25 Years Ago
“Nooooo!”
The scream ripped through the stillness of the night, raw and visceral. Wile thrashed wildly on the makeshift bed, his face contorted in anguish.
“Nooooo!” he cried again, his voice cracking under the weight of his torment.
The sound pierced through the fragile quiet of the house, jolting Gumamela and her father, Felipe, from their sleep.
The house seemed to groan in protest, the worn wooden planks creaking under the disturbance. Its mismatched walls, patched with whatever materials could be salvaged over the years, offered little insulation from the cool night air. The corrugated iron roof rattled faintly in the breeze, a constant reminder of the home’s fragility. The raw, uncemented soil beneath their feet exuded a faint, earthy dampness, grounding the spac
