The boy’s mother looked down at him and smiled lovingly. Her son was the very image of herself, right down from the warm, glowing eyes to the shiny black hair. "Sí, Dominic, nosotros somos casi hogares. El todo es va a ser diferente ahora. Vas a asistir a la escuela y nosotros seremos rico. ¡En América, todos son ricos!" She leaned down and picked him up, hugging him tightly.

Dominic looked up at his mother and smiled, "¡Y tendré a amigos, el gran cantidad de amigos! ¡Mami, todo es va a ser magnífico!"

*~*~*~*

Dominic, who was now known as Bumlets to many, sat up on the roof, remembering that day so many years ago. He sighed, looking out over the horizon. How could I have been so naïve? I should’ve figured it out sooner. Mom was sick an’ I didn’t know it! He could feel himself choking up; he always got like this when he thought of his mother. Shortly after they arrived in America and passed the health inspections, things began to take a turn for the worst. It seemed to him that everything he and his mother had hoped and dreamed for was working against him, and there was no way out.

*~*~*~*

Dominic’s mother sat up in her bed, coughing, "Dominic, ven aquí. Tengo algo importante que decirte."

He walked over to his mother’s bed and sat down next to her, looking up into her face, "¿Qué? ¿Usted está enfermo? "

He buried his small face in his shirt, crying with her, "¡No me salga, la mami! ¡Yo no puedo vivir sin usted!"

Later that week, his mother passed away, leaving him alone in the cold, dark world known as New York City. In a few short months, he had lost everything. He lost his dreams, his homes, and the person who meant the world to him, his mother. After wandering the streets begging for food and sleeping on front stoops during the harsh months of winter, he came across the newsboys lodging house. Stumbling inside, he first saw the warm face of an elderly man, Mr. Kloppman, who ran the lodging house. He dragged himself up to the desk, nearly frozen to the bone, "¿Me puede ayudar usted?"

Kloppman leaned over the desk and looked down at him, sighing sadly, "Boys, we got anotha one! Looks like he found us just in time."

*~*~*~*

Kloppman was right, Dominic did find the lodging house in the nick of time. After he arrived, he was sick in bed for over a week with a terrible case of influenza that he had contracted during his few weeks out on the streets. Kloppman took a real chance takin’ in a kid like me, Bumlets thought to himself, sighing, I’ll hafta thank him sometime. That man saved my life. During his time in bed, he had all the time in the world to think about everything, but he spent most of his time thinking about his mother.

¿Qué si averigüé más pronto? ¿Qué si había algo yo podría haber hecho para salvar su vida?

Dammit, Bumlets, she died ten years ago! She wouldn’t have wanted you to act like this, she’d want ya to be happy an’ to get a girl. She loved you, Bumlets, never forget how much she loved you. Bumlets shook his head sadly, wiping his eyes free from tears.

*~*~*~*

Being sick was just one of the many struggles he’d have to endure after becoming a boarder at the lodging house. For one, he couldn’t speak a word of English and therefore he couldn’t communicate with very many people that he came across. So, before he became a newsy, he would have to learn English.

Kloppman was the first to offer to help him. One day soon after he became well enough, Kloppman brought him into the office and handed him a small stack of beginners’ reading books. "Dese," he explained, pointing to the books, "will help you." He opened the book and pointed to the first picture, which happened to be a dog. "Dog, this is a dog."

"Perro," Dominic replied, shaking his head.

Kloppman nodded slowly, speaking just as slowly, "Yes, but in English, this is a dog." He turned the page. "This is a cat."

"Cat? No, no, es un gato."

Bumlets laughed, thinking back to that day. Poor Kloppman must’ve gotten so aggrivated! At least I learned after a while…

*~*~*~*

After Dominic became good enough with English, it was time to get him a name and send him out to the world of newsies. "Am I ready yet, Kloppman," he asked excitedly. In fact, he couldn’t remember a time that he had been more excited, except for when he first came to America with his mother.

Kloppman smiled, shaking his head, "Just a moment, Dominic. Ya need a name first."

"A name?"

"Yeah, somethin’ that’ll help you stand out from the others."

"You mean somethin’ strange that no one else has?"

Kloppman nodded, "Precisely. Somethin’ like…."

"Bumlets," he interrupted, laughing.

"Bumlets?"

"Yeah, it’s different, no one else has it…"

"You just made that up, didn’t ya?"

Bumlets nodded, chuckling softly, "Yeah, it was the first thing that popped into my head. I figured it was different enough." He grabbed his walking stick, which he had been using once he started to walk again after being sick for so long, and smiled. "I’m ready, Kloppman, I’m ready."

"Okay, Bumlets, good luck. Don’t forget, when all else fails, make somethin’ up!"

That night, he came home, extremely happy that he had sold all of his papers, "I did it, Kloppman, I sold ‘em all!"

Kloppman looked up from his desk and smiled, "That’s great, Bumlets, hardly anyone sells all of their papes on the first day out! Ya did good!"

"Thanks, Kloppy," he smiled, running up to bed. "Yo lo dije yo lo podría hacer, mamá. Yo lo hice porque supe que usted creería en mí.."

*~*~*~*

Bumlets leaned back and smiled to himself, watching the clouds pass by over his head, "It’s been a good ten years, Dominic, you’ve come a long way." At that moment, a small light gray dove flew over his head and cooed. He smiled, knowing it was a message from his mother, who he was positive was watching him and helping him every step of the way. "Yo no me he olvidado cuánto usted." me ama, la mami. Acabo de querer usted saber que yo todavía lo amo más que nunca, yo siempre hago. "

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