#xochtil

Xo takes off running, trying to reach out for their child they’ve been searching for all these months but feels almost an invisible wall and they drop to their knees as a animalistic sob escapes their throat. They don’t speak for a short time, trying to find the right words, any words to say. “Yaya, I’ve been looking for you for months. I fucked up, kiddo. I thought my world had ended. I tried to die so I wouldn’t have to live without you.”

They smash their fists into the ground, not bothering to turn their head from the dirt and mud splashing back into their face. In the oily reflection, they see the red scar that runs across their nose and cheeks and the dark tattoos that surround it. “I failed you, Yaya. Every time I think I’m strong, or smart, or fuck even good enough to save a child, that child ends up dead and I get the ugly reminder that I can’t even keep someone alive. Even living on the streets, you’d probably would have been better off if I didn’t stick my nose in other people’s business.”