A Decision at Dawn
Before sunrise, she washed her face with cold water and looked at herself in the dull windowpane.
The elegant woman with careful makeup was gone. A tired mother remained, with a steady gaze.
She would look for work. She couldn’t depend on anyone — not even Damián’s generosity. Roof or not, family or not, she had to stand on her own — out of dignity and need.
She asked Camila to watch the little ones and went door to door in Tlaquepaque: restaurants, bakeries, a tamale stall.
Many refusals. Some suspicious looks. A few unkind words.
But she didn’t stop.
Near the crafts market, a woman named Doña Remedios listened.
“Can you wash dishes?”
“I can do it quickly and won’t break anything,” Magdalena replied.
“Come at six tomorrow. I can’t pay much, but it’s something.”
Magdalena nodded gratefully.
A beginning is a beginning.
