Simona stood paralyzed with her eyes full of tears. Her body was shaking. She thought the world was falling in on her, and that she couldn’t bear the weight of it alone. Because she was alone. She’d been wrong. She’d made a terrible mistake. She had humiliated her father, and he would never forgive her. He’d never forgive her. They wouldn’t sing songs again, he wouldn’t surprise her with tickles. She’d ruined everything, she thought, and just when she felt that all the sadness of the earth was falling on her head, her little sister’s round face appeared in front of her. Her eyes were very wide, disconcerted, fearful. And then Simona saw her sister as she never had before, and she felt pity for her, even more pity than she felt for herself. Because she knew that her sister didn’t understand what was happening, and she did. There would be no french fries that afternoon. And that was enough, that was everything. She took Pía by the hand, firmly, and together they started back toward home, following their father’s footsteps down Bellavista.

Teresa

Teresa

She was coming out of the library when she saw him. Their paths had crossed a couple of times before. Three, to be exact. More or less under the same circumstances. He was riding an orange bicycle, and a little girl was standing behind him on the pannier rack. The girl couldn’t be more than six years old, and she had her arms wrapped around his neck to keep her balance. Must be his daughter, she thought. Her eyes met his for a second—both of them at once curious and aloof—and then she went on with what she’d been about to do, which was sit on the steps and light the cigarette she usually smoked on the hour, every hour, to clear her head. The little girl also went about her business, climbing down from the back of the bike. Her shoes raised a little dust when they hit the ground. She was wearing a white dress and she looked dirty and unkempt; after landing like that, it was clear why. The man stood up from the saddle but stayed astride the bike, one Adidas on either side of the frame. He kept one hand on the handlebars and with his free arm he pointed, giving the girl instructions. An invisible line leading into the library.