He was a simple father who picked up a lost wallet in a parking lot—never imagining that returning it would take him to court, where justice would change his life.

In the afternoon he picked up Lupita. She showed him a drawing of the two of them holding hands in front of a house with flowers.

“It’s our future, Dad,” she said confidently.

That night, while the little girl slept, Julián sat on the small balcony. The neighborhood was full of noise: motorcycles, voices, radios playing. He thought that, at least for that day, he had done something right.

The next morning, a sharp knock on the door startled him.

A messenger handed him an official envelope.

SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE STATE OF PUEBLA

Julian’s stomach closed up.

She opened it with trembling hands. It was a court summons . She had to appear the next day.

Signed:

Mariana Salgado Ríos, Esq.,
Family Court Judge