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house, only straggly clumps of brown grass and a few withered plants, which might have bloomed at one time but were so ragged now that I couldn’t recognize them.
    Mateo prodded me in the back. When I turned to look, I saw a pack of children gathered behind him.
    â€œSnarl,” he said. “Make that face again. Show them that face.”
    My head was so filled with the stink in the town that I couldn’t concentrate. I shook my head to clear it and then wrinkled my nose. I felt my mouth pull up, split open from nose to lip, and the children gasped. Mateo pointed a shaky finger at me and shrieked, “See, I told you. I told you.”
    Belen stood with his arms crossed while Celso pushed me aside.
    â€œYou don’t go in the house,” Celso said. He continued to push me, and I submitted to his hands. He was forceful, and as I saw the other men gathered around, I understood why. He was in charge here and must prove this to the onlookers. The house faced the dirt-packed road, and a line of people stood along the edge of the street, watching. There were no trees to hide me. My shield had dissolved, and tears tickled my nose.
    â€œThis is where you will stay.” Celso pointed to a structure next to the house.
    I didn’t understand what it was. This miniature house was low to the ground, with a large opening. A hard black flap fit over the hole in the front. If I curled into a ball, perhaps I could squeeze myself between the walls. I heard laughter ripple like heat through the crowd.
    â€œDoghouse,” someone said.
    Doghouse. Warmth crept across my chest, up my neck and into my cheeks.
    I crossed my arms and planted my feet. Never in my life had I felt this hungry, this insubstantial. I looked at Celso and then glanced at Belen, standing behind him. I shook my head. My tears would fall any minute, but I would not crawl into a house constructed for animals.
    â€œYou’ll do as I say, girl,” he said. His hand flew through the air and slapped my cheek. My head snapped back. I felt a burning in my cheeks, but I swallowed the need to crouch low, hold my face, cry and ram my head into Celso’s stomach. I had learned that Belen would not stand up for me, so I stood on my own, holding my arms closer to my chest, letting my eyes fill.
    â€œGet in the doghouse,” Celso said through gritted teeth.
    I glanced at the line of people watching us. They smirked, their mouths drawn up into petty smiles. I saw no kindness, no mercy, no forgiveness.
    Celso was wearing a plaid shirt with shiny snaps down the front and at the cuffs of the sleeves. He opened up the snaps on the cuffs, rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and waited. Maybe I should have gotten into the doghouse. I knew that if I submitted, though, that would be my accommodation forever. I’d had better shelter in the woods.
    The blow hit me so hard, I gasped. The world spun around me and tipped; I clutched at my stomach. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see straight. A kick from his boot landed against my side. Flashes of light twirled around my head.
    As the world spun and I hit the ground, I wondered what had happened to the dog, why its home was empty.

    When I awoke, it was dark. The line of people had disappeared. Artificial lights shone from the windows of the houses, and I heard the welcome sounds of the forest. Birds screeched, crickets chirped rhythmically, and bats flitted against the sky. I breathed in as deeply as I could without choking on the smell. This, at least, was a world I knew.
    I sat up and inched my fingers across my chest and stomach, feeling for wounds. My right leg rebelled. I tried to straighten it, tried to pull my foot forward where I could see it, but it was stuck to the ground. I rolled onto my hands and knees and crept backward. I groped down the side of my leg and yanked my hand back when I touched the cold unforgivingness of metal.
    Nathanael, Jeremia, Eva and I used to joke about being