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Welcome to New York 🎆

The year, 1989, those last few months made it a crazy year for all of us, we'd taken to the streets to celebrate who we were with pride, and each year the crowd would grow bigger, wilder, louder, lovelier. The waving flags of rainbow colors and different combinations would wave to the world letting themselves be seen. But that year, was one of the hardest years for me, emotionally speaking.

I had to deal with the fact that nothing would ever be the same, my first child was leaving home to go to college in New York of all places. And as for the part that nothing would ever be the same, well, that year I returned to New York, I wanted to see him settled in his dorm room, be the mother I never had, neither of us had, so I put down my walls and got back to the town that saw me grow...

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As we stepped out of the cab and walked through the sliding doors of LAX, I felt a cold chill run down my spine, the last time I set foot on an airport I was humiliated beyond compare, but I took a deep breath, fixed my hair, dusted off my blouse and step firmly as I went through TSA. As I hand my passport to the woman she looks it over and stares at me "all right then, have a nice flight Marritza". I smiled at her and walkthrough, but in my mind, I was giving thanks to the all mighty for keeping me away from experiencing the same.

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Ricchie tilts his head and interrupts me "Wait, hold on a second, you flew back to New York, even though you never wanted to get back because of one person?" I look at him and nod "I did, you see, the love of a mother is the greatest force of all, it will make you do things you never thought you would, but for your child, everything is worth it" they all look at me, grateful for everything I've done, they don't say it often, but their actions speak for themselves.

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As we arrive in New York, my brother Angel, from the House of Elenor was waiting for me as we went down the electric stairs at JFK, even though our start was not the smoothest of all, Angel and I throughout the years grew closer, even with me living thousands of miles away, on the other side of the country, he would manage to be as present as he could be, and so there he was.

I see him and I smile broadly while I strand Cole along "ayyy, Angel, it's so nice to see you again" the excitement in my voice echoed through the airport, he pulled me in for a hug "Marritza my love you are looking GORGEOUS" the man standing next to him smiled at me, I look him up and down as I rise my eyebrow "you must be the man who's been sleeping with my brother" he stared at me with wide eyes "I, I" he gags and clears his throat "uh-huh" he takes a deep breath and looks at Angel "you weren't kidding when you said she was straight forward" angel rolls his eyes "Yeah, now she is, back in the day, well let's just say she was bitch"

He looks at me and the two share a laugh, I bring Cole to my side "Angel, you remember Cole" I look to Angel's boyfriend "Cole this is" I make a pause waiting for him to introduce himself properly, he takes the hint "I'm Oscar, and it is a pleasure to meet you both" he extends his hand to shake Cole's. The four of us go get the luggage and head out the airport. As we get on Oscar's car and drive through the highway you can see the Brooklyn Bridge "Cole, welcome to my birthplace, and rebirth"

Oscar looks through the rearview mirror "rebirth?" He asks. I look at him and smile "yes, on June 17, 1987, I was reborn in this city, I got outed to my biological parents, raped, kicked out, went hungry, and even slept on a cardboard box two years earlier" I take a deep breath "but I also felt free, a couple of weeks later I met Elenor, moved in with her and so, I decided to turn that horrible day into a meaningful one" Sammy looked at me, he was proud, I could see it in his eyes.

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Kaleen stands up "Okay, so back up a second" he paces through the living room "I understand why you would want to give the day a whole meaning, it's a way of regaining your power, taking control of what went down" I look at him "mhm" he brings his finger to his mouth "but why would you not tell it how it is, I mean, you told Oscar the reason, why not keep it like that and chose a different day to call rebirth day"