Acknowledgments

This book wouldn't exist without the people who, with love, patience, and words, helped build it.

To my Spanish teacher, Alma García, for giving me wings when I needed them the most. Thank you for seeing in me something I couldn't even see in myself, for pushing me to write with my soul and not just with my hands. Your classes were more than grammar lessons; they were refuge, inspiration, and roots.

To Gerardo Flores, for sitting down to listen to my craziest ideas, for never judging and always encouraging. Thank you for allowing me to imagine without limits, for reminding me that every story, no matter how small it seems, deserves to be told.

To my teacher Skarketh Martínez, my number one fan since day one. Thank you for celebrating my achievements as if they were your own, for your words of encouragement on the gray days, and for believing in my talent even when I doubted. Your constant support has been a gift I deeply cherish.

To Alejandra Carías and Gloria Nájera, for believing in this work even before it had shape, for getting excited with every idea I shared, and for gifting me your names with so much love. You not only inspired me, but you also walked with me from the first steps of this project. Thank you for being there, for supporting, for letting a piece of you live within these pages.

To all those who read my early drafts, even with scribbles, doubts, and margins full of notes: thank you for your patience, honesty, and affection. Every word you gave me was a seed.

To my readers, those who have this book in their hands: thank you for making room for it in your life. No matter where or when you read it, I hope that something you find here stays with you.

And to those I already mentioned in the dedication — mom and dad, Merlyn Gattorno, and my great-grandmother Carmen — thank you once again. You are not only in the words of this book, you are in every breath that allowed me to finish it.

Thank you for walking with me, for believing, for being.