Reina was four years old the day her family was evicted. She remembered coming home with Papa, Loupe strapped in a sling to their back to find that their key no longer fit the lock. Papa banged on the door, cursing and then called several people using their smartglasses, none of which answered. By then Loupe woke up and began crying with ear splitting screams so that her discomfort could not be ignored. At every hour of the night and every waking moment of the day Loupe was screaming in a tortured way and the only thing that ever seemed to calm her was being tightly swaddled in Mama’s arms. And Mama was at work. Loupe was hungry and so was Reina and if she didn’t get out of her school uniform soon, the collar was going to choke her.

Papa took Reina’s hand and they left the building, patting Loupe’s back and shushing her all the way. Outside it was scorching, a dry wind blowing through the desolate streets making Reina’s eyes burn and her nostrils sting, even with her face mask.

“Where are we going, Papa?” she asked, wondering how they were going to get her doll that was still lying on her bed if the door was locked and their key didn’t work. This was exactly why she had wanted to take her to school so that they would never be apart like this, but that was not allowed.

“We’re going to visit Mama.” Papa’s voice was low, their eyes trained straight ahead.

“But Mama is at work.” Reina was not allowed to visit Mama at work. Mama didn’t have time for breaks to see her and she had a lot of very important things to do that could not wait until later.

Papa only nodded, his brow low and his mouth tight as they walked the seventeen blocks to Mama’s office. The walk felt like miles to Reina’s small feet that were tired from a full day at school. Papa’s hand was warm and tight around her fingers, keeping her from picking up the dandelions poking out of the cracks in the sidewalk. The shops were busy even as the sun hung low in the sky like molten lava. Hungry people hustled through the streets gripping their bags tightly to their chests while hungrier people begged at every corner. There were few cars here and the ones that did run were old and rusted and gave off a foul smelling smoke.

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As they left their neighborhood behind and drew near the business center the hungry people slowly disappeared, replaced by tall, clean people in suits and long dresses. Reina eyed the women jealously, her fingers itching to touch their ruffled skirts and silk head scarfs. The slacks and polo shirt of her school uniform were covered in a thin layer of dust and damp with sweat by the time they arrived outside the large stone office building and she felt close to tears.

“Papa, I’m hungry,” Reina finally said. She had been good and kept quiet the whole walk there, but she couldn’t wait another moment.

A man with a cart was selling corn on the cob in front of the office and Papa bought them each one with real butter and salt. Reina had never had a whole one to herself and she devoured it greedily. The kernels burst on her tongue, the sweet and salty juice dribbling down her chin and making her fingers sticky. Soon she had forgotten her choking collar and Loupe had finally stopped crying. Papa cut off little mouthfuls for her with a wooden fork which she ate out of his fingers. As Reina finished hers the sun finally set, bringing with it a small reprieve from the heat. Mama came running from the building.

“Look after your sister,” Papa said, dropping Loupe in Reina’s small lap.

They got up from the curb and met Mama on the dusty sidewalk. They hugged, tight and fast as though they didn’t have time for kisses and then moved to a corner of the building, away from the stream of workers leaving for the day. Mama eyed her daughters wearily, but followed her partner into the shadow of the building. They spoke in hushed voices so that Reina could not hear what they were saying.

After double checking her parents weren’t watching, Reina began eating her sister’s corn, making sure to take small bites so they wouldn’t know it was her. Loupe wriggled trying to escape her sister’s grasp, chubby arms reaching and big head swinging, but Reina just wrapped a strong arm around her middle and fed her a few kernels of corn to keep her quiet.

By the time their parents returned the corn was finished and Loupe was crying again. Mama picked her up and kissed her tear stained face.

“Come on Reina,” Papa said, reaching out their hand. “Let’s go”

“Where?” Reina asked, even though she knew it would annoy them. She had to know. Did Mama have the right key? Were they going to get her doll?

“We’re going to get our things and then we’re moving,” Mama said.

“Where?” Reina asked again.

“Somewhere with trees.”

Reina didn’t recognize the look on Mama’s face. It looked almost sad and almost happy at the same time. Not happy, maybe hopeful.