It was a normal day, I was 14 years old, when I got news that made my heart stop. My mom’s eyes were popping out of her head and her hands were shaking. I had just gotten home from school and I knew something bad had happened. My cousin Pin Pon had been kidnapped by the Mexican cartel in Sinaloa, Mexico. He was missing for 3 days and he was found brutally beaten, and was missing his eyes. A stranger found his dead body under a pile of tires and leaves. It was horrible. I can still feel the terror in my mom’s eyes. This was one of the biggest reasons why I felt very sad and depressed. One thing that helped me with the depression was my dog Niño.

They didn’t want to tell me that they had found his dead body. I knew they had news when I got out of school but they did not want to tell me. I was in school at Monarch School near Father Joe’s Villages. I had to get to Tijuana, so I walked to the trolley with my brother and went to Mexico to be with my family. I was shaking the whole way. My brother was quiet the whole time. He asked me what had happened, but I told him that my mom had said to wait and not say anything. He knew something was wrong and he just stayed quiet.

When we got to Tijuana, my mom confirmed it in the car. It was my mom, my mom’s ex-girlfriend, my 3 cousins and my brother.

After that, I felt very sad and didn’t want to do much. I felt like I couldn’t feel my emotions. I didn’t know what to say to anyone. I couldn’t make him come back to life. I remember my brother having nightmares. He could hear the screams and he even said he had seen what happened to Pin Pon in his dreams before it happened.

One day my mom’s ex-girlfriend came home with a surprise to cheer me up. It was night time in March, two years ago, not too long after the terrible incident with Pin Pon. She said it would help me feel happiness again. The surprise was a little puppy. He was a perfect little black ball of fur with a white chest. It was love at first sight. I named him Niño. He was a late birthday surprise.

Niño makes me happy. He reminds me that there is good in the world. Niño sleeps with me in my bed, when he wants to, and he makes me feel loved and safe. I named him Niño because he is just like a little kid. He’s my kid. Although I will always miss my cousin Pin Pon and all the memories that we had together, having Niño has really filled a big hole that had been left in my heart. I feel happier at home and at school. I know that I will always have love and I will be okay.