Prologue: Tía Vannessa 

It was a bright and hot day in the back garden of Auntie Vanessa’s flat. Maria hated being in the back of the garden, it was always crawling with bugs and little creatures that she always found gross. She didn’t like getting in the dirt and grime of gardening and she missed her home back in Garren city. Auntie Vanessa lived in the rural parts of the planet and Maria found everything here so boring.

“Hey! Riri, aquí!” Vanessa called out after her niece. Maria hurried over to her Aunt to see her holding a pair of garden shears. They were special according to Vanessa. Maria’s Great Grandmother was a gardener and had these shears custom made for her fortieth birthday. “I need you to cut off the unruly branches on this bush right here.” Vanessa said as she handed the shears to Maria and pointed to a very out of control bush.

“Do I really have to do it?” Maria asked. Vanessa gave a stern look to her niece before speaking.

“Now, you know that you can’t stay here and not do any work.” Vanessa stated.

“When are mamá and papa coming to get me?” Maria asked in a whining voice. Vanessa chuckled while rolling her eyes.

“Go and take care of that bush, now, Riri.” Vanessa said as she went over to another corner of the garden to do something else. Maria groaned as she went over to the bush and began to cut off some stray branches of the bush. The task became monotonous after a while to the point where Maria’s mind went somewhere else. She began to think about how boring this must be to do everyday and also wondered how Vanessa managed to do this everyday. 

She placed the shears on another branch and pushed down on the handles, but the shears didn’t cut through. Maria was snapped out of her mindless state as she pressed down harder on the shears and the branch still didn’t break off. Maria began to twist and press down on the shears, but the branch still didn’t want to come off. 

Maria grunted in frustration before pressing down on the shears and twisting them as hard as she could. She pushed and twisted so hard that the shears’ middle screw holding them together popped loose and went across the garden and hit Vanessa in the back.

“What the-” Vanessa said before she saw the screw on the ground. She looked up to see Maria holding the two halves of the shears that her grandmother had praised so much when she was growing up. She walked over to Maria who was in visible distress.

“I’m sorry, Auntie, I was-”

“Who gives a shit about the shears?” Vanessa said.

“What?” Maria asked.

“You still forgot one branch. Here, let me see one of those.” Vanessa said as she reached out and grabbed one of the broken shears. She used the blade to saw off the branch that Maria was struggling with. Maria watched as her Aunt used the broken piece to do the job. “Us Salvadors aren’t the types to sit and wallow in defeat. We don’t have time to mope or mourn, we get back up. We take broken things,” Vanessa pointed to the other shear in Maria’s hand. “And give them a new use. Now, I need new shears. Use that one you have to go and pick out the weeds. Don’t let me down, Riri.”

Vanessa walked away, leaving Maria to stare at the broken shear. She looked at the stack of branches and sighed. She held the shear in a better position and looked at a weed in the ground. She rolled up her sleeves and walked over to it.

That day, Maria realized an important thing. Salavdors don’t whine and complain about stuff they don’t like or hate. They do things when it’s necessary and do it the best they can.  If they make a mistake, like breaking shears, they look at it and decide to find a way to turn it into a win. This lesson would be the eventual death of her.