I broke into a house in Coyoacán to steal, but found a blind girl tied to a chair. She whispered, “Did my mom come back to sell me again?” I decided to steal her back instead. As we reached the front door, heavy footsteps echoed from the dark hallway, and a voice growled, “Who is in there?”…

I burst through the back patio, the cool night air hitting my face, only to find my path blocked near the wrought-iron security gate.

A figure emerged from the shadows. Massive. Breathing heavily. His hands gripped a rusted length of industrial metal piping.

I possessed nothing but a pathetic, oxidized folding knife, a body weakened by chronic malnutrition,continue reading …