Caught in a Paradox / New York Ch 4

Mateo sits across from the lawyer.
The room is small,
crammed with papers and files stacked everywhere.
The air smells of dust and old documents.
The lawyer listens without expression,
like he's heard this story too many times.
Mateo talks about the expired visa,
the system that erased him.
His family is in Mexico.
He's here, stuck.
When he finishes talking,
the lawyer folds his hands.
"There's nothing to be done" he says.
"The system's blocked.
Without those documents,
you can't stay here legally.
And if you try to go back to Mexico,
they'll stop you.
Detention, most likely."
Mateo doesn't respond.
He doesn't know what to say.
There's no way out.
A weight presses in his gut,
something that crushes him.
He can't stay, he can't leave.
His life has become a farce, a black hole.
There's no plan left.
There's nothing left.
The lawyer puts a paper in front of him.
"You can file an appeal, but it costs.
Years, maybe."
Mateo looks at the paper but doesn't see it.
He gets up.
The lawyer doesn't look at him as he leaves.
Mateo walks out of the office
and merges into the city,
but it's like he's not there anymore.
A ghost among the crowd.