By the time he reached Carrefour, all the accident victims had been taken away. Moy thought that we had gotten through earlier and had gone home, so he headed to Beau Jour. When he got to Beau Jour late into the night, he saw that we were not there, so he went back to Léogâne the next morning and called Tante Rose on the telephone to see if we had stayed with her.

Tante Rose and Moy went to all the hospitals in Port-au-Prince, Carrefour, and Léogâne. They found Manman at a hospital in Carrefour, but they couldn’t find me. They looked for me every day. They even had an announcement made on the radio. Manman was beside herself, crying day and night. They never thought I would be taken to a small private clinic so far south. Then one of the nurses from the clinic called Tante Rose at work to tell her where I was. A driver in a private car had picked up the two boys and me and had taken us there.

“Manman’s leg seems hurt,” I said.

“She has a cut on her calf,” Moy said. “Glass from the explosion. She doesn’t want you to know about it. She doesn’t want you to worry.”

“I want to go back to Beau Jour,” I said. “When are we going back?”

“I don’t know,” Moy said. “Tante Rose wants Manman’s cut to heal before she leaves. Tante Rose says that losing blood from the cut will make Manman’s anemi worse, so she has to stay here and take her tablet while building up her strength. Otherwise she might get light-headed on the trip up the mountain. Besides, Manman is afraid to travel through Carrefour again.”

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14

We all gather at night to watch the television news broadcasts. Some of the presidential candidates are asking for the November 26th election to be postponed after protesters tried to burn down four electoral offices.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15

I saw the bandage on Manman’s leg as she was getting dressed this morning. It runs from the back of her knee down to her lower calf. I know her wound hasn’t healed yet because she grimaces sometimes while walking.

LATER

Moy went to the bus depot to find someone to send word to Granmè Melina and Granpè Nozial that we were staying in the city longer. Moy says that the word will be passed on through at least four people before it reaches Granmè Melina and Granpè Nozial, but it will get to them.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16

Another shooting. Gunmen in a pickup truck fired at people at a bus depot last night. No one was hurt, miraculously. Another miracle: It was not the same bus depot that Moy had gone to.

Some men in the neighborhood are setting up roadblocks to keep cars away so these same kinds of shootings don’t happen on our streets.

Moy went out to help. Manman did not want him to go, but Moy went anyway. I am proud of Moy for trying to protect us.