Happy 4th of July (2)
In the sweltering heat of July 3rd afternoon in a crowded border town in Texas, a group of five Mexican women stand on the steps of the local municipal building, waving signs and shouting into megaphones. Their names are Rosa Serafina Marques, Maria Paloma Ontiveros, her sister Carmen Gloria Ontiveros, Lucia Manuela Guzman, and Sofia Francesca Cristeros, they’re all activists who had crossed legally on visas but spend the past weeks organizing rallies against what they called “American imperialism.”
Dressed in bright traditional blouses and jeans, their faces flushed with anger, they chanted slogans that grew increasingly venomous. Maria and Carmen yell
Rosa yells: “Trump is a clown, a racist, a dictator! This country is trash, built on stolen land and lies!”
Maria joined in, her megaphone crackling: “We spit on your flag! We curse your independence! Mexico is superior—your people are weak; your president is a joke!”
The others echoed the insults, calling the United States a failing empire, mocking its military, its culture, its people. Passersby film on their phones as the crowd around them swelled. Local police arrived first, warning them to disperse, but the women only grew louder, hurling personal insults at Donald Trump and anyone who supported him. Within minutes, federal agents appeared.
Two unmarked vans pulled up, and ICE officers in tactical vests stepped out. The women laughed defiantly at first as Carmen shouts “You can’t touch us! We have rights!”
But the officers, calm and professional, read them their rights and place them under arrest for violating public assembly ordinances, inciting unrest, and several immigration violations discovered during their visa checks. Handcuffs click. The women continue insulting the agents and the country as they are loaded into the vans and driven away.
What happens next isn’t standard procedure. The van with Rosa, Lucia and Sofia head toward a detention center for deportation processing. But the other van with Maria and Carmer turn toward a federal facility on the outskirts of town. An unmarked building locals whispered about but never truly understood. Inside, under bright fluorescent lights, the sisters were separated into individual rooms. They expect lawyers, hearings, and eventual flights back to Mexico.
Instead, they received something else entirely as a calm voice speaks over hidden speakers in each room: “You came here to reject this nation. Tonight, you will be given a new chance to embrace it.”
The process begins subtly. A fine mist filled the air, odorless and tasteless. The sisters feel their anger soften against their will. Their bodies grew warm. Maria, the older sister is clutching her stomach as a strange tingling spread through her limbs. Her dark hair lightens slightly at the roots, gaining natural chestnut highlights. Her skin tone softened, taking on a sun-kissed American glow rather than the deeper tones of her heritage. Wrinkles around her eyes as marks of her 40’s smooth away. Her hips narrow, her waist cinched, and her height decreased by several inches as her frame grows slender and more youthful. She watches herself in the mirror in the room, first it’s a blur but with the glasses provided, she sees in shock her features become softer, rounder, more innocent. By the end of the transformation, Maria is no longer a grown woman but a vibrant 14 years old girl with bright blue eyes, braces on her teeth, and colorful red, white and blue stripes on each cheek. The same transformation unfolds for her sister. Carmen 38 years old shrinks and de-ages to become also 14 years old also with braces, blue eyes, long wavy blond hair tied back in a ponytail, the same red, white and blue stripes on her cheeks and a huge red hand paint on her arm.
Their memories are shifting all together they’re no longer Maria and Carmen the Mexican sisters bitter and hateful to the USA… Maria becomes Charlotte Sophie Thompson born on June 17th 2012, she’s 14 years old born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Surrounded by her parents, her older sisters and brothers, Charlotte learns to love America and she sings with all her siblings the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, the whole American History and the Independence signed in Philadelphia. On the other hand, Carmen becomes Hannah Mary Franklin born on July 2nd 2012 she’s barely 14 years old, from Richmond, Pennsylvania. Her parent went to Philadelphia so Hannah’s father would find a job and actually he works with Charlotte’s father at the same company, their wives know each other and even share a lot in common and their daughters are in same school and it’s only logical they happen to be besties and learn together the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem and everything they know about the best country in the world.
During the memory shifting the girls fall unconscious as their clothes are taken off, replaced by denim shorts, white tank top and blue jeans shirt with red Converse for Charlotte, a red and white stripes tank top, with white brassiere, denim shorts, and blue Converse for Hannah.
When they finally wake up, the girls are no longer in Texas but in Philadelphia, weather is nice and sunny with a bit of fresh air, they’re in Hannah’s house but Charlotte’s house is just the next one. The fathers are doing the barbecue as Hannah’s grandfather is talking about his memories of 4th of July as a kid in the same neighborhood, before giving his precious lessons on American history that filled the girls with pride. As the sun is still high in the sky on that 4th of July, the girls pose together for this selfie with Charlotte on the back showing up cute braces smile and her glasses and Hannah on front with this cute new necklace she has just received as a gift from her aunt. Hannah publishes the picture saying
During the afternoon the girls still practice the Star-Spangled Banner until they could sing it in perfect harmony, voices full of youthful enthusiasm. Finally in the evening, as light comes down, families from the neighborhood gather in the town square for the big fireworks show. And before the rockets explode in a shower of red, white, and blue sparks, the girls start singing the National Anthem in a very beautiful way that people around shed some tears and on the last note the firework starts and all people shout “HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA”
The girls stay around thanking all the people congratulating them for their performance as Charlotte whispers, her forehead on Hannah’s shoulder: “This is definitely the best country in the world… we’re so lucky.” Hannah nods as she kisses Charlotte’s hair smelling strawberry…
In the meantime, Rosa, Lucia and Sofia are waiting for their return to Mexico unaware to what happened to each other since they’re in separate cells then while they’re on their way to Mexico City, the plane malfunctions and explodes in the air killing all the passengers including the three Mexican women still protesting about their friends Maria and Carmen…
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