amazing magical experiences and some dark and cold ones. I now know that heroes are the ones you look up to and, for most people, are their moms. A mother who is there to pick me up when I fall, to hold me when I’m sad, and protect me from all evil. Thank you, mom, for the honor of telling your story.