Chapter 1
Elisa had learned that there were two ways to get something from her mother.
The first was to ask patiently, insist for weeks, and prove that she was responsible enough to handle it.
The second was to wait until Marina was in a good mood, prepare some mate, and strike at exactly the right moment.
When it came to Cerro Uritorco, neither had worked.
“No.”
Elisa set the mate down on the table and looked at her mother.
“But I haven’t even explained.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Mom…”
“Elisa.”
“I want to go camping, not commit a crime.”
Marina looked up from her phone. She had that expression Elisa knew all too well: her jaw slightly tense, her eyebrows faintly drawn together, and a look in her eyes that seemed to say, Don’t go there.
Of course, Elisa did.
“All my friends have been there at least once.”
“Then go with your friends.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Marina looked back down at her phone.
“Because I don’t want you to.”
Elisa let out a sigh.
There it was.
The answer she hated the most.
There was no explanation. No argument. Not even a discussion she could win.
Just I don’t want you to.
She got up from her chair and began pacing around the kitchen.
“I’m nineteen.”
“I know.”
“I’m an adult.”
“I know that too.”
“I can travel alone.”
“I never said you couldn’t.”
“Then why can’t I go?”
Marina said nothing.
Elisa stopped.
She watched her mother.
There was something strange about her whenever that place came up. It wasn’t simply concern. Elisa had noticed it for years, even though she had never known what to call it.
Whenever she mentioned Uritorco, Marina changed.
Sometimes she became nervous.
Sometimes she got angry.
And other times, she simply seemed afraid.
But it was real fear.
Not the kind of fear a mother might feel imagining accidents, thieves, or dangerous roads.
It was something else.
“What does that place have?” Elisa asked.
Marina slowly raised her eyes.
“Nothing.”
“Then let me go.”
“Elisa…”
“Why not?”
“Because I said no.”
“But that’s not a reason!”
Elisa’s voice echoed through the kitchen.
They both fell silent.
She immediately regretted raising her voice.
Marina lowered her gaze.
“I don’t want to argue with you.”
“Neither do I.”
Elisa sat down again.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
The sound of a car passing along the street filled the silence.
Marina picked up the mate and took a sip.
“There are places that are better left unexplored,” she said finally.
Elisa frowned.
“That sounds exactly like something a person who’s hiding something would say.”
Marina gave a faint smile, but didn’t answer.
And that small smile was worse than any answer.
Because Elisa knew her mother.
And she knew when she was lying.
Ever since she was a little girl, Elisa had felt as though someone was missing from her family.
Not because there were hidden photographs or an empty room.
Not because anyone ever talked about him.
Quite the opposite.
It was precisely because no one ever did.
Her father.
Such a simple word.
A man Elisa had no photographs of, no memories of, no stories about.
When she was little, she had once asked where he was.
Marina had told her it was complicated.
At ten, she had asked if he was dead.
Marina had said no.
At thirteen, she had asked whether he had ever wanted to meet her.
Her mother had taken too long to answer.
“Yes.”
Elisa had never forgotten that pause.
Over the years, she had come up with her own theory.
She didn’t know exactly what had happened, but she imagined something fairly simple.
Her father had met Marina. They had fallen in love, had a daughter, and at some point, he had done something that had broken everything apart.
Maybe there had been another woman.
Maybe he had lied.
Maybe he had simply grown tired of them.
Whatever it was, Marina was angry with him.
That was the only thing Elisa knew for certain.
And if her mother didn’t want to talk about it, Elisa had learned not to push too hard.
Until Uritorco came into the picture.
Because ever since she was little, she had seen photographs of the mountain and felt an inexplicable fascination with the place.
The mountains.
The trails.
The stories about strange lights in the sky.
The legends.
The mystery.
Everything about it seemed made for her.
She wanted to sleep beneath the stars.
She wanted to walk the trails for hours.
She wanted to wake up to the morning cold and see the landscape from above.
And, above all, she wanted to find out for herself whether there was something special about that place.
Maybe that was why Marina’s refusal hurt so much.
It wasn’t just a trip.
It was a dream.
And her mother seemed determined to keep her from it.
That night, Elisa locked herself in her bedroom.
She opened the window.
Cool air slowly drifted inside, stirring the curtains.
On her desk was a photograph of Uritorco that she had printed months earlier.
She picked it up.
In the picture, the mountain rose beneath a clear sky.
Elisa smiled.
“One day, I’m going,” she whispered.
Someone knocked softly on the door behind her.
“Can I come in?”
It was Marina.
Elisa placed the photograph back on the desk.
“Sure.”
Her mother entered and sat on the edge of the bed.
For a few seconds, she said nothing.
Then she looked at the photograph.
“You still want to go?”
Elisa nodded.
“Yes.”
Marina sighed.
“There are a lot of things you still don’t understand.”
“Then explain them to me.”
The woman lowered her gaze.
“I can’t.”
Elisa felt a stab of frustration.
“Why?”
Marina raised her eyes to hers.
And for a moment, Elisa saw something she had never seen so clearly before.
Fear.
Not anger.
Not sadness.
Fear.
“There are things I did to protect you,” Marina said. “And maybe someday, you’ll understand why.”
Elisa stared at her without answering.
She wanted to ask what that meant.
She wanted to ask about her father.
She wanted to demand the truth.
But something in Marina’s expression stopped her.
So she only said,
“Okay.”
Marina stood.
Before leaving, she walked over to Elisa and gently stroked her hair.
“I love you, Eli.”
“I love you too.”
The door closed.
Elisa looked back at the photograph.
There was something about that mountain.
She didn’t know what.
But for the first time, she was certain that sooner or later, she would discover it.
Even if she had to disobey her mother to do it.
