Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away

by Meg Medina illustrated by Sonia Sánchez

Transcript

00:00To Kate Fletcher who always helps me find the way to the heart of a child's story.

00:16M M. For my friend Tanya. Although I no longer see you each day. I have you in my heart.

00:25You are my friend and my treasure. S.S. Evelyn Del Rey is moving away. By Meg Medina. Illustrated

00:35by Sonia Sanchez.

00:55S.S. Evelyn Del Rey is my major amiga, my numero uno best friend. Come pray Daniela

01:17she says just like she always does. Just like today is any other day. So I bundle up and

01:24cross the street. A big truck with its mouth wide open is parked at the curb ready to

01:30gobble up Evelyn's mirror with the stickers around the edge, her easel for painting on

01:35rainy days, and the sofa that we bounce on to get to the moon. She is waiting for me

01:41inside the iron doors. Then we climb the steps two at a time. Just like we always do. We

01:50sneak past grouchy Mr. Miller's door and wave to Mr. Sue. Who's feeding pigeons from

01:56the hall window. Senora Flores gives us each a cookie and says, it's the big day, when

02:02we walk by. Our apartments are almost twins just like us. That's why I already knew all

02:10the good places for hide and seek and the spot behind the heater where we keep our special

02:15finds. But the walls in Evelyn's room are sunny yellow while mine are pink like cotton

02:21candy. And I live with my mummy and a hamster and she has a mummy a papaya and a cat. We

02:28are mostly the same. Just like our apartments. But not after today. We find a still empty

02:37box near the door. In no time. I am a bus driver steering us all over the city. We play

02:45until the tables that were bus stops are gone and the beds that were skyscrapers have

02:50vanished too. When we look around everything has disappeared except us. Soon the truck

02:57outside rumbles off and there is a knock on the door. Hide, we say giggling. Just like

03:03we always do. But our mothers see us before we can slip away. Time to go mummy says. Evelyn

03:12and I hold hands in that wide empty space. We learn back and start to spin in circles

03:19faster and faster until everything is a blur around us. Our fingers slip, but we don't

03:25let go until we wobble to the floor. We can talk every day after school I tell her though

03:31the world is still working. And you can visit me this summer she says. And spend the night.

03:40But I know that tomorrow everything will be different. Evelyn will be in a new home

03:45that doesn't match mine. Before we leave, I spot something in the corner left before

03:51in the dust. It's the last of Evelyn's sparkly stickers. We go downstairs and I press

03:58a heart on her cheek to seal our promise. Then she does mine, just the same. We say

04:05patata, while mummy takes a photo. We do our worst handshake one more time. And then

04:13Evelyn hugs me hard. Evelyn del Rey is moving away. So she won't be right have anywhere.

04:22Mummy says not to be sad that we will both make new friends. But when Evelyn waves one

04:28last time the stickers still on her cheeks. I know she will always be my first major amigs

04:34my numbly you know best friend. The one I will always know by heart.

04:41The end.