Without Borders by Amanda Heger Read Free Book Online Page B

along the riverbank, gnarled and leggy on their stilts. The sun reflected off metal roofs, and mud dried in a thick crust over his blue scrub pants. Annie sat next to him, slowly morphing into a mummified version of herself. Her hair was a clumpy, brown mat on her head, and she pulled hunks of caked, drying mud from her shirt. Phillip was in better shape. His banana suit offered some protection, and his clothes were only brown at the edges.
    The three of them rode in choppy silence for the final leg of the drive, and each time they hit a bump Felipe’s mind wandered to a new question. Bump. How many people would show up for the clinic? Bump. How many would it take to convince his mother he was ready to run Ahora ? Bump. Would they have enough supplies? Bump. Why was he still thinking about the way Annie had looked up at him on the porch the night before? By the time they rolled to a stop in the makeshift town square, his head was overflowing.
    At least thirty people waited. Some were familiar. Many were strangers. Some would have been waiting for days by the time Ahora arrived. Others would have walked miles with children on their backs and at their sides. The rest would have popped out of their houses and down the well-worn path to the one-room church where the clinic would take place.
    “ ¡Buenas! ” Felipe threaded his arms through his backpack and hopped from the truck. He stood taller as the villagers returned his greeting, grinning at him like he was a dear friend.
    “A good turnout, no?” Marisol asked.
    “ Muy ,” he said. “I will count them. Madre will want to know.” Getting the people in this miniscule town to trust Ahora had taken Melinda years. And in the short time since he’d taken over the brigades, the turnout had doubled. Maybe this will convince her you are ready .
    Two teenage boys escorted Annie from the truck, and Phillip hopped out behind her. A few curious stares flickered their way. This group was used to seeing the stray Americans Ahora towed along, but most weren’t encased in mud.
    “The clinic is in the church. First we see the children. Women and men second,” Felipe told the Americans, handing out backpacks and bags of medical supplies.
    A needle-thin man with a patchy black beard led their group to the church. Wide slats of wood formed the walls, and strips of electric blue paint peeled away from the exterior, revealing a rotting gray. The two teen boys followed closely behind, toting bags of medical supplies between them.
    Inside the musty building, Felipe took a bag from the boys and set it on the first of the three pews. “Annie, you will do the mosquito nets this time.”
    “What about the sex ed class?” she asked.
    “Yes, she brought a plastic vagina,” Marisol said.
    “What?” Felipe squeezed his eyes shut. “Never mind. You will do the classes after Sahsa. Those are the villages for sexual education. These are not ready. The people need more time. Marisol did not tell you?”
    “No,” his sister answered. “I thought you would maybe have a change of mind.”
    Of course she did. Marisol was always pushing, pushing, pushing.
    “So what am I supposed to do instead?” Annie slouched into the pew next to the teenage helpers as Marsiol slipped away.
    “Every child should take home a mosquito net.” Felipe opened the black garbage bag at Annie’s feet to show her the fine, baby blue netting inside.
    “Okay.” She gave him a half-hearted smile and picked at a clump of dirt clinging to her shirt. “But I’ll still get to do the class?”
    He nodded. “After the rest days. First, you need time to see how the clinics work. Do you know how to ask how old someone is in Spanish?”
    “ ¿Quantos años tienes? ”
    “Good. If they are over eighteen, no net. We do not have enough for adults.”
    She nodded.
    “ Bien .”
    The afternoon was flooded with the tears of babies being vaccinated, the ailments of the elderly, and even a few serious injuries. One man’s