Noel and the children quickly became good friends. Dante was pleased to see them sharing and growing together. Noel was a positive influence, teaching them responsibility and empathy. Plus, it was clear that having a pet helped develop their social skills through play.

  The new year arrived with more economic hardship. The country was in the throes of hyperinflation and a deficit, but the cat helped distract Teo and Steffi from all those complexities that, in Dante’s opinion, should remain in the adult world. Children needed protection from those “monsters” and “ghosts.” A child’s reality should be different, unique, magical. He believed childhood was the stage where a person built their spiritual wealth, planned their future, and fostered initiative and creativity. To steal a child’s childhood was to condemn them to failure.

  Noel fulfilled a purpose Dante regretted not having achieved himself. The kitten gave his children hope and faith in the impossible. He pulled them away from the harsh realities of the world, making them forget that poverty was a limit few overcame. He brought back their smiles and gave their lives meaning: to fight for him. No matter what, they had to fight for Noel. For his health, for his well-being. Fight. Never give up. That would be their objective, their goal, their mission.

  That night, they huddled together in the old rickety bed in the attic. Noel, now a healthy, full-grown cat, slept curled at Teo’s feet. Dante sat in the wicker rocking chair, gazing at the moon. He decided that the next day he’d tell his children they were getting out of there, that they’d stop living like outlaws. He’d find an extra job, and they’d pay rent. It might be a modest place, but at least they’d live decently. He wanted to instill these values in his children: they needed to see that he could bounce back from adversity and always strive to improve, but never outside the law.

  On the deserted street corner, he saw a car turn. The headlights looked like two fireflies in a dark cave. It rolled slowly until it parked in front of the house. Dante, seized by a chilling sense of alarm, pressed himself against the window and watched two men get out. A third man, the driver, stayed behind the wheel.

  They were murmuring, but he couldn’t hear them. Their relaxed demeanor suggested they didn’t know he was there. Therefore, their purpose wasn’t to evict them; they were up to something else. “Two people whispering in the dark at this hour in the yard of an abandoned house can’t be good,” he thought.

  The taller one signaled to the man in the car. The driver, broad-shouldered, got out and went to the trunk. They pulled out an old man, gagged and blindfolded. Dante panicked. His children were asleep, and a serious crime was about to be committed downstairs, potentially putting their lives in danger.

  The four of them entered through the front door.

  For a few tense moments, he heard nothing but the wind. Then, the sharp sound of a chair hitting the wooden floor. The echo reverberated through the walls, making them tremble.

  “Why did we have to come to this?” one of the voices growled. “Didn’t we warn you not to testify? What did you say? What did you see that day? Talk!”

  The screams woke Steffi. She was about to cry, but Dante rushed to her side to calm her down. Teo opened his eyes, confused.

  “What’s happening, Dad?” the boy asked.

  “Some angry men are downstairs,” Dante responded calmly, trying not to scare Steffi more than she already was. “That’s why we need to be quiet, so we don’t disturb them. Okay, Steffi?” She nodded, her eyes still glistening with tears.

  “What do you know, old man?” one of the voices barked again. “Tell us what you saw. Don’t waste our time!”

  “He’s not going to talk,” said the other. “He’s an old fool. Still believes in honor and justice. Poor idiot!”

  “We’ll make him talk, you’ll see!” the first one replied. “Hey, you!” he shouted, addressing another person—presumably the driver. “Do me the favor of persuading the old man to be more cooperative.”

  A few seconds later, the old man howled in pain. Dante, Teo, and Steffi hugged each other, terrified.

  “Don’t cry, sweetheart! Please!” Dante begged Steffi, who was on the verge of a breakdown. “They mustn’t know we’re here.”

  The old man’s screams grew more desperate.

  “Feeling more like talking now, old man?!” the voice roared angrily. “Speak!”

  It was too much for Steffi’s innocent heart. Despite Dante’s attempts to stifle her cries, she screamed, overwhelmed with fear.

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  “Did you hear that?” said the other voice. “Upstairs! I heard something upstairs!”

  Dante knew it was over.

  But he couldn’t let them be found! He didn’t mind sacrificing himself, but he wanted his children safe!

  He didn’t know how to explain to them that he was giving himself up because he loved them. He couldn’t bear to look them in the eye and say he might abandon them! So, he simply said, “Teo, take care of your sister and don’t leave the attic, no matter what. I love you both so much!” And he went downstairs.

  The two men intercepted him at gunpoint.

  “Guys, please!” he said, raising his hands. “I’m just a homeless man with nowhere to sleep! Don’t shoot!”

  “Walk slowly!” shouted the one he recognized as the leader. “One wrong move and you’re dead!”

  They took him to the room where the driver was with the old man. The old man had three streaks of blood running down his forehead.

  The strangers were bewildered.

  “Where did this guy come from?” they asked. “Why didn’t we notice he was here earlier? He must be who he says he is, because who else would give himself up knowing what’s coming? Still, we can’t risk it. No witnesses!”

  Dante was terrified. His knees shook, and he felt the floor giving way beneath him. He recognized the old man: the newspapers said a key witness in a trial against a senator involved in illegal activities had been kidnapped, sparking protests over the witness protection program’s failures.

  The tallest one—the leader—was on his cell phone, talking to someone he clearly feared. The other man pointed the gun at Dante, and the driver guarded the old man.

  Teo, Steffi, and Noel huddled together behind the pillow. Steffi had pulled the sheet over her head because it made her feel safer. The cat purred and meowed softly, half-asleep. Teo debated whether to obey his father and stay with his sister or go see what was happening. He couldn’t hear anything, which was even worse. He couldn’t take it anymore. He hated disobeying his father, but he needed to know what happened.

  “Steffi, stay here with Noel and be quiet,” he said. “I’m going to see if I can help Dad calm the angry men down.”

  Steffi nodded and clung to the cat, closing her eyes tightly.

  The leader seemed nervous. The voice on the phone gave him precise instructions. “No witnesses,” he said, and hung up.

  “Bring him here,” he ordered, gesturing grimly. “Kneel him next to the old man.”

  “Guys, please! This doesn’t have to end like this!” Dante pleaded, crying. “This doesn’t have to end like this…” he repeated, his children’s faces flashing in his mind.

  The other man obeyed, while another screwed a silencer onto his pistol.

  Dante thought he was truly going to abandon his children. They’d be alone and unprotected forever. He’d never see their smiles again, he’d lose everything in a second. He consoled himself, knowing he did it for them, because they deserved full and happy lives. He didn’t mind dying, but it hurt to know he wouldn’t be there to watch them grow.

  The tallest one aimed at the old man’s heart, and the gun emitted a flash of white light, cutting through the shadows. Blood spurted from his chest, staining the floor red. He died quickly, writhing in fear.

  The gun was raised again, hungry for its next victim.

  Teo, who was hidden on the landing observing the horrific scene, burst down the stairs, shouting. Tears streamed down his face, and his heart raced. The leader, startled, fired quickly. The bullet buried itself in Dante’s heart. He felt cold as life slipped away, and he saw his son running toward him.

  Teo knelt beside his father, but he was already dead.

  “Don’t leave me!” he screamed, his voice filled with unbearable pain. “You promised! You promised you’d never leave me again!”

  The driver and the leader’s henchman were stunned by the boy’s appearance, but his face was twisted with rage.

  “I’m ending this, once and for all!” the leader snarled. “I’m sick of this damn family drama!” He pressed the gun against the boy’s head, Teo still sobbing uncontrollably for his father.

  The leader took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and pulled the trigger.

  Click. Nothing.

  He pulled the trigger again and again, but the gun wouldn’t fire.

  Confused and frantic, he grabbed the other men’s pistols, one after the other, but neither would discharge.

  Teo stood up and turned to face them. His eyes were gone, replaced by two balls of blue fire that crackled with electric sparks.

  Outside, a sudden, violent gust of wind shook the house’s foundations. The room’s decorations and furniture began to vibrate, as if alive. The windows shattered, and the doors slammed open and shut.

  The leader, for the first time, felt true terror.

  His henchman and the driver, frozen in place, began to float inches above the ground. He tried to pull them down, but an invisible force field burned his palms. He screamed like a terrified child.

  The two men rose higher and higher, completely paralyzed.

  Teo raised his hands, moving them in circles, and the henchman and driver spun like tops, more than seven feet in the air. He clasped his hands together, and the force fields around the men collided and repelled each other with explosive force, unleashing bursts of red and blue energy.

  The boy took a step toward his father’s killer. Dark spots flickered within the blue flames of his eyes. He reached out, and the man’s sleeve burst into flames at his touch. The fire spread rapidly, engulfing him in seconds. The other two, still suspended in the air, soon ignited like human torches.

  They would have been consumed in moments, but a figure of blinding white light emerged from the shadows, halting Teo with a beam of golden energy just in time.

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