Prologue

Strawberry Lane was characterized by being a quiet neighborhood, which had great warmth. Many houses were occupied by retired people whose only interest was going to play bingo every Sunday, it was common to see elderly people around the parks playing a game of chess.

This didn't mean that there weren't children around, being a place that overflowed security and invited serenity, many parents were tempted to settle in that area, there were not a few newly married couples who considered it a great investment buying a house in a neighborhood whose streets were not very busy with vehicles, avoiding hearing the annoying noises of engines and car horns due to the impatience caused by being trapped in the middle of vehicular traffic.

The children had fun playing with their friends with the ball or practicing other activities such as riding a bicycle or skateboard.

With certainty, it could be said that there was no danger for them regarding how lonely the streets tended to be since there was no lack of overprotective parents who watched their children with cautious eyes, regarding any activity that was labeled as harmful to minors, without naming those neighbors who did not find the idea of ​​going out even to enjoy the fresh air at all attractive and preferred to focus their attention on the activities of the other residents.

A scream came from the little girl with golden hair, her arm was caught between the fingers of a boy with light brown hair, who had managed to find her behind a tree, while they were playing hide and seek in the Kristin Armstrong municipal park.

They were accompanied by four other children, the first being a redhead with many freckles on his face, who in turn spoke with his friend who had jet black hair whose locks obstructed his view as it was a little longer than normal, causing was constantly removing it from his face.

At that moment the third boy approached, with his intense blue eyes and curly blond hair.

In short, he was someone who could not go unnoticed and it was demonstrated by the enraptured faces of several old women who could not take their eyes off him, something told everyone that when he grew up he would steal more than one look from the women around him.

Finally, there was a girl with brown hair with honey-colored eyes, who gave off a fragile and delicate appearance but turned out to be very agile when it came to hiding, however, due to her impatience she had ended up being discovered in the middle of some bushes of area.

That brunette who had been assigned the mission to search, smiled in amusement when he saw the blonde girl shake off her grasp; However, he did not let go of her, he already knew how stubborn she was, in addition to the fact that it was known to everyone that she hated losing, it was demonstrated by her complaints at having been caught, she finally nodded with resignation now she was the one who hung on the arm of his captor, who was not slow to smile ashamed, but with some illusion in the direction of the lawn.

They walked too close together for the liking of the other girl who was with them, who raised an eyebrow in disgust at the annoyance caused by the approach between those two, before leaving with the excuse of having been called to eat.

Because it was getting dark one by one they began to say goodbye, leaving only the three friends with light hair, they went with laughter, gentle shoves and the occasional brush of hands and a small blush from the brown boy towards the little blonde- quite evident for the blond boy with blue eyes, who had already noticed the small connection of his two friends-towards Sean's house who insisted he wanted them to share a few minutes alone before the parents of the little girl who accompanied them arrived.

Upon reaching the threshold of the door, the little boy with blue irises smiled mischievously at them, winking in the direction of the pair, who reacted immediately, one confused and the other blushing violently as he mentally reviewed those words that his mother always forbade him to mention it aloud.

The girl shook her head distractedly and raised her head to the sky, the clouds began to expand, so the weather began to get colder, an obvious sign that it was going to rain, she shuddered to lean towards the boy, who gulped nervously for such activities and he didn't hesitate to put an arm around her shoulder as they ran towards the brunette's house.

They did not enter once they were in front of his house, he knew that she liked to see how little by little the water was taking over the entire landscape, relaxing her to the point of making her close her eyes placidly listen to how the drops caused that melody natural when falling against the ground.

It only remained for her to wait for her parents to come and pick her up and take her home, an idea that of course the brown child did not find very pleasant, causing a bad mood to invade him and it could only be softened with the warm words of his mother.

Benefiting from the fact that his friend continued with her eyes closed, he allowed himself to observe her unhurriedly, detail by detail, her long eyelashes that he always adored in silence, hiding the most fascinating eyes he had ever seen, they were between green or blue, their hue was very curious to him, he thought he saw certain brown specks, but certainly when she was angry with him or was euphoric, and even in peace her eyes were so light green that he felt dizzy by the intensity that her gaze acquired.

Without knowing that it might be the last time in a long time that he could be so close to her, the brunette kept the image without remorse on his retina, so at least he did not feel so upset when he said goodbye to her when he saw her climb on her parents' car.

He entered by gently pushing the door, noticing that the living room was almost completely dark except for the light that came out of the kitchen, it seemed strange to him to see that it was on but no noise came from it, surely his mother had forgotten to turn it off after cooking, although no smell of food was felt in the place.

Excited with a big smile, eager to tell his dad how much fun his afternoon had been, he took two brisk steps before stopping as he noticed the scene in front of the sofa.

A man was sitting with his head in his hands, he was bowed and his elbows were located on his thighs, he could not help noticing that his hair was disheveled as a result of having passed his hands over it in an anxious way, the suit tie was at his feet, a bottle of wine kept it company.

The boy hesitated, his father never drank, when he did it was cause for celebration, but the image before him did not seem to be synonymous with joy.

He doubted before speaking, at school, they considered him one of the most intelligent, his grades were excellent not to mention his impeccable behavior, but what stood out in him was his insight, his mother constantly praised him for it, in short, he was very mature for his age, but he was still a child, innocence and optimism gave him courage.

Ignoring the tension that seemed to be in the air around him, he took a deep breath before speaking to his father.

"Dad?"

The aforementioned raised his head with such parsimony that the child came to believe that he had not been heard, his hand went down to the bottle at his feet which he took so slowly that the little one was tempted to run to his side to give it to him in a hurry.

For a moment he thought that his father's whole body ached or he was even numb-, because that was what the man reflected, in addition to an obvious vulnerability.

Their gazes finally met, the eyes that were so similar to his looked so sad that the brunette felt like crying, which his father had already done since his eyes were red, the impact was such that immediately he wanted to be with his mother, she would give him the calm that the mere look of his father was taking away from him.

"Where's mom?"

He said nothing, which caused him to become more nervous as he watched him direct the bottle to his mouth, taking a long drink before pointing it in the direction of the stairs and returning to the same position from the start.

He jumped in the direction of the stairs, going up the steps two at a time, he did not want to continue wasting time, she would tell him what was happening, surely he was exaggerating, he always took everything too seriously, which is why some of his classmates they considered him monumentally boring.

Upon reaching the hallway, he found the door to his little brother's room open, the bedroom was slightly illuminated by a corner lamp, he bent down just a little, managing to catch the baby lying in his crib out of the corner of his eye, the pressure on his chest was It eased a little, at least he rested, oblivious to his father's deplorable state.

He considered staying a while and watching him sleep, but he reminded himself that he had to find out what was wrong with his dad, his mom would clear the whole thing up for him and he would probably have a serious conversation with his dad about leaving his tie thrown in the middle of the room.

Thinking about that, he headed with greater determination to his parent's room, he could hear the noise of the television, he suspected that it would be one of the series that his mother liked to see so much and that his father used to complain about before giving in and leaving the channel for one of her mother's smiles.

The door was ajar, but he was eager to see his mother, so he pushed her perhaps with more force than normal, he closed his eyes when he heard the noise when it hit the wall, he mentally cursed again, praying to God that his mother did not punish him without television or forbidding him to see his friends.

But he was not prepared for the shock of seeing the pieces of what were his mother's favorite vases on the floor, much less seeing his mother's chaise longue broken as if someone had taken the time to break it. Piece by piece.

As if that were not enough what he had seen his mother's magazines were on the bed - no, he corrected himself - they were no longer magazines, their pages were scattered on the sheets and they were very wrinkled, he leaned towards the bed, wrinkling his nose It smelled of wine.

If before he believed that he was dreaming when he saw his parents' room always tidy as if a tornado of destruction had arisen, he was horrified to see the doors of his mother's closet hanging barely from the hinges.

However, that was not the reason to increase his grief, but rather to approach said closet and open it with fear, slowly poking his head out, noticing how little clothing he had or perhaps the lack of it. He finally realized what was happening.

His mother has gone.