But in the middle of that fear, Maria decided that her daughters’ lives would not be spent hidden behind closed walls. She did not want Lia and Laura to be remembered only as a disease. They were children, with their smiles, their bond, and their tiny habits.
There was an unexplainable connection between the twins. When one cried, the other seemed to become restless. When one slept, the other would move her hand closer. They could not speak yet, but even in their silence there was a sisterly warmth.
Outside, however, the world was not always kind.
People stared at them on the street. Some with pity, some with curiosity, and some with words that hurt. Once, a woman said that the lives of children like them were only suffering. That day, Maria returned home broken. But when she held her daughters in her arms, she understood that the love in their eyes was stronger than even the cruelest words.
