It helps me maintain some semblance of privacy when who knows how long my former boss might hunt me.
I did owe him a substantial debt when that man stepped in to help me.
Sofia points at the Christmas lights strung across the square in zigzag patterns.
They blink on and off in a rhythm that probably looked festive to whoever installed them.
But in the Mediterranean, they look out of place, not at all like other parts of the world where trees are coated in snow and twinkling lights.
Plus, in the dawn light, they're barely visible.
"Can we get one this year?" Sofia says, pointing at the large fir tree erected in the center of the square.
It makes me sad to have to tell her that yet again, we can't have one indoors like other normal families.
I can barely afford the food she eats.
Things like that are novelties I can't spend money on.
"We'll see," I tell her, my standard response to anything she asks for that I know we can't afford.
She sighs but doesn't push the issue.
She knows what that answer means.
She's learned to read between the lines faster than most kids her age.
The bus pulls up to the curb with a loud hiss of brakes and I kiss her forehead, but before she has a chance to even board the bus, a van pulls up so fast I barely register the movement.
The side door slides open before I can react.
Two men in black masks jump out and grab me.
I scream as loud as I can manage, but one of them clamps a gloved hand over my mouth, muffling the sound into nothing.
I bite down as hard as possible, tasting the sour leather.
He swears in Italian and jerks his hand back.
The other man grabs both my arms and twists them behind my back with enough force to make my shoulders burn.
I kick backward and connect with something solid.
He grunts but doesn't let go.
And then I realize one of them has Sofia.
"Oh God," I whine. "Help!" I try to scream, but again, a hand is over mine as hands haul me off the street toward the van, toward the direction they've taken my daughter.
Then something sharp stabs into the side of my neck.
The world tilts sideways.
My legs stop working.
Everything blurs at the edges and fades into gray static.
I try to fight it, but my body refuses to cooperate.
