My daughter said she would take me to live with her to take care of me and my son-in-law promised to give me ten thousand pesos every month. But exactly one year later, when I heard what they said about me in the kitchen… I understood that I was wrong.

That day I didn’t talk much.

I watched the children run and thought of Mariana when she was that age.

I had always believed that the love between mother and daughter was something that did not change.

Maybe it hadn’t changed.

Maybe life had just grown up around that love.

One night, when Mariana came home from work, she found me in the kitchen washing a cup.

“Mom,” he said, “I was thinking—” Next month we could better organize the expenses of the house. The city is very expensive.

I nodded calmly.

“Sure, daughter.

She looked relieved.

I didn’t know that by then I had already made up my mind.

The day I left was a Tuesday morning.

Mariana and Javier had gone to work as usual.

The apartment was silent.

I finished closing the suitcase. It wasn’t big. At my age you learn that you don’t really need that many things.