And she ran.
Xochi barely had time to take a step before she was swept into her mother’s arms. They collapsed together onto the front steps of the apartment, knees hitting the floor, arms wrapped so tightly around each other it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. Sobs wracked their bodies, shaking them apart and pulling them closer all at once.
Eliza pulled back just enough to cup her daughter’s face, her thumbs brushing the tears from Xochi’s cheeks, though her own were falling just as fast.
“You aren’t a little girl anymore,” she whispered with a broken smile. “Oh, your eyes… those are mine.”
Xochi laughed through a sob. “I didn’t think you were real.”
Dakota knelt beside them, his voice rough, his hands shaking. “We’ve looked for you every day, baby. We tore
