It had been more than ten years since Marisol left her homeland in search of a better life. The Canary Islands, with their eternal spring-like climate and abundance of tourists, seemed like a land of opportunity for the divorced mother of two.

Tina nervously eyed her phone as it rang for the second time. Her heart was pounding in her throat. She knew Eva was waiting outside the gate in her car, just like every Tuesday morning on her day off, after dropping her son off at preschool.

The foreign man nearly tripped on the slippery rubber. Losing his balance, he leaned against the stone wall and scraped his elbow. He winced. Only the woman who had lived there for a long time was sitting in front of the padel court, smoking a cigarette.

For his birthday party, Jenő invited only a few members of the faculty and his childhood friend. One of his colleagues mentioned she would bring her friend along if Jenő didn’t mind. The math teacher had set her sights on a girl for the long-single birthday boy.

Adél looked at the photo on her phone repeatedly, comparing it to the two walls beside the entrance. No matter how she counted, one wall had seven key boxes, and the other had six. But the picture showed only four.

"Mom! We're going to be late!"

The voices sounded distant, unreal. How could she be late for anything when she was swimming around a deserted island underwater, while her two sons played in the white sand with the gold they found on the abandoned pirate ship?

Ludmilla loved orange lipstick. She used to think it was ugly and old-ladyish. But ever since she turned sixty, it was the one she always reached for when she wanted to feel beautiful.

It was as if an ice pick had been driven into his skull when Emily laughed. Ted couldn’t stand her voice—that thin, squeaky sound. It drove him crazy.

Fernanda was overwhelmed with icy fear. Her throat tightened, and she found it difficult to breathe. She looked at her watch. Her son’s plane was already far away. It would be hours before she could call him and tell him they had made a mistake.

Lívia watched the man holding his breath as he checked the documents. The clerk wiped the sweat from his forehead with his stubby hand. He looked irritated. Lívia prepared herself for the worst—or so she thought.