Fereshteh

“Is this taken?” I asked a woman who was sitting on a bus seat. “No” she answered. I took off my sunglasses and sat next to the woman. She had headphones on and was listening to some music. The weather was so hot and humid but inside the bus I felt comfortable. In front of me, there was a baby girl who was in her dad`s arms. She seemed calm but excited looking at people outside the bus. The street was so crowded and people were walking fast, exactly like how I imagined American cities before visiting the USA.

Looking at the beautiful little black girl, I thought how comfortable she is in her father`s arms. A small place but a peaceful one for a little girl. That girl reminded me of my close relationship with my dad so that in every childhood photo of me I am in my daddy’s arms. When I look back over my difficulties as an immigrant, the worst part is definitely saying goodbye to my dad. I was wondering if living in the USA is worth enough to be far from my country and relatives and tolerate the hardships of immigration. Should I go back? ,…

When I saw the Empire State Building through the window, I felt something amazing because the scene was quite familiar for me: the African-American woman listening to music next to me, the girl in her father`s arms and the Empire State Building through the window. Suddenly I remembered that it was familiar for me because it is similar to one of Celine Dion’s music videos. When I was a teenager, I watched that music video called “A New Day Has Come” and I told myself that one day I would visit New York City. I was so shocked and every word of the song and some part of the music video went through my mind. I was living in one of my dreams but I never had realized that before.

The bus stopped and I thought that no matter how difficult it was to be an immigrant, I was a happy person because “A New Day Has Come.”

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