Abuela sat in her room. She stared down at the candle. It had dimmed slightly earlier that day. It wasn't like when the Casita was about to collapse. There had been no known cracks. It did concern the Madrigal matriarch just as much, though.

"Mi Querido Pedro," she whispered. "Take care of our grandbabies. Protect them like you protected our community over fifty years ago. Please, mi querido Pedro. No quiero que nuestras niñas pasen por el mismo dolor que yo pasé."


The next day, Julieta stood at her food stand. It was her first day back since the disappearance. She felt too guilty about all the time she was taking off. "Señora Alejandra, have you seen my sister's babies and mine?" Julieta asked.

"No, I'm sorry," Alejandra answered. "Your family is in my prayers."

"Thank you, Señora," Julieta said. "Can you take one of our flyers and hang it on your vegetable cart?"

"Of course," Alejandra said. She took one of the strips of paper. The photo on it was an old one. The cousins didn't even know their photo was being taken. It was during the rebuilding of the Casita. They were goofing around while also working on the garden. The three of them rarely ever hung out as a unit. Julieta wanted to capture the moment so it would last forever. It was never made clear if they knew the photo existed.

Alejandra walked away from the stand, arepa, and flyer in hand. The next person was Mariano. "Was there another injury on the construction site?" Julieta asked.

"Actually, I'm just here for another flyer," Mariano said. "I keep finding new places for them."

"Thank you, Mariano," Julieta said. She had watched Mariano grow up. Alma had been practically planning a marriage between him and Isabela since they were children. She was proud of the young man he was. Though he was no longer betrothed to Isabela, she was happy that he was dating Dolores.

"Can I let you in on a secret?" Mariano asked. He pulled out a ring. It was a halo antique one-carat emerald ring. "It was my mother's ring. I'm gonna ask Dolores to marry me the moment I see her again. I know I'm going to see her again. I can't fathom not seeing her again."

"I know she's gonna say yes," Julieta promised. "You two are gonna have the big white church wedding. It's gonna be great, and Isabela and Camilo will be there too. You guys are gonna have a long life with five babies."

"Five babies?" Mariano asked. "I was thinking two or three, but if that's what she wants. I'm not gonna be the ones pushing them out."

Mariano took the flyer and walked away. María José was the next in line. "I need an arepa," she said. "My little brother has a stomach bug."

Julieta handed her the arepa. "I hope little Mateo feels better," Julieta said.

"You know what's strange?" María José asked. "Manuel has also been missing since around the same time. We were supposed to go on a date last night. He hasn't been to the market all week."

"Oh no," Julieta said. "Do you want me to put his flyer with the rest?"

"I'll make one and be right back," María José answered. She walked away from the stand. At the end of the day, Julieta packed up her stuff and headed home. When she arrived home, she dropped her tres. Isabela, Camilo, and Dolores's doors had flickered out.


Mi Querido Pedro; my dearest Pedro.

No quiero que nuestras niñas pasen por el mismo dolor que yo pasé; I don't want our girls to go through the same pain I went through.