“I am an immigration officer,” the man's voice boomed, seeming to echo all around him as the damp ocean breeze blew in icy shreds. “This boat is taking you people to Ellis Island. This is where you will have what you will get to know is called ‘Americanization.'
It is nothing to fear, but is quite necessary before being set free on the streets of New York. It may take some time to get completed, so please try and be patient. And if it makes you feel any better to know this, all other immigrants before you had this to do also. It will go much faster for you if you will just cooperate.” He spat into the wind, wiping his thick moustache with the back of his left hand, then quickly added, “And I'd like to take this opportunity to be the first to welcome you to our shores. We Americans welcome into our midst anyone who is not criminal or deranged. It is a land of opportunity. I hope you will be able to be as happy here among us as you were among your own people in Italy.”
Trembling from the chill, Maria moved closer to Alberto. He was all she had now until she reached Papa's arms. And wasn't America such a large, vast land? Her fears seemed to triple just thinking about it. Her gaze moved to the ship Dolphin, feeling a sadness, wondering if Michael had yet left its ugly, smelly decks. Her thoughts wandered further. Was he missing her? Had he possibly even been watching her as she had left the ship and had as quickly been herded onto this smaller boat? Did he even understand what she was going through at this time? Had he known that so much .was being asked of her and her brother now? He had warned her about some of it. But had he truly known to what extent she and Alberto would be treated so roughly?
Her eyes lowered. No. Michael wouldn't know. He was not an immigrant. He had never been an immigrant. All his knowledge of what went on at this point in her journey was only speculation, or from rumors that he most surely had heard. The thrill of what had so long been a dream of hers, to become an immigrant, was slowly turning into a nightmare.
Eyeing the island as it grew closer, Maria grew even more tense. It appeared to be a prison. Not a place she wanted to be taken to, even if it did mean that in the end she would indeed be an American. There was something about the buildings on this colorless island that gave her a sense of dread. Was it because she saw no one around it? Were the immigrants herded into these buildings like animals, just as they had been while being ordered onto this smaller boat?
Then her gaze moved upward. Against the gray horizon, many seagulls were circling overhead, crying eerily as their large, white wings spread, soaring, dipping, moving closer to the boat. Maria loved birds, but these with their dark, imploring eyes made her even more afraid. It was as though they were studying her. She had to wonder how many immigrants these birds had seen pass through these waters? Oh, if only they could talk. What a tale they could probably weave.
“Alberto, I only wish this was over. I wish we were on the train, on our way to Papa's,” she whispered.
“I know. Me also,” Alberto said, shifting the heavy trunk atop his shoulder, feeling a slow aching beginning in his body. His eyes darted around him, seeing sadness on the faces of all who surrounded him. He knew that most were weary from the trip. He knew that most were losing hope for the future now. The cheers from the ship Dolphin had faded away to a silent, gloomy nothingness. It hadn't been at all as any of them had expected.
“Maybe it will go quickly,” Maria sighed, seeing the boat now being secured at the pier. Once again she found herself being shoved along with the rest of the immigrants, now onto the wetness of gray rocks, so slippery she almost plunged into the water.
“Here. Take my hand and hold on to it. Don't let go,” Alberto ordered, reaching for her.
“All right, Alberto,” Maria murmured, moving onward, watching all around her, seeing how quickly they all had been ordered into one of these buildings that she had been studying from afar. Once inside, she looked quickly around her. She was now standing in a huge room that held many stalls, and in these stalls there were lines and lines of other immigrants, most looking bone-weary, waiting and watching around them.
The same dark-clothed, moustached man shoved Alberto, then Maria into one of these stalls, along with the others. “You just stand there and wait your turns,” he said, pushing and probing even more into the small space that smelled of perspiration and dried urine.
Maria eyed Alberto questioningly, seeing the confusion in the dark of his eyes. She knew what he had to be feeling. That they were like cattle . . . being herded. How many more times would this happen to them before coming face to face with becoming an American?
Then Maria's eyes moved on around her. A huge American flag graced the far end of the room, making goose bumps rise on her flesh. She had always dreamed of the day that she would see this symbol of freedom. She had read that the Stars and Stripes had been always the most popular name for the red, white, and blue national flag of the United States, standing for the land, the people, the government and the ideals of the United States, no matter when or where it was displayed. Surely in this place, its presence meant that freedom was only footsteps away, Maria thought to herself.
Looking further around her, she saw many uniformed policemen standing with arms crossed, watching. This further increased her feelings of having just stepped inside a prison. She glanced quickly in another direction, frowning. The room was filled with total confusion and noise, even scenes of near chaos. Maria shuddered when she listened to the mothers shrieking at their children; then at the many tormented cries from the children; and at the coughs and ramblings that rose from the cubicles. Maria soon discovered that Italians weren't the only ones who were a part of this horrid transformation into Americans. There were many nationalities. She could tell by the many languages being spoken.
From what she could tell, most immigrants’ possessions were few. What she did see were mainly battered wicker trunks and bedding rolled into tight balls, being held tightly in the arms of many, as though to lose these was to lose one's soul.
Maria ached inside. But she had only to think of the future. Once this ordeal was over, she and Alberto would be on their way. And wouldn't they be seeing Papa in only a matter of days now? Oh, how anxious she was. She closed her eyes and let her thoughts dwell on this, on their reunion, on how she would make her Papa's house a showpiece. She would plant flowers in flower boxes, she would place beautiful lace doilies on all his furniture. . .. Her eyes were jolted open when a loud voice boomed from beside her. It spoke fluently in the Italian tongue.
“It will be a while now. Please just be patient,” this man said. “Your turns will arrive.” He moved closer to the group, looking from person to person. “I am the immigration officer officially working with you Italians,” he added. “I would like to ask that when it comes your turn, please answer the questions asked of you as quickly and accurately as possible.”
“Turn? What does he mean?” Alberto said. “What the hell are we going to have to do now to be able to move on to Papa's home?”
“Patience. That's what you have to have now, Alberto,” Maria whispered. She was just beginning to feel tired, even sleepy. It had been a long, exciting day. She looked for a place to sit, but there wasn't even enough room to do this. All were squeezed together, even mingling breaths. She closed her eyes and leaned against Alberto, feeling a wetness surfacing around her eyes. If only they would hurry, she thought to herself. “Please, God, let them hurry.”
But hours upon hours passed. It seemed that no one was going to be admitted into the land of America. And then suddenly, the immigration officer began taking them one by one to a table and chair, inviting them to sit. Maria listened carefully, hoping to hear the questions, but couldn't, so she just waited her turn. When she was guided to the chair, she was all ears and eyes, knowing that it was coming to an end. Hopefully coming to an end. Surely she and Alberto would be allowed to move on as soon as they had completed this questioning.
She settled down onto the chair, relishing its comfort, even though it was only hard wood pushing against her sore, aching bones. She placed her violin case on her lap and leaned her elbows against it, resting her head in her hands.
“And what is your name?” the immigration officer asked, eyeing her closely with steel-gray eyes and pointed nose.
Maria gulped back fear. His eyes told her that he possibly knew the truth of her gender. She glanced quickly at Alberto, then back at the immigration officer. She had still wanted to remain as a boy until she was safely at her Papa's house. She flinched when the immigration officer reached upward and jerked the hat from her head.
He laughed hoarsely, flinging the hat onto the table. “Well? Lad?” he mocked. “Thought I had me a beauty here. No male could have such a beautiful face. Now tell me. What's your name so we can get along with this thing.”
Maria's gaze lowered. She swallowed hard, then spoke. “Maria. Maria Lazzaro,” she said in perfect Italian, since that had been the way in whi
ch she had been addressed.
“Birthplace?”
“Outside of Pordenone. In my Gran-mama's house.”
The officer laughed hoarsely. “Yeah. I bet,” he chuckled further, tapping the eraser of his pencil on his chin, studying her lower than her face, tilting a brow when he could see the largeness of her bosom, though covered by a dark, thick jacket. “And your destination?” he blurted.