CUBA

I went to Cuba in 2005, searching for the story behind my great-grandmother's twenty years on this island, living apart from her family, surrounded by sugar cane and citrus orchards.

I had discovered the author of a history of the area where she had lived, La Gloria City, in the province of Camagüey about a century ago. Enrique Cirules had mentioned my great-grandmother, Emily Blackwell, a few times in his book. We determined to combine our research to discover what brought her there and what had happened.

Enrique was born in this area and had gleaned the stories of that area from locals seated in front of him at the barber shop where he worked as apprentice in his youth. He began to assemble a cast of characters that followed him for decades, whispering their stories so that they may not be forgotten.

Traveling with Enrique, usually a few steps ahead of me, I, with my invisible tether to him, watched for images to capture, soaking up the view as though seen through Emily's eyes, all the while listening to his stories.

"Stop. There is a curb."

And I would come back to

the present.