Vanished in Chicago (Vanished)

My big sister, ever the protector and fierce badass, immediately swung into action with the other daughters of my father's men. Together, Giulia, Martina, Arianna, Gaia, and Vittoria, vowed to avenge our fathers, clean up the mess they made and become the new heads of the crime family, catapulting my sister to the status of Doña. She is facing resistance just as she suspected since she's a woman and in the men's words, “Pussy don’t have no place in charge.” No. I am not kidding; one of my father's men said it to her in front of me, my twin, the other ladies, and some of my father's men who were nodding their heads in agreement.

I looked on, horrified, unsure of what to expect, but what I didn’t see coming was for her to laugh hysterically and then grab my father's machete he took from a Colombian crime lord and slice the guy's head off in front of everyone. I wanted to be appalled. Disgusted even. All I felt was pride. I knew we would all be ok. However, she decided that with me and my sister around, she would be distracted. So, she gave me permission to come to Chicago and attend the summer program at the Museum and UIC, provided I stay with my uncle Romeo and his daughters.

So, here I have been for the past two weeks, staying with my uncle, giving his security the flux. Not my fault they are ill-equipped to handle a few games by a little girl. Seems my cousins don’t give them enough of a workout. “God. Look, I am sorry I yelled at you, Chi. I really am. I just...I can’t take it if something happened to you or Lily, and I need to focus right now. The girls and I have no idea who we can trust yet, and the sharks are circling because they can smell blood. Do you understand what I am saying to you?” Great. Now I feel like shit. I can hear the exhaustion in her voice, along with pain, anger, and concern. And yes, I get exactly what she is saying. With my father gone, the enemies think our territory is open season, which makes all of us a target. She is right. I need to be better.

“Yeah. I know Giulia. I am sorry for being a brat. When I get back home tonight, I promise I will apologize to Tio and not do it again. I don’t want you to be worried about me when you should be protecting yourself. I love you, Zena.” I hear her exhale. She secretly loves it when I call her Zena like the warrior princess.

‘I love you too, little sorpresa.” Smiling, I hang up. By now, the name should annoy me, but it doesn’t. When my parents were expecting, the second time around, they were told there was only one baby girl. It wasn’t until my mamma went into labor and had Lily, that they realized she was still contracting and out popped me. Giulia says not only was there a surprise on that day but that nothing about me was expected. I am the exact opposite of Lily. She is soft, kind, and sees the world through the lens of a fairytale. Well, she used to before all of this. She has always been aware of what our family did, but she floated on clouds, oblivious to the reality of it. I have always wanted to be like Giulia. She has always been no-nonsense and full of fire and steel.

I remember the day she demanded my dad build a firing range in our backyard so she could learn to shoot. She was about fifteen, and I was six. I listened as my dad tried to reason with her in a soft tone of voice, trying to placate to her at the same time. My mom sat on the sofa, laughing behind her hand, shaking her head because we all knew he was going to give in. There was nothing he would deny us. We were spoiled. As suspected, he caved, and the next day, a full range was built in the backyard.

I watched for weeks and weeks as she trained and mastered everything thrown at her. One day she turned to me and said, “When you are ready, sorpresa, I will teach you. It is important for us never to forget who we are and to know how to protect ourselves. Got it?” I nodded, amazed as she talked to me and continued to hit her target, undistracted. And when I turned thirteen, she kept her promise. With not only that, but once my mom died that same year, she sort of became our surrogate mom. She insisted we take self-defense classes, but after one week, Lily dropped it. It is just not who she is, so the compromise was she gets three shadows to my one.