Sanctuary

Mami decides Vali and Ernie should not go to school. DF officers have taken away Mr. Rashid, who owns a nearby electronics shop. Mami, Vali, and Ernie hide in their apartment until they figure out what to do. Other people in the building go about their daily lives but Vali’s family sneaks around quietly so it seems like they are not home. Cell phone service has been restored; on the phone with Vali, Kenna says two school janitors and their math teacher, Ms. Kochiyama, were taken by DF. Both girls are disappointed that there is nothing they can currently do to help. Kenna worries the government is listening to phone calls, so she hangs up, agreeing to talk more the following day.

Mami, however, makes a lot of calls, asking people which American cities are safest for undocumented immigrants and how to travel safely. She flits around the apartment pulling cash out of various hiding spots; it totals about $1,200. Most people Mami talked to have all the same questions, but Sister Lottie, a woman Mami and Papi knew in San Diego but is now in New York City, offers some hope. She might shelter them at the church where she works.

Mami directs Vali and Ernie to pack their backpacks with clothes and toiletries so they can leave at a moment’s notice. Outside, DF are arresting more people. Mami reiterates that they will leave once they have a solid plan, otherwise they’ll probably just be captured as soon as they exit their building. They spend three days inside and finish all chores; Ernie and Vali play cards, then argue. Vali realizes Kenna never called her back, and when she calls Kenna, it says the subscriber does not exist. Mami says they will take the bus to New York City, which will cost $300. They will stay at Sister Lottie’s church until it is safe to move elsewhere, possibly Indiana, where Papi’s cousin lives. Vali wants to travel through Canada, but DF is occupying that border as well. Mami says if they get separated, Vali and Ernie need to keep going toward New York and Sister Lottie. Mami packs food, bottled water, cash, a kitchen knife, a flashlight, the Bible, and rosary beads.

The president appears in hologram form to say a wall is now being built between the US and California, because California has refused to comply with new DF-related initiatives. Sister Lottie texts to clarify: California is seceding from the US and forming a sanctuary that welcomes all undocumented immigrants. She wants to find passage for Vali’s family to California.

Around 4 o’clock in the morning, Vali, Ernie, and Mami sneak out of their apartment with their backpacks. Mami warns them not to speak voluntarily to anyone else, but if necessary, they can say they are traveling to New York to visit cousins. They walk through shadows to the bus station, where DF agents are scanning everyone. Vali’s and Mami’s fake chips work once again. Mami purchases tickets. A stranger complains to the family that the ticket machine just stole $20 from her, but Mami makes a face at Vali and Ernie to remind them not to speak, so they do not, and the woman wanders off.

They get on the already crowded bus; Mami and Ernie find seats together, but Vali has to sit next to the woman from the ticket machine, who says she never got her money back. Mami directs Vali not to talk and to go to sleep, so she does. Later, she wakes up to someone yelling for everybody to get off the bus. They are near Boston now, still three hours away from New York. DF agents scan each person, then let them back on the bus once they are cleared. Ernie and Vali’s chips work as usual, but Mami’s does not, and DF agents arrest her. The woman asks Vali if that is her mother; Vali pretends not to know Mami. Mami is mouthing for Vali and Ernie to go, so they run.

DF officers are searching under the bus for people hiding. Vali and Ernie run away past abandoned gas stations, fences, trees, marshland, sewage tunnels, and eventually stop in an abandoned parking lot. Ernie wants to know where Mami’s being taken and how they can get her back. Vali doesn’t know and is also now worried that her mother wasn’t mouthing “go,” but possibly “no” or “oh.” She feels guilty for leaving her and that she can’t give Ernie any good answers. They cry together for a few hours, then consume some of their limited supply of water and snacks.

Vali and Ernie wake up, then eat and drink more. Ernie again asks how they can find their mother, and Vali says Mami wanted them to go to New York and Sister Lottie, so they will, and maybe Mami will meet them there. Vali knows Mami won’t be there but allows Ernie to have hope so that he’ll keep moving. In the backpack, Mami left an old paper map of the US from before hurricanes destroyed Long Island and part of Florida. A line looks like a river, but it is actually a route Mami drew with a blue pen, showing how to get from Vermont to New York. They will have to walk.

The first day they walk 10 miles, taking cover beneath trees and bushes. Vali worries about purchasing more food and water because that would mean interacting with people and possibly getting scanned, and she never knows when her chip will stop working with the impending system update. When they finish the last of their water, they have little choice. Ernie struggles to walk so much, so Vali carries him briefly, but trips and falls. Ernie develops blisters on his feet and Vali cuts the backs of his shoes off so they won’t chafe. Ernie’s spirits are dwindling; Vali tries using soccer metaphors to describe their long journey, but this doesn’t cheer Ernie up either.

They arrive in a small town and pass kids playing soccer as if it is just a normal day. Vali resents this. They go to a sports clubhouse nearby to use the restrooms, but no public restroom sinks dispense water anymore; two years ago, the president outlawed it due to the drought. Each bottle of water costs $5, but they purchase several from vending machines. Ernie also wants chips and gum; Vali buys these to cheer him up even though they have limited funds and a long journey ahead. Vali makes up math word problems to entertain Ernie, but it doesn’t work. Ernie begs Vali to take a bus for at least part of the journey; she reluctantly agrees. They get on a bus and again, Vali’s chip works. A woman speaks loudly to them in Spanish, and Vali becomes paranoid that someone will capture them if they stay on the bus. They get off in Arborton, Connecticut.

They eat at a diner, then camp near an apartment building for the night. They walk for 10 more days, sleeping in parks and alleyways. They see DF officers assaulting a man but evade detection. One night, they sleep in an unlocked library and read children’s books, which reboots Ernie’s sense of hope even though Vali knows the real world doesn’t work like a fairy tale.