“Only the cleaning supplies will be necessary; in the psychiatric ward, you will be put in uniform.”

“Very well.”

The girl Anayanci was trying to stay strong, as was young Jorge, but when they took her away, she was conscious.

“Are you taking me for a walk?” She asked excitedly, “¿Where are we going?”

When I heard her, I could not hold back my tears. I approached her and gave her a kiss on her white head.

“I love you very much, Mrs. Amalia.”

“I love you too, my child, and forgive me for what I did to you.”

She hugged me, but suddenly she changed and was choking me; the boys held her tightly, and that's when young Jorge broke down.

“Young man...”

He hugged me tightly as his tears streamed down my neck. I reciprocated the hug, and I couldn't help but cry.

“Shhh, it's going to be all right, young man.”

“I don't want you to leave.”

“It's the best thing for you, believe me.”

Once they took her away, I saw how the girl Anayanci became worse than young Jorge, but she managed to recover.

“We have to be strong, Jorge.”

They had no one but themselves. I took my things and said goodbye to both of them.

I left that house and wiped away the tears that were still running down my cheeks. I waited for the bus to take me home, and once it arrived, I got on. I got off at the usual place and started walking quietly.

I stopped at a rather expensive bar in town. When I saw who was there, I was surprised and I could feel the rage take over every corner of my being. Without hesitating twice, I entered the place.

“¡Carlos!” I shouted loudly and he looked at me “¿Can you tell me what the hell are you doing here?”

“¿What do you care? Now get out because I don't want to see you,” he pushed me. “This is no place for nuns like you.”

“Enough! Don't you ever push me again or touch me the way you did!”

I let out a slap that echoed throughout the place. The manager, seeing the racket we were making, ended up running us off. I took a cab, and when I got home, I continued with the heated discussion we had started in that place.

“¿What's going on?” Lina asked, “Why do you dare to treat your older brother like that? Remember, he is the man of the house.”

“The man of the house?” I said ironically, “Well, just so you know, the man of the house went to spend the money I had been giving him all this time for college stuff at a rather expensive bar. When I complained to him, he dared to push me without any consideration. I have more courage than he does.”

“Your brother has a right to have fun, so don't you dare treat him like that. “She hugged him protectively,” so you keep quiet.

“No, this I won't allow.” My eyes looked at her with fury. “Do you think I'm stupid, do you think I don't know what you're charging me with your precious Carlitos' things because you have a male you send money to? Please, he won't even give you a fuck because he's up to the fifth hell.”

Lina was surprised to see herself discovered, but almost instantly let me go with a slap that echoed throughout the house. My hair covered my face, and I could feel the rage I had been holding in just come out.

“Listen very well.” I pushed my hair aside. “From this moment on, the foolish and naive Lucia you knew has gone to hell. I'm not going to let them keep trampling on me just because they feel like it.”

I walked out of there, and I could see the surprised faces of my nani, along with those of the chaparrita. No one noticed the serious wound I had on my head, as they were in a kind of shock because they never believed that someone like me would dare to raise her voice.

“¿What happened to your head?” asked the little girl entering the room. “Come on, just say it.”

My aunt's question, or, as I used to call her affectionately, la chaparrita, was what caused two tears to slide down my cheeks. I told her what had happened to me, and she was surprised and caressed my cheek.

“I'm so sorry you lost your job; let's tell everyone what happened.”

“No, the reality is that things are too hot right now, and I don't want to add fuel to the fire when I tell Lina that I'm out of work. Although, to be frank, I don't care what she thinks of me right now, it takes a lot of fortitude to confront her twice in a row.”

My nani came into the room, so we talked, while in the living room there was a dead silence. We all went to sleep, and the next day, while I was lying in bed, Lina arrived.

I didn't feel like arguing with her before I even had my cup of coffee, but I knew perfectly well that things couldn't be hidden any longer.

“¿What time do you plan to get up for work?”

I sighed, then told her what happened yesterday, and she sighed. It wasn't a good time for me to be out of work, but I had no choice, not for Lina, but for me.

“I will prepare my papers to go and look for a job, and I will also check the newspaper. I tell you right now that I will not continue to support Carlos' vices or your mistresses.”

The job in the house of the girl Anayanci had been obtained because she had placed an ad in the newspaper, so maybe she could have the same luck.

“Get a job as soon as possible; you have to support your brother with his studies. I spend my money on what I think is best. Next time, be a little more discreet. Luckily, neither your aunt nor my mom heard you say about my partner.”

“I don't give a damn what you want or what you ask of me. You changed me completely, so count me out. I'll give the money for the food, and that's going to be it. Now I want you to get out of here; if you don't, beware of the consequences.”

She left the room without saying anything. I got up and waited for the paperboy to buy all the papers he was selling. When he arrived, I asked him for one of each. When he saw my injury, he asked me about her. That's the last straw, even this man noticed this, and Lina hadn't even noticed.

I paid him and started looking for a job as a nurse or any other position I could find, since with the situation like this, I don't have the luxury of being picky.

I circled the offers I could apply for and had a very hungry breakfast since I didn't have any dinner yesterday.

“What are you doing here?” Carlos asked, “You're supposed to be at work.”

“She was fired from her job,” said Lina contemptuously. “Yesterday she was fired, and until now she told me.”

“Lina, please don't make it sound like I was fired for being irresponsible.”

“I can't find other words to describe it.”

I said nothing and hurried to breakfast. I finished and went to take a shower to go look for a job because I could not afford to rest. I went to several job interviews where they agreed to call me, and I stayed that way all day. I only ate bread and soda to fill my stomach. I got home dead tired and started surfing the internet to look for job offers. The situation was difficult, but not impossible, to find something. 

I sent several resumes to see if I was lucky, and I started to wait. I spent two days putting in papers in different places to see if I would get a call from somewhere. Weeks went by, and the phone didn't ring at all. One day I was lucky enough to get a call for another interview, so I applied...