Seven travelers

Seven travelers crossed the border over the Matamoros-Brownsville international bridge. Three of them crossed it in vehicles, cars of different makes and models, heading for Black Friday sales at the mall and the multiple electronic stores. Two more crossed the bridge on foot and headed right into downtown Brownsville to visit quaint second-hand good stores run by Koreans and craft shops managed by full-time students with part-time business acumen.

The last travelers became exiles once they braved the Rio Grande Rubicon, and a sign overhead, Anglo white on nopal green – “Welcome to the United States of America, your golden cage.”