The First Night in the Empty Apartment

Gaspar's family arrived at the new apartment in the city on a cold January afternoon. The plan was simple. The moving truck was going to arrive at five. That night, Gaspar was going to sleep in his own bed, in his own new room.

At four, his mother's phone rang. Lorena listened. Her face changed. Snow had closed the highway, and the truck was going to arrive a day late. All their furniture, their beds, their blankets and their pots were inside it.

The apartment was bigger than their old house, but it felt colder and much emptier. When Gaspar spoke, his voice came back from the walls. His big sister walked from room to room and didn't say anything. His father went out to buy dinner. He came back with a pizza, four bottles of water and some paper cups.

They ate on the floor of the living room. The pizza was cold, and the floor was harder than a school bench. Gaspar thought about his old room, his best friend next door, and the tree outside his old window. This place was newer and cleaner, but it wasn't home.

At ten o'clock, his mother stood up. "Right," she said. "Everybody, give me your jackets." She put the four jackets on the floor, next to each other, under the big window. They weren't as soft as a bed, but they were warmer than the floor.

"There are three bedrooms," his father said. "You two can have one each, and your mother and I can take the big one."

Nobody moved. Then his sister lay down on the jackets, and Gaspar lay down next to her. His mother lay down next to Gaspar. Finally, his father lay down at the end, with his feet on the cold floor. Outside, the snow was falling on a city they didn't know yet. Inside, under the dark window, four people were lying very close together on four jackets. Nobody wanted to sleep alone.