Looking at the sun during the dawn of a day in July 1985, Urpi was thinking about her present, her feelings … her future. She tried to remember a happy moment in her life, a sad moment in her life, a moment in her life. Instead, she remembers nothing but an obscure past and sees nothing but an obscure future. Urpi lives in Vilcashuaman, a little place four hour drive from Ayacucho, a city in the highlands of Peru. Urpi was looking for a sense of life. She was “flying” like her name meaning, dove in Quechua, native language of Peru. It was 1985; Peru had many problems with economy and social issues especially in rural areas of the country, like Ayacucho. The conflict in Ayacucho was getting worse. It brings famine, scaring, lack of possibilities, killers. Moreover, Urpi had already her misfortunes. She doesn’t have parents. She grew up with her grandmother. Also, her only support and love, her grandma is very old and has a severe illness. Her grandma takes care of her since she lost her mother when she born. The delivered was very complicated and when she born her mother died. She was living with her father and grandmother during her first years. But her father was kidnapped many years ago, and they never know more about him.
At that time, Urpi was 17 years old, a beautiful age for a common adolescent. However, she was not feeling grateful, she was not feeling hope. She was looking something but she didn’t know what. She was looking for an escape of this reality, a escape to another world.
With the past of days, her grandma was feeling worse. Urpi knows she have to do something to help her grandma to recover. So, she decided to travel to the city, to Ayacucho to find help. Her grandma was very sick to move, but she can move and run to find assist.
That day was raining heavy. It was not a problem. Urpi got up early and took her old bag and go to the train station to take the train to Ayacucho. That trip looked unfinished even when it took just four hours. She was scared, many people in the station and everyone was scare about terrorism. However, Urpi was scared not for terrorist she was scared because of her situation, traveling alone to a place that she didn’t know.
She was traveling three hours and forty minutes, and when the train turned, she realized that the beautiful view was Huamanga, the capital city of Ayacucho. The train stopped, and …
Finally, Urpi arrived in Ayacucho. It was a cold winter day in July. The weather is very cold especially in the highlands where Ayacucho is located. Urpi wore an old coat that her grandma had made some years ago. It was a colorful Incaic coat, not so long, not so heavy, but it protected her from the cold breeze and evil spirits.
Urpi just wanted to find the hospital, the big hospital that she had been imagining for a long time. The hospital would cure her grandma she thought. The city is not big, but at that time it was a labyrinth. She spent more than three hours looking for the hospital, and she could not find it. While she was asking many people on the street, Urpi found a nice pretty woman who finally helped her. It was a grey cold day. This woman offered her some food and drinks because Urpi looked very hungry. She offered a strong coffee for the cold breeze and a piece of soft bread for her hunger. Even though Urpi had not eaten any food until this bread, she had not realized that she was starving. She had only wanted to find help for her grandma.
Urpi asked to this pretty woman her name. The woman answered Sara. Urpi smiled because she remembered her mother. Urpi had not known her mother because she had died the day when Urpi was born. But she knew her mother’s name was Sara. At that time, Urpi trusted in this woman because she looked friendly, and lovely, an angel. Urpi felt more confident now that was accompanied by this woman. Urpi told Sara why she was in Ayacucho, why she had traveled many hours to Ayacucho, and what she was looking for.
Urpi went with Sara to the hospital. Sara helped her with the doctors who decided to help to Urpi’s grandma, so they traveled to Vilcashuaman. Urpi pinned her hopes on these doctors. She thought that her grandma would be better. But on this return trip she was not alone. Sara, the woman that had helped Urpi in Ayacucho, was traveling with her. There were many hours traveling at night. The sound of the isolated road had scared her because she had never traveled before. They spent four hours to get to Vilcashuaman. Urpi was exhausted but happy. She had promised her grandma to find help in the big city, and she was there with the doctors.
When Urpi was showing her house to the doctors, she just realized that Sara, the woman who had helped in Ayacucho and who traveled to Vilcashuaman with her, was an angel, an illusion in the dark night. Urpi had traveled to Ayacucho to find help to her grandma, but she had found peace for her agitated heart. Urpi experienced many feelings. She was pleased, she had hopes, and she had future. She will never be alone. She had her grandma and her angel, her mother.
