My Story - Chapter 3

Chapter 3


It’s Friday night and this is the last night we will spend in our apartment. The apartment I know as my home since I was 3 years old.

We are still in Slovakia , but our life is already somewhere else.

Gigi was running around all day not having a clue what was about to happen. She is 13 and all she is concerned about is hanging with her friends and looking forward to the 8Th grade. Finally, she is going to rule in her elementary school as a senior.

In the morning my father left for work as usual. I spent the day helping my mother packing and organizing. We didn’t talk too much. Both of us were trying to keep busy so we don’t have to think what lies ahead.

Family vacations to another country are just a dream for majority of Slovak families.

Every person wanting to travel needs a passport with a special permit and visa to enter foreign country. Visas are given at local police department and the possibility of the entire family getting a visa was next to impossible.

This was another way for the communist government controlling the masses. I had no idea how my dad is planning to get us across the border as a family.

Dad returned home early today. I guess he didn’t want anybody to see him pull into our parking space in an old junkyard car.

Yes, he left for work in his brand new Lada and returned home in old Skoda.

It turned out that instead of work he went to sell his car and paid a visit to his friend who happened to be the chief of police. I guess I should have realized that my father has friends in high places.

Not only he came home with an old car, but in his hands he was holding our passports with tourist visas to Yugoslavia.

Gigi still doesn’t know what is going on. Everything is happening so fast. I am trying to get few hours of sleep, but that’s impossible.

Finally, I hear mom getting up. It’s time to load up the car and head west to the unknown.

I must admit there is little bit of excitement about it, but mostly fear. Can we really pull this off? Can we really leave everything and everybody behind and start brand new life in a strange country?

It’s 3am. Car is loaded and it’s time to wake up Gigi and tell her we are leaving on family vacation to the Adriatic Sea.