Moná Herrera Nicole, The Twists And Turns Of Life

THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF LIFE

Written By Nicole Moná Herrera

Today July 5, 2014, I am standing in the fourth walls of the prison of Quibdó, these walls cannot hold a prayer, nor a spirit. And so I call to the universe, I promise all the good things I will do when I am released, although I have fears that I’ll never get out of here, my soul was lost in the labyrinths of this prison, these hallways are very dark I am so scared of this place, people are looking at me, they seem to be angry, but I can tell that they are suffering. What I fear the most is that if more time passes I’ll become one of them, and thinking of the idea of staying in this hell for an eternity freaks me out. I hear voices shouting at me, like if they wanted to tell me something. I think I’ll never get out of here. I’m already 3 months and 20 days living in this doom and I have had enough time to realize that my profession led me to make terrible mistakes, but I know that God continues to allow me to be alive and to be able to undo everything in my life.

I reminisce that day like it happened yesterday; It all started on Wednesday, April 15, 2014, the man in blue overalls, dark boots and dirty hands that identified himself as an automobile mechanic and that had a card which said Truman Harper felt the greatest emptiness of his whole life. That day changed completely his life. I was sitting down in the waiting room when I heard my name, I got up and walked slowly towards the small room that was going to define my destiny, then I saw him sitting there in front of that big screen, he wore glasses and his eyes were as blue as the Caribbean ocean, his hair was white like the snow, his face was wrinkled and he had an expression of innocence, he looked trustworthy but at the same time he looked at me with pity and sadness, he was holding an envelope that would define everything.

Upon receiving that important envelope and reading it, tears filled my eyes, I couldn’t understand that; what was

written on it was happening in my body, knowing that I have never had any pain.

Then the doctor whispered; “what you have is cancer.” I was shocked and I sat to think about how I was going to respond to my obligations for the rest of my life, also knowing that I had a daughter that needed to go to college.

Then I said in a fragile voice; “what type of cancer is this doctor” and he replied; “Truman it’s lung cancer, I’m afraid to tell you that you don’t have much time left, your cancer is stage III, we must start the treatment right now”.

Eight days later: I met an old friend while walking to my house, his name was Jack, we both always had a very strong connection, we were very good friends, I used to work with him at the mechanic’s shop, he was an automobile mechanic too, we went through a lot together, I had known him for many years ago, we were always helping each and we had each other’s backs, he used to know everything about me, but since his mother got sick 3 months ago, Jack went to take care of her and I never saw him again until today. When we arrived at my house we sat down; “how’s your life going my friend” Jack asked and I replied slowly; “well… not that good, man” Jack looked at me with a strange expression wanting to know what was wrong with me and in a hurry he answered; “Truman, you know that you can trust me, right?” and I said; “for sure, I’m aware of that, thank you man” in a matter of seconds he replied; “so tell me what is wrong my friend, I can tell you’re not good” I stayed a few minutes in silence and then I started talking ruefully; “my dear friend, I have diagnosticated with cancer a week ago and I’ve been so sad and depressed, also I’m very worried because I don’t have money to pay my daughter’s schooling nor for the treatment of my illness, I’m a mess”. Jack was in silence, I could tell by

his expression he was disappointed but at the same time I could notice he was impressed, then after some minutes he said; “Truman I’m sorry, I can’t imagine how are you feeling right now. Do you remember my mom was sick, right? Well, doctors told me 2 days ago that she needed surgery and I have a big problem because I don’t have money to pay for that, that is why I thought in a way of having money and I believe you will be interested to know how right?” I immediately said; “obviously Jack, tell me what do we have to do” and Jack told me his plan.

The task was to steal an expensive car in the south of Medellin and exchange it for money, a very good amount of money which would change my life completely since my worries would disappear. At that exact moment my happiness decreased, I knew that what I was going to do was wrong, but I had just learned that I was suffering from a terminal illness, I had a family to take care of, plenty of responsibilities, besides, my illness treatment cost too much and without it, I would die in less than 1 year. I was very afraid of dying and leaving my daughter without a father and the fact of knowing that I didn’t have the income to support my family worried me increasingly. I agreed to steal the car even though I knew it was illegal. I never thought in the consequences that this could bring me, I just thought about how to get money doing things in what I was good at, I didn’t mean to steal, but to manipulate cars because by my profession I knew how they worked and I had in mind everything that I had to do to achieve the mission and in this way, I would save my life and answer for my obligations.

The day of the robbery arrived, it was Friday, April 29, 2014, at night, Jack and I were preparing everything for the mission. The plan we created was excellent, we would arrive at the place where that luxurious casino called “fortune” was

located at, we would dress up like valet of the casino and then we would wait for the perfect car to arrive and we will make sure that the car owner enters the casino, then we would proceed to steal the car, pretending as if we were about to park it, but instead we would drive away and escape. I remember that day as if it was yesterday, everything seemed to go as planned, I took my bag quickly, it was the perfect day, my daughter would finally go to school, my wife would not have to worry about me anymore, and that paper that filled my mind with questions, disappointment, and worry would no longer be a problem. Then I realized that I almost forgot my bible, I read it every day and I always carried it with me. “How do you feel?” I asked, and Jack responded with nervousness voice; “Kind of nervous”, then he asked me back the same question, I tried to remain confident and stronger and I replied; “well bro, I’m very anxious and nervous too, I need to pay the school fee, I have a delay in credit cards, catch up with certain obligations and solve that health problem I told you about.”

When we arrived at the place where the casino was, we followed our plan, we were waiting for almost 1 hour for the perfect car to arrive, then I saw two red cars one a BMW and the other was a Mercedes-Benz entering to the parking lot. Jack and I looked at each other and immediately we knew it was the perfect opportunity to complete the mission. We waited for them to enter the casino, at that moment I got to see the Mercedes-Benz owner, he looked like a very rich man, I could tell because of his expensive suit and his diamond watch. A few minutes passed and we slowly approached the two cars, I knew that the expensive one was the BMW so both of us agreed to steal that one. I told Jack to keep an eye out for us, while I opened the car and started it so we could get out of there fast without being seen. A few seconds passed and I heard Jack saying that someone was standing outside

of the casino, I stretched my neck to see and indeed a man was standing outside, I immediately recognize the man face because he was the rich man that I mentioned before. The man was holding a cigarette in his hand, at that moment I felt my heart had stopped beating and my hands were shaking, I had a very bad feeling, I felt like everything was ruined, the first thing that came to my mind was that he was going to discover us, the man was so close to where we were standing, I felt sadness, I was about to cry and I was very nervous at the same time, the only thing I wanted to be was for this rich man to go back into the casino, for us to finish the mission and run away. Few minutes passed and the man was heading back to the casino, and I felt a huge relief in my heart, but in that exact moment his cell phone rang so he returned where he was standing before and answered the call, the fear came back into my mind again, Jack and I were trembling while the man continued with the call, I said in a desperate voice; “Jack I don’t want to be caught, I really need this money” and Jack replied; “Bro me neither, we need to calm down, I know we can do it, don’t be so paranoid”, finally after 10 minutes the man hung up the phone, and I was feeling calmer, but while he was walking to the casino door, Jack accidentally dropped the car keys on the floor, and he immediately turned his head back to us, as he heard the noise coming from where we were at, the man noticed us just in front of the BMW, he made a weird expression and entered fast the casino, Jack and I tried to act naturally for us not to be discovered, but we failed, it turned out that the man was a friend of the car owner that we were going to steal. In a matter of seconds the rich man along with the owner of the car came out and a minute later the police arrived, I thought about running away but it was impossible, we were stuck without escape. Jack and I were transferred to prison and incarcerated.

I spent 3 months locked in this terrible place, regretting the decisions I made, every day before going to sleep I remembered I apologize to God for my actions and for not being the dad my beautiful daughter deserved, I was so sad so depressed and disappointed, I thought I was going to make it, I thought everything was going to change, I thought that I could fulfill my dream by being able to answer for all my responsibilities, but I didn’t make it, I failed, I failed my family, I failed God, I failed me. My life changed the day I received that envelope, I was dying and there was nothing I would do, that disease was killing me and I felt for the first time that I didn’t have any hope to live. The jail where I was, was so hot that I felt I was in hell burning, I felt so vulnerable that when I arrived there I couldn’t stop crying, everyone was so mean and cruel to me, they treated me as if I was nothing, an animal or as if I was worthless.

Just when I was losing hope my lawyer brought me the news that brought happiness back into my life. He told me that because of my health condition, I would be allowed to leave and return home. I felt so happy that the first thing I did that afternoon was to get down on my knees and thank God for not abandoning me and for forgiving me because until that day I couldn’t understand that my illness had saved me from being locked up to die in this prison. I got to recognize that God makes everything perfect and that absolutely everything has a reason to be. I had to admit that what happened to me changed my life completely, I stopped wondering why it was happening to me. And now I’m wondering, what’s the point? Now, I know that God simply wanted things to happen this way and to have a true sense because thanks to the good behaviors, I have shown in the past few years in jail, they allowed me to leave that terrible place to meet my family and finish my sentence at home under house arrest, and they also gave me an ankle

monitor which is part of the instructions, I was given by the judge, But I am very grateful for this opportunity because being with my family; fills me with happiness because I am surrounded with nothing but love.