Mariachi music’s tinny blare from a near by porch caused a dog to bark at ghosts. A street lamp’s yellow glow flickered when a slim woman slipped behind the rotted door of a shack. Rows of these shacks lined the street. Each one painted a different cheery color as it tired to off set the misery that was palpable in the air.

Maria was slim with long dark almost curly hair. Behind the dirt smudged on her face were high, gaunt cheek bones that spoke of beauty under better circumstances. Her delicate hands were so boney her fingers looked like knobbed twings as she opened the can of beans. With a _pop_ the lid came free. Slimy beans lay underneath in a sea of slime. Maria has no way of knowing how old they were. Cautiously, she took a whiff. They smelled good enough to her. She was starved. Guero said he would be back weeks ago with money for food. Maria didn’t know if she would be lucky enough to find another can of beans in the trash. The sad truth was, she wasn’t the only one starving here. It felt like the whole city was starving to death while the drug lords were so fat they couldn’t fit in theri ridiciulous unifroms anymore.

A lifetime ago, Maria lived a different life not too far from where she stood now, scooping beans out of a can into her mouth like a savage. She was a mule for Ricardo, a then, small time drug lord. She was young and thought she was desperate for money. Little did she know, she didn’t know what desperation was yet. Maria justified her actions by telling hersefl that Ricard was a small time gangster. She felt like she ran less risk than if she worked for the General. Ricardo didn’t pay as well. But that was okay. She only needed enough to live. When she had enough money to leave Columbia she would. Maria thought leaving Ricardo would be easier than leaving leaving someone as dangerous as the General.

Turns out, Maria had the kind of face people forgot. Maria could blend in anywhere and talk her way out of anyting with her innocent face. Moving druge for Ricardo was easier than easy for Maria. Ricardo’s business grew and Maria gained power with in the group.

In a bachata club one night, one of Ricardo’s lieutenants walked up to Maria. Lieutenants never talked to mules. There was a hierarchy in the group and mules were closer to the bottom than they were the top. Maria was smart enough to show respect and try to exit the conversation as soon as possible. She knew getting involved with a lieutenant meant she’d never get out of Columbia. What she didn’t know was the power of love.

Later that night the band played her favorite song. With her friends on the dance floor and tequila in her blood she was happy for the first time in a long time. There was hope on the horizon for her. In the dark corners of the club was a predator. It watched its prey with need. Guero knew he needed her and he was going to do whatever it took to get her.

The sun beamed through the a dirty towel hanging in an abandeoned window. The ray shot across Maria’s face and she moaned. Mid afternoon in Columbia was hot and humid in the summer. Her sweat stain still damp in the mattress as she rolled over. When her eyes open she looked at a patenet alligator leather shoe. Fear shot through her veins and she sobered almost immediately. Nothing good could come of this and she knew it. When looked up she was even more surpised to see the same lieutenant who chatted her up at the club the nigth before. Guero’s warm brown eyes softened when they saw the fear in her eyes. The predator in his heart did not want to prey on her, it was to protect her. His fists clenched in his pocket leaving red stains on the inside of his pants.

Maria scrambled to the back of the mattress and quietly asked what he wanted. Maria’s other friends told her horror stories how women could be used by men in the group. She was so close to her goal and didn’t want to lose her place in the group either. When Guero finally removed his hand from his pocket he reached for her. Maria saw the blood on his hand and her heart sank. A man so fierce and dnagerous can still bleed like a regualr person. Maria ripped the bottom of her shirt and tied it around his hand instead. Guero was so heart struck by the act he quickly scooped Maria up in his arms. He loudly and deeply inhaled her hair and the nape of her neck. He moaned. Nothing in his life ever smelled so perfect. He would never let her go and kill anyone who tried to take her.

Quickly, Guero figured out how good Maria was at moving the drugs. No one ever stopped her and when they did they fell in love with her just like him. Maria was tired, her bloodshot eyes resmbled a red city street map more than organs for sight. The bathroom was filled with steam and Maria marveled at it as she wiped it from the mirror. Looking back at here were ribs that had less meat on them then she ever remembered. She thought she could see her own organs though her skin. In the back of her mind she could hear the money under her king size bed. She had enough to leave Columbia and then some. She didn’t know if she had enough courage to leave Guero. He loved her, he provided for her like no one ever had and he protected her. Leaving him would mean leaving all of that. Maria didn’t know if she could do that again. What good was all the food in the world if you never had the time to eat it?

Before she lost her courage she ran under the bed and grabbed her money. Sprinting inside her walk in closet with thousands of dollars of dresses she grabbed a black bag. The bag was so non descript it sat right in front of Guero the whole time. Maris understood how to hide things in plain sight. She her self had been hiding in plain sight for Guero for years. The bag was filled with a new passport to America, new name, food, clothes, water and now her money. Maria was leaving. She was finally going to make a name for herself.

Outside of town a farmer sat at a fire heating up his dinner for the night. He could smell rain on the air and knew a stomr was coming. He was glad he got in early. He didn’t know how many more years his old bones were going to be able to live this lifestyle. While eating his stew at the hearth a loud bang happened at the door. Startled, he ran up and opened the door to find Maria there. He knew it was time. Storm or not he would hold his promise to this girl. He owed her that. All these years she’d been using his air strip for muling and she’d never been caught. She was kinder than anyone else the gang had ever used. They ran to his barn as the thunder clapped at their heels. Maria tossed her black bag in the back of the plane and heard the click of a gun. Behind her in the barn door one of Guero’s thugs held the farmer with a gun to his head. The farmer knew he had one chance to get this thug away from Maria. The farmer stomped on the thug’s foot and ran to his house. There was a shotgun in his house and he knew if he got to it he could keep them both safe. Maria saw the farmer run and when the thug turned to run after him she darted after the thug. She knew the old farmer was no match for the thug and she couldn’t let him die. She heard a loud pop just as she got to the door. Inside in front door laid the farmer dead next to an upturned bowl of stew. Maria was too late. She ran back out to the barn. As she rounded the side of the house she saw the plane inside the barn was a flame.

With her money burned to ash so was her hope of ever leaving Columbia. Lightning struck in the distance and Maria ran to the streets. She knew she could find some shelter with the homeless. Guero and his men would have a hard time finding her there. She knew how to hide in plain sight. That was 5 years ago. She survived on the street. Barely. She was skinner and sicker than she was when Guero found her.

She missed Guero. More than the protection he provided. She missed the secruity and the routine of it all. He was a little hard on her but she never tried to talk to him about it so she didn’t know if he could change. Mario put on her best clothes. The ragged sweater was burgundy and brown. She didn’t know if the stains were blood and didn’t care. It was the warmest thing she owned. Up the hill from her shack was Guero’s mansion. The lights were bright on his windows. His driveway wound up and around his house like a snake around it’s prey. Maria wanted to be that prey. Slowly, she walked toward her fate. Her destiny.

Standing on the doorstep staring at an ornate door knocker. Maria thought about her past and her future. She didn’t know if what she was doing was right. She only wanted to do something different. Maria took a deep brath and raised her slender arm to the door. The dorr swung open on slient hinges. It was like the door was waiting just for her to open. Behind it stood Guero in all his might. Thunder rolled in the background.

Trembling, cold and scared Maria said, “You’ve casued me so much pain, yet the love I feel for you blinds me to it!”. Guero’s warpped around her and her world changed as the door slammed behind her.