The evening air was cool, almost brittle as I drove through the streets of Santa Leticia, my hands gripping the steering wheel with quite a lot of force.
I hadn't even realized how tightly I was holding it until my knuckles started aching. The city lights flickered on like scattered stars, throwing their artificial glow onto the cracked pavement. A faint breeze blew through the open window, but it couldn't calm the storm inside me.
I glanced at the clock: 6:45 PM. The day had dragged on, consumed with everything that Rosa had thrown at me, and now it was time to visit María José.
I could already hear her laughter in my mind. I could feel the warmth of her presence, that soothing, innocent aura that had made all the chaos in my life feel like it was just a background noise. A distraction. She was my focus now.
