Chapter 2: The Voice Above the Rocks
The fall should have killed us.
Everyone would believe that.
A tragic accident.
An elderly couple losing their balance at a dangerous viewpoint.
A terrible vacation memory.
That was the story Mateo wanted.
But fate gave us something he never expected.
A small ledge.
A narrow piece of rock hidden beneath the cliff.
The impact nearly destroyed my body.
My ribs screamed.
My vision blurred.
Blood ran down my face.
But I was alive.
And so was Alejandro.
“Carmen…”
His voice was barely a whisper.
I moved toward him.
“Don’t move,” he said.
His eyes looked upward.
Then he whispered:
“Pretend we’re dead.”
I didn’t understand.
Until I heard footsteps.
My son.
Above us.
Mateo looked over the edge.
“Damn it.”
Not fear.
Not panic.
Frustration.
“They didn’t fall far enough.”
My heart shattered.
Not because of the pain.
Because of his voice.
A son should sound terrified seeing his parents injured.
He sounded disappointed.
Valeria stepped beside him.
The camera still hung around her neck.
“They’re alive?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Silence.
Then she said the words that froze my blood.
“Then finish it.”
Alejandro squeezed my hand.
A tiny movement.
A promise.
May you like
We were not dead.
And they had no idea.
