The Sisters make me sit the rest of the afternoon at a picnic table under a tree, but I didn’t mind. I had another Legacy.

In the bathroom, Ella catches me watching the toothpaste run down her arm in the mirror. She looks embarrassed, and as she tries to replicate the way I brush my teeth, even more frothy toothpaste pours from her mouth.

“You’re like a bubble factory,” I say with a smile, grabbing a towel to clean her up.

We leave the bathroom as the others are arriving, dress quickly in the room and walk out of it as the others are coming in, keeping just ahead of the group, as I prefer to do. We grab our lunches from the cafeteria and head out into the cold morning. I eat my apple on the walk to school. Ella does the same. I’m about ten minutes early today, which will give me a little time to get on the internet to see if there’s anything new about John Smith. The thought of him makes me smile.

“Why are you smiling? Do you like school?” Ella asks. I look over at her. The half-eaten apple looks big in her small hand.

“It’s a nice morning, I guess,” I say. “And I have good company today.”

We walk through town as street vendors set up shop. The snow hasn’t melted and is piled along both sides of Calle Principal, but the road itself is clear. Up ahead on the right Héctor Ricardo’s front door opens, and out comes his mother in a wheelchair, being pushed by Héctor. She’s had Parkinson’s disease for a very long time. She’s been in a wheelchair for the last five years, and she’s been unable to speak for the last three. He positions her in a sliver of sunlight and applies her wheel brakes. While the sun seems to bring her some comfort, Héctor slinks away and sits in the shade, dropping his head.

“Good morning, Héctor,” I call out. He lifts his head and squints one eye open. He waves with a shaky hand.

“Marina, as of the sea,” he croaks. “The only limits of tomorrow are the doubts we have today.”

I stop and smile. Ella stops, too.

“That’s one of your better ones.”

“Don’t doubt Héctor; he has a few nuggets left,” he says.

“Are you doing okay?”

“Strength, confidence, humility, love. Héctor Ricardo’s four tenets of a happy life,” he says, which makes no sense whatsoever considering the question I asked, but it makes me feel good anyway. He turns his gaze on Ella. “And who’s this little angel?”

Ella grabs my hand and hides behind me.

“Her name is Ella,” I say, looking down at her. “This is Héctor. He’s my friend.”

“Héctor is one of the good guys,” he says, though Ella remains behind me.