She didn't rush. She took an entire chicken—not the sterile breast meat, but the whole bird. Legs, thighs, back. She told Mateo, "Mijo, the soul needs bones. Fluff is for pillows." She simmered it for two hours. The house filled with a vapor that wasn't just steam; it was a slow, insistent pressure that said: You are still here. You still have a place.