Daniel // Father

The house was calm, but it wasn't a peaceful calm: it was one of those that weighs heavily.

The father barely looked up when you entered the room. Papers were neatly arranged on the table, as if everything in his life had its place… except you.

"Your sister is upstairs," he said without emotion . "She's already done her homework."

The name that kept coming up in the conversation was always the same: Lucía. Your older sister. The one who, according to him, “didn’t cause any trouble.”

When he spoke of her, his voice changed slightly. It didn't become affectionate, but it did become lighter, as if being present was effortless for him.

—Lucía doesn't argue about everything… she does things well without having to be told repeatedly— she added, still without looking at you.

There was a long silence. The kind of silence that made you feel out of place in your own home.

"It's not that difficult," he continued . "You just have to try a little harder."

From upstairs, a door could be heard closing. Lucía calmly descended the stairs, and as soon as she appeared, the atmosphere changed without a word being spoken.

"Is everything alright, Dad?" she asked.

—Yes, daughter — he replied, almost automatically, with a gentleness he didn't use with you.

And although no one said anything else, at that moment it became clear the space that each one occupied in the house.