by Eileen Cruz Coleman
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BLURB:
Twenty-three-year
old Jadie Santiago has a secret.
One morning on
her way to work she stops to offer a homeless man a bottle of water. As she
meets the man's eyes, Jadie instantly recognizes they belong to her father,
whom she hasn't seen since she was sixteen. Unable to accept the truth of her
encounter, Jadie flees, hoping eventually to forget the experience and continue
leading a normal life.
But then she
meets Reece, an aspiring writer with a mysterious past who is set on capturing
Jadie's affection. Jadie wants nothing more than to give her heart to Reece,
but her broken past and crippling secret keep her from surrendering it to him
fully.
Things won't
come easy to Jadie as she fights for her place in the world, but there is
strength in her, and she is determined never to stop struggling for what so
many others have: love, happiness, and a sense of belonging.
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EXCERPT
I have a secret and I need
to tell someone.
So it went something like
this. I passed him every day on my way to and from work. He lived on the
sidewalk under the train tracks. Sometimes, he was asleep, a stained blanket on
his thin and frail body. Sometimes, he was awake and sitting against a concrete
wall, his folded blanket at his side, glazed eyes staring at nothingness.
Sometimes, I chose to walk on the other side of the street because I just
couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t stand seeing him. And sometimes, when he wasn’t
there, I felt my heart sink, wondering if he was okay, if he was hurt, if he
had left me again, this time forever. Those were the worst days. I’d spend all
day worried about him, feeling guilty, unable to close my mind to the dark
thoughts that screamed I was a horrible, horrible person.
The next day, I’d get up
earlier than usual, frantic, no coffee, no ironing my clothes, no combing my
hair, and dart out of the apartment I shared with two other girls. I’d fly down
the Metro escalator.
Once on the platform, I’d
shove my way to the front and wait for the flashing lights, signaling an
approaching train. Come on, come on, stupid train. There we stood, a crowd of
commuters waiting to be whisked off.
In my most frantic moments,
I’d often wonder what the people standing next to me or behind me were
thinking. I wanted to ask them to let me take a peek inside, a small, quick
glance at their souls. Excuse me, mind if I ask you a question? Are you happy?
Ridiculous, I know.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Eileen Cruz Coleman was born in Washington, D.C. to an immigrant
El Salvadoran mother and a Puerto Rican father. She is a graduate of the
University of Maryland with a degree in History. Her short stories have
appeared in numerous literary journals both online and in print. She lives in
Maryland with her husband and two children.
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