The neighbors came to leave him broken devices, and he always received them with a patient smile.
I started helping her mother in the kitchen.
Mrs. Carmen was a sweet woman, with wrinkled hands and a look full of gratitude every time she saw me.
“Miguel has always been very lonely,” he said one day while we were amassing tortillas. But since you arrived, I’ve seen it differently.
I didn’t know what to answer.
Because the truth was, Michael was still the same.
Friendly.
Quiet.
Careful.
He never asked me for anything.
I never crossed any limits.
We slept in the same bed, but he always left a little space between us.
At first I thought that would be uncomfortable.
But over time… that space started to feel strange.
One night, while we were in dinner, I watched as Miguel walked hard from the kitchen to the table, carrying a plate of soup.
The lameness was more apparent when I was tired.
“Let me help you,” I said.
“You don’t need to.
“Miguel.
“Really.
But I still took the plate out of his hands.
He looked at me in surprise.
Thank you.
It was the first time I noticed something different in her eyes.
A mixture of surprise… and something like happiness.
A month later something happened that changed everything.
That afternoon Miguel was working in the workshop when a client arrived with an old TV.
While trying to lift him, he lost his balance.
The TV fell to the ground with a strong blow.
And Michael too.
I ran to him.
“Miguel!
He was sitting on the floor, clenching his teeth.
“I’m fine,” he said.
But he wasn’t.
His leg was shaking.
I tried to help him get up.
When he finally did, I could see the sweat on his forehead.
Does it hurt?
“A little.
That’s not “a little.”
I took him inside the house.
While cleaning a small wound on his knee, Miguel avoided looking at me.
“You didn’t have to do all that,” he murmured.
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