Miguel remains motionless.
“I… I don’t understand,” he said finally, his voice hoarse.
Roberto gently put his hand on Elena’s, as if to give her the strength to continue. But his own eyes were already misty.
“You have to tell her, Elena.
She nodded, slowly. Then she stared at Miguel, as if she wanted to memorize every detail of his face.
“Twenty-three years ago… she began… I had a son.
Time seemed to contract.
Miguel felt his hands grow cold.
“I was young… too young. I lived alone. The father of the child… never stayed. I was scared. Afraid of not being able to feed him. Fear of not being up to the task. Fear of the whole world.
His voice broke.
“So… I made the worst decision of my life.
The silence weighed like a stone.
“I left him… in front of an orphanage.
Miguel closed his eyes for a second.
A blurred, old image, without a precise shape… but heavy with a familiar feeling… seemed to rise to the surface of his memory. Not a clear memory. More like an imprint. An absence.
“I left him this bracelet…” she continued. because I wanted… at least… that he has something of me.
