AIDS Perspectives

How I met AIDS

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When I was about seven years old, my mother brought home an unfamiliar man from the train station during a hot summer night.  I learned that the man was my mom’s best friend from high school, who is an artist from Manhattan.  Although I was alarmed by the visit of this man, I had a wonderful night with him.  It was a night full of talking and laughing!  We ate a refreshing dinner outside on the porch.  After dinner, we played a heated game of monopoly.  After we finished the game, my mom and her friend watched try to catch fire files in our backyard.  It was a perfect night for a seven year old!  After our fire fly excursion, my father said it was time for bed.  We hugged my mother and her friend good night, and left them on the porch.  About ten minutes after my dad took us to bed, I went back downstairs because I was thirsty.  When I went back downstairs, I was astonished to see my mom and her friend both crying on the back porch.  I was taken back.  Why was my mom crying?  Only a few minutes ago, they were both laughing and talking about past memories.  What was this visit really about?  I was just about to open the door, but I heard my father say, what’s wrong with you Moana?  I was so surprised with all the crying outside that I didn’t see my father washing the dishes from dinner right behind me.  I told him that I wanted a glass of water.  He gave me a glass of water, and he brought me back upstairs to bed.  When I was settled under the covers, I asked my father why mom and her friend were crying on the porch.  He said that my mom’s friend was very sick.  Mom’s friend was very thin and pale, but by my father’s expression and my mom crying I knew that my mom’s friend had to be more than sick.  I wanted to ask more questions, but my father’s facial expression stopped me.  For the rest of the visit, I never saw my mom cry again, but the image of the porch never left my head.  My mom took her friend back to the train station late the next day.  When I became older, I learned that my mom’s friend died from AIDS two years after his visit.  He made the visit because he wanted to see my mom and her family before the disease progressed too much.  This is how I first encountered this mysterious disease.  Still today, whenever I hear the word AIDS, I immediately see my mom and her friend crying on the porch while the fireflies dance in the night sky.