The scent of burnt petals permeated the curtains.
Her hair.

On her skin.

The night was long.

Sticky.
Like a summer that refuses to end.

Maria Elena remained seated on the edge of the bed listening to the fire in the courtyard.

Each spark that rose into the sky looked like a tiny heart.

Maybe his.
Maybe his mother’s.

Perhaps the one from one of her roses.

The cup was still on the windowsill.

The dry earth.
The small green shoot.

His last witness.

The morning arrived thick and heavy.
With the smell of ash.

And defeat.

José Luis was fast asleep.

He snored with the satisfaction of someone who believes he has “brought order”.

His silver lighter gleamed on the small table.

It had an engraved inscription:

“The hunter never misses.”

Maria Elena watched him.

And for the first time in a long time…
she smiled.

It wasn’t a friendly smile.

She was refined.
Dangerous.

The smile of someone who has just had an idea that’s too good to be innocent.

Because José Luis still didn’t know one thing.

Destroying a garden can be easy.

The difficult part…

It’s about living with the woman who decided to rebuild it.

In their own way.

José Luis got up late.
He drank his coffee without looking at her.

Then he headed to the town’s hardware store in San Miguel de Allende . He always said that he “repaired life” there, although in reality he only fixed his fishing rods to go to Lake Yuriria .

Maria Elena waited.

He waited until the sound of the truck faded down the dusty road.
Then he went out into the yard.

The air smelled of smoke.
And revenge.

He walked slowly toward the shed.
That place was the temple of José Luis’s masculine pride.

He kept everything there: the fishing rods, the boxes of bait, the folding chair, the fishing vest, and an old thermos that he hadn’t washed in years.

Ten perfectly aligned canes gleamed on the shelves.
Each one had a name.

“The Beast.”
“The Lightning.”
“The Queen of the Lake.”

Maria Elena raised an eyebrow.

— Queen, eh?… Well. I think your reign is over, dear Queen.

Thus began the revenge.

First she opened the box of worms.
Then she dropped a few drops of vanilla essence inside.