PART 1
That night, the heat in Michoacán was stifling, but that wasn’t what kept Elena awake. It wasn’t the exhaustion from cleaning the vast avocado plantation for 14 hours straight. It was the word Alejandro, the boss, had uttered at dinner, almost breathless:
“Debt.”
And it wasn’t just any debt. It was 3 million pesos. A sum that could take everything from them. The house. The land. The small stability that Elena had begun to build since arriving 4 months ago with an almost empty suitcase, fleeing an unjust past.
Elena stared at the wooden ceiling, listening to the wind rattling the windows, reflecting on the irony of life. When she had absolutely nothing, she felt no fear. Now that she had something to lose, her heart trembled. She had grown fond of Alejandro’s two daughters: Sofía, a rebellious 15-year-old, and Camila, barely 6.
The next morning, the routine at the ranch continued, but the atmosphere was tense. Alejandro was silent. Sofía was strangely attentive.
“We can’t just sit idly by,” Elena said as she cleared the table.
Alejandro sighed, running his hands over his face.
“I’m already doing everything I can. The bank gave us 30 days to pay at least part of it, or they’ll take the orchard.
” “Then let’s do more,” she replied firmly.
“There aren’t any more hours in the day, Elena.”
“Then we’ll change our strategy, not the hours.”
That same day, Elena took action. She checked the pantry and the storage room. There were 82 kilos of avocados that weren’t big enough for export and that Alejandro was going to throw away. There were dried chilies, garlic, and seeds.
“We have green gold and we don’t even see it,” Elena murmured.
She decided to make homemade macha sauce with avocado oil. At first, Alejandro didn’t believe her.
“People in town already buy things at the supermarket,” he said.
“Then we’ll sell something the supermarket doesn’t have: tradition.”
The first attempt was a disaster. The second, too spicy. But on the fifth try, the recipe was perfect. They filled 20 jars. Elena went to the town market and in less than two hours, she sold them all. The next day, she returned with 50 jars. They sold out in one hour. Hope returned to the house.
But happiness in small towns always attracts envy. And the worst came from within the family itself. Doña Consuelo, Alejandro’s mother-in-law and the girls’ grandmother, hated Elena. Consuelo wanted Alejandro to lose the ranch so she could force him to sell the land to her at a pittance and gain custody of his granddaughters.
One afternoon, while Elena was preparing 100 new jars, two police patrol cars stormed into the hacienda’s courtyard. Doña Consuelo got out of her luxury SUV with a venomous smile.
“Arrest her!” Consuelo shouted, pointing at Elena. “That woman stole my diamond jewelry!”
The officers entered Elena’s room and, in less than a minute, pulled a glittering necklace from the bottom of her suitcase. Elena froze. The world stopped. The same injustice from her past, all over again. She looked at Alejandro, seeking support, but he lowered his gaze, doubting her. Elena’s heart shattered into a thousand pieces as the officer handcuffed her.
Nobody could believe what was about to happen…
PART 2
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