julio

His name is Julio and he is the most adorable four-year-old you can imagine. His eyes are dark and alternately mischievous and mysterious. Sometimes you know exactly what he’s thinking; other times, good luck. His hair is dark, too, and curly and thick. It smells of a child’s sweat and his sweetness, too. When he talks, which he does when he’s excited, his words are light and a bit lispy, though not so much that he’ll ever be branded, should he live to be old enough to attend school, which he won’t, because he’s riding on his mother’s lap, as she and his father drive to the grocery store. The accident that will take place in a minute will occur in a moment’s split-second, the kind of collision that would be termed a fender-bender, in other circumstances. Not today, though. Forty-five seconds from this exact moment, Emile Gonzalez, 82, who lives in a retirement home and attends adult day care five days a week, will make a blind turn and strike the front right bumper of the car driven by Julio’s father. If Julio were riding in the back seat, in a car seat, wearing a seat belt, he wouldn’t even feel the impact. Because he is unstrapped on his mother’s lap, he will end up in a coma. He will be dead in two days. The cost of the auto repairs to both cars will total $2500. A mere pittance, given the loss.