“We were already living in some kind of Hell in this strange place of broken beauty.”
Reyna and Mago have lived their childhood without the presence of parents and faced abuse on different extents. In their grandmother’s house, they encountered neglect, a lack of affection and overall emotional abuse. Moreover, when their father finally takes over guardianship they still have to deal with the subjugation and emotional scarring. In the assertion, Reyna poetically encompasses this dynamic to showcase how their family is falling apart.
“Just because they aren't with us doesn't mean we don't have parents anymore.”
Mago is the sibling who takes the mantle of being the parent to Reyna considering she is the oldest. In the quotation she retorts to her sister who notices the long absence of her parents and questions whether they are indeed orphans. Mago taking the initiative to justify their parents’ shortcomings in being present demonstrates the emotional trauma she has had to go through. They have known abandonment from the only people who are supposed to make them feel treasured. They even question the legitimacy of their parents’ narrative of relocating to the United States for better jobs.
