I saw my daughter begging in the street while carrying her baby… She told me her husband had… When I stopped at the red light, I saw my daughter begging, counting coins while holding her baby in her arms.

—Drink. And give a little to the girl.

Sofia obeyed silently. Her hands no longer held coins, but life.

I started the car when the traffic light turned green.

I didn’t ask where we were going, because I already knew.

We were going home.

During the journey, Sofia told me everything.

The screams, the humiliations, the “accidental” shoves, the nights when Valentina cried and nobody wanted to help her.

How they kicked her out with a bag of clothes and not a penny.

How she started asking for money just to buy diapers and milk.

I listened with my chest tight, but also with a clarity I had never felt before.

This was not shameful.

This was unfair.