The clock read 9:07 a.m. when the director of the Flor de Luz orphanage hurried to open the front door. She never announced her arrival, but she always arrived with a punctuality that bordered on the supernatural. She was dressed like any other elderly woman: a knitted scarf, a gnarled wooden cane, a coat that looked like it was made from scraps of other lives. But her eyes... her eyes did not lie. They were mirrors of war, of loss, and of a tenderness that could only be born of fire.
"Aunt Lua!" exclaimed the director, nervous but smiling. "How nice to see you again."
"The pleasure is all mine, dear," replied Lua, her voice raspy, cheerful, and determined. She entered as if the house were her own, waving to the girls who peeked timidly through the doorways.
No one knew exactly what that woman did with the girls she adopted. Or where she took them. But every time a little girl disappeared from the orphanage's list due to "special adoption approved by royal decree," the rumors also vanished. None of them ever returned. None of them were ever seen again. And yet, the girls spoke of her as if she were a mixture of fairy godmother, mischievous aunt, and ancestral guardian.
Lua stopped short in front of a girl sitting alone on the floor in a corner of the dining room. Her hair was braided by herself, her fists clenched, and her eyes fixed on nothing.
"Name?" Lua asked, without taking her eyes off her.
"Her name is Yuli," whispered one of the assistants, another infiltrator from the Guardian circle, disguised as a kitchen employee.
"Age?"
"Seven. She arrived four days ago. A little while ago, she defended herself against two street thieves with a branch. She has quick reflexes, but more than that, she has heart."
Lua smiled. She crouched down in front of the girl and took out a candy wrapped in silver paper. She didn't offer it to her. She simply placed it between them on the floor. A gesture. A test.
"Yuli..." Lua said softly, "Would you like to have a family that doesn't leave you behind? Would you like to learn to be strong, not just for yourself, but for those you love?"
Yuli looked up, suspicious. But her eyes showed no fear. Only caution.
"Do I have to be brave?"
"Maybe..." Lua replied, with a smile that shone like a sheathed sword. "You just have to want it. The rest... I'll teach you."