In her unconscious state, Luz began to dream, passing through different moments of her life as if she were not in this world of monsters.
As always, the first thing she saw in her dreams was her parents, still alive, taking a walk on the beach. This was one of the many happy moments she had with them. She saw herself hunting lizards, which she then released so they could return to their habitat. She saw herself entering the sea with her father to go snorkeling. She was amazed to see the seabed with all its corals, fish, seaweed, and octopuses. Sea lions played on her back and nibbled at her fins. She remembered seeing tiny bioluminescent creatures that gave the sea a magical quality.
She remembered digging for clams and mussels to give to her mother, who cooked them on the beach.
She went through different memories until she dreamed about her last days in the city.
It was the end of the year on his beloved planet Earth. The students had just finished their graduation ceremony when suddenly a loud, mocking voice rang out.
"Why are you such a weirdo?" Alejandra snapped.
Luz Rivera was an extraordinary 17-year-old girl, and only the jealous kids at school could be so cruel with their words, but Luz didn't care.
A male voice approached.
"Luz, is that a Darwin's frog?" her best friend Luis asked excitedly.
This boy was tall, blond, with blue eyes, and very handsome. They had been best friends since childhood, following each other in all their crazy adventures, and although it may sound strange, they had always loved each other only as friends, almost like siblings, and there had never been any romantic intention between them.
"Yes, yes, isn't it fantastic?" Luz exclaimed excitedly.
Another female voice was heard. "I can't believe it!" shouted Laura, Luz's best friend from school, excitedly.
The three of them jumped around like children with excitement and laughed out loud while the rest of their classmates looked at them, some amused and others disgusted. Anyway, the three of them didn't care, they were happy just the way they were.
Luz went out countless times with her father, who was a biologist, in search of these little frogs, but they never managed to find them. When her parents died, she never went out looking for frogs again. But today, miraculously, she saw one of them in the most unlikely place and even managed to catch it. Her friends were excited because they knew the story behind this event.
Luz's mother was a nurse and her father was a biologist. They adored their only daughter. They encouraged her to be the best at everything, not out of obligation, they never pressured her in anything, but they saw her innate potential as a future leader.
They taught her many things. She was one of those girls who didn't use her cell phone or watch TV much. She loved to read everything from comic books to encyclopedias.
She learned to free dive with her father.
They went on crazy family trips where the sighting of a simple snail caused ecstasy, not to mention the excitement of marrying lizards and spiders. Since she was not afraid of spiders, she was bitten three times by the dreaded Loxosceles laeta, also known as corner spiders, but despite being highly poisonous, she was one of those people whose health was not seriously affected by the venom, which only left a small welt at the site of the bite. This peculiarity fascinated doctors, as many people had terrible reactions that caused death, but not her or her mother. It was a different story for her father, who was hospitalized in serious condition as a child after just one bite from one of these corner spiders.
Thanks to her mother Luz, she knew how to detect fever and how to treat it. Her mother even taught her how to give injections and suture. This was more than could be expected of a girl, but her curiosity and need to learn were so great that they simply helped her quench her thirst for knowledge.
She was the best student in her school, making her parents proud and happy for the bright future that awaited her.
Unfortunately, at the age of fourteen, her life was turned upside down. Her parents died in a horrific way when they were attacked in their home. One of the criminals tried to abuse her, and her father rushed to protect her, receiving a direct shot to the heart. His body fell on top of Luz as he took his last breath to protect her. Seeing this, her mother ran to help him and was shot in the head.
Hearing the police sirens approaching, the criminals fled, leaving Luz lying on the floor with her parents' bodies on top of her. This had a profound effect on her mind and her entire life.
Her maternal grandparents became her guardians.
Her grandfather hated her. He was extremely racist and rejected anyone who did not have light skin. He never accepted that his daughter, who was white, blonde, and green-eyed (Luz's mother), had married a dark-skinned man. The old man was incapable of seeing all the good qualities in his son-in-law, who was very intelligent, hard-working, a good person, and very handsome.
When Luz was born, her grandfather went to visit her, but he immediately rejected her because her skin tone was darker and similar to her father's, even though her face was the spitting image of her mother.
Since she was forced to live in her grandparents' house at the age of 14, the man reminded her every day that she was an "ugly black girl," which further damaged the psyche of this poor teenager.
Her grandmother was a kind woman but unable to defend her as she suffered psychological abuse from her partner and did not have a voice to defend herself.
All of this motivated her at a young age to set goals and strive even harder to be the best, earning a scholarship that would allow her to live and study at the best university in the country, thus escaping that disturbing home.
Despite all the bad things, she was grateful for those years of having a roof over her head and food to eat, but she was tired of her grandfather's abuse.
So, at 17, she finally finished school and a bright future at university awaited her, just as her parents had hoped.
For the graduation party, they had to dress up. Luz had never been to one of these parties and didn't have a dress for the occasion. Her grandfather managed her inheritance because she was a minor, and he was stingy. He wouldn't give her the money to buy a dress.
Laura, her best friend, came from a wealthy family. She and her parents were very fond of Luz and didn't hesitate to give her the money to buy an outfit for the party.
Luz tried to refuse the offer, but her friend and family insisted that she accept.
The next day, the three friends went shopping. Luis went along as a bodyguard and to carry the girls' bags.
Laura wanted her friend to look stunning at the party, but Luz was shy about showing her skin. She always wore baggy clothes, loose long-sleev
"I can't wear that," she said in a low voice, full of embarrassment.
"Oh, please, you have such a great personality! Are you embarrassed to wear this?" her friends criticized her.
Luz felt ugly and couldn't find anything so pretty and revealing to wear.
"You're crazy, you're beautiful!" Laura was upset. "I've seen you when we go diving. You look like a model with all your curves and your green eyes. I wish I had that body. I also envy your hair. I don't know how you manage to keep it so long and full of curls. You insult me by thinking you're ugly."
Luis agreed with everything Laura said and also lectured her.
Luz felt her cheeks and ears burn with embarrassment, but at the same time she felt happy about the compliments she hadn't been looking for.
When they finally finished shopping at the mall, they left, making plans for how they would get together for the party. Finally, they parted ways to go home.
Luz wanted to walk; her house was across fields that bordered the forest. She was carrying a long, heavy bag with her dress and two others with gifts that Lucia had forced her to accept. Halfway there, she began to regret walking through an area where there was no transportation and no sign to call an Uber. She paused, put down the bags to regain her strength, and it was on that path that she heard the pitiful whimpering of a puppy, leading to all the events that left her seriously injured.
She continued dreaming like this throughout her unconsciousness.