Chapter 5

 

Chapter 5: Searching for Answers

Becky woke up feeling heavy, like she hadn’t really slept at all. The world outside was waking up, cars honking, birds chirping—but inside, everything felt wrong.

Her parents weren’t here.

She sat up in the small bed at Tía Rosa’s house, hugging her knees. Nico was still asleep, his tiny chest rising and falling with soft little breaths. Becky wished she could be like him—too young to understand, too young to feel this pain.

But she wasn’t. She did understand.

And she needed to know what was happening.

The Phone Calls

Tía Rosa was already awake, sitting at the kitchen table with her phone pressed to her ear. Becky stood in the doorway, listening.

“Sí, pero no pueden simplemente desaparecer. Tiene que haber una forma de encontrarlos—” (Yes, but they can’t just disappear. There has to be a way to find them.)

Becky’s stomach twisted as she watched her aunt’s face. Tía Rosa was usually calm, always knowing what to do. But now, she looked tired. Worried.

Becky stepped forward. “Did you find them?”

Tía Rosa looked up, startled. She hesitated before shaking her head. “Not yet, mi amor. But I’m trying.”

Becky’s heart sank. She pulled out a chair and sat down, gripping the edge of the table. “Where do they take people when… when this happens?” She hated the way the words felt on her tongue.

Tía Rosa sighed. “It depends. Sometimes they’re sent to a detention center. Sometimes…” she trailed off.

Becky didn’t need her to finish the sentence. She already knew what her aunt didn’t want to say.

Sometimes, they’re sent away for good.

The Diary Entry

After breakfast, Becky went back to her room, pulled out her diary, and started writing.

“Dear Diary,
No one knows where Mommy and Papi are. Tía Rosa is calling places, but no one is telling her anything. How can people just disappear like this? It’s not fair.

I keep thinking about what Mommy said yesterday: ‘Everything will be okay.’
But she was wrong.

Nico doesn’t even ask about them. He just plays with his cars like always. He doesn’t understand. He doesn’t know that our whole world is falling apart.

I wish I was little like him. I wish I didn’t have to understand either.”

She closed the diary and stared at the page for a long time.

Then, she made a decision.

She couldn’t just sit here waiting.

If no one was telling them where her parents were, she was going to find out herself.

A Plan Forms

At dinner, Becky barely touched her food. Her mind was spinning.

She needed to do something.

She looked up at Tía Rosa. “Can we go to the hospital where Mommy works? Maybe someone there knows what happened.”

Tía Rosa hesitated. “Becky, I don’t know if—”

“Please,” Becky begged. “I just want to see if someone can tell us anything.”

Her aunt sighed but finally nodded. “Okay. Tomorrow.”

Tomorrow.

That was something.

Becky glanced at Nico, who was playing with his spoon. He had no idea that everything had changed.

She reached for her diary.

“Dear Diary,
Tomorrow, I’m going to find out where Mommy and Papi are. I don’t care if it’s scary. I have to try.”

Becky lay in bed that night, wide awake. She clutched her diary to her chest.

Tomorrow, she would start looking for answers.

Because no one else was going to do it for her.