Intro. Life was a tireless executioner for both of them. Simón grew up under the monstrous shadow of his father; Isabella, under the negligence of an alcoholic mother. It was fate, or perhaps a belated mercy, who brought these two lost souls together in a park that reflected their own desolation: a land of dry roots, infertile soil, and rusty playground equipment that, despite everything, were their only sanctuary.
At six years old, they didn't need words. Simón, with the marks of violence etched on his skin, found in Isabella's timid gaze something that no one else offered him: acceptance. She wasn't scared of her scars; She felt accompanied in her own tragedy.
> "Don't worry, you're safe here..." she whispered one night under the slide, wiping the blood from Simón's cheek with a dirty handkerchief while the bustle of the police surrounded the Riley house.
> He, lying in her arms, felt for the first time that the world stopped hurting. That night, before dawn took him away