A state of disobedience

Governor's Mansion, Austin, Texas

Elpidia had thought she was alone in the house. Normally—every day, of late—the governor had gone to her office, the father of the family to his, and even the youngest boy, Mario, to school long before Elpi even awakened.

The girl was surprised, therefore, to hear the sounds of sobbing, quiet but distinct, coming from the governor's home office.

Also quietly, Elpi walked to the door. Shyly she knocked.

"Who is it?" asked the governor in a quavering voice.

"Solo yo, Gubanadora . . . just me, Governor, Elpi. I heard crying. Are you okay?"

Juani hastily dried her eyes on her sleeve and answered, "I'm fine Elpi," in a voice that gave the lie to the claim.

Elpi walked in, invited or not. "What's wrong?" she asked.

At the query Juani burst into fresh tears. She half bent and wrapped her arms around herself to try to control the trembling. Rocking back and forth she moaned over and over, "They're all going to die . . . they're all going to die . . ."

Elpi was literate in English, but freshly and barely so. She could make out the headlines from the newspaper laying on Juani's desk. "The Eyes of Texas are Upon You." She read a few lines, painfully slowly. It seemed to her that the state's free press was being a little irresponsible in putting any blame on the governor for the state of affairs. She came to the line, " . . . and the men who are about to die in Fort Worth . . ."

"Who is going to die?" the young girl asked.

It came out almost as a shriek, "All those men in the currency facility are going to die and who knows how many others? And it's all my fault . . . mine, mine, MINE! Oh why, oh why couldn't I just leave it alone? Why did I have to start this whole thing?"

Elpi walked over to Juanita and put a warm hand to her quaking back. When this did no good the girl bent her head down, resting a cheek upon the quivering shoulder of the Governor of Texas and whispered, "You didn't start anything. Neither did your brother. This was started by the people who throw riot police at people who protest killing little babies. It was started by people who attack churches and burn children alive."

"You didn't start it Governor . . . but you have to end it. You have to see us through this."

Twisting around, Juanita pulled the girl into her shoulder and sobbed, "I know."

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