park. Teresa would nod her head yes like usual, but instead of lugging Francesca to the store or beauty parlor, she took her somewhere new. As they walked down the city-street hand in hand, Teresa held Francesca close; Teresa needed it for stability and Francesca, safety. Every person they passed stopped to say hello. That was Francesca’s favorite part of walking with Teresa through the city -- she was a celebrity. “Senora Teresa!” They would call with their arms stretched wide open, waiting for her loving embrace. Sometimes Francesca got annoyed with how many people stopped them during their trek; she knew they had to go someplace else before she got to go on the swings at the park. This time in particular Francesca could not tell where they were heading. They passed Sandra’s Beauty Salon and also the little deli where their family got their meats and cheeses. They even passed Teresa’s best friend Carol’s house; that house was the farthest Francesca had walked with her Nonna Teresa be - fore that day. The more they walked, the more curious Francesca got; she had never been to this part of town. As they walked, Francesca noticed this part of town was different. There weren’t any colorful storefronts like in their neigh- borhood, and nobody was calling out to Teresa or saying hello. Matter of fact, most of the people didn’t even make eye contact. Francesca could help but notice a girl her age sitting on the sidewalk with no shoes, the bottoms of her feet as black as the asphalt she walked on. Right as they were about to pass the little girl, Teresa turned right into an archway. The archway was rusted and peeling and was the entry to a courtyard filled with people using blankets as coats. “Nonna why ar-,” before Francesca could get another word out, Teresa’s finger was to her lips. Francesca knew to listen to Teresa, no talking. As they both stood there, Teresa started praying her rosary; the blood red beds slipped through her fingertips as his lips silently moved. While she did this Francesca had time to relax for a moment and look around. She soon noticed that in the middle of the room was a huge statue. She could tell it was a man, but it wasn’t Jesus. She was used to seeing statues this size of Jesus, but she couldn’t imagine who this was. Who was this important that so many people were praying to them? The more Francesca looked at the statue the more she noticed little things. His hair looked funny to her. He was bald on the top and
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