It was a dark and stormy night. The wind was blowing, thunder shook the streets and rain was pouring. But through all this weather there was a 14 year old boy riding his bike home. His name was Nicolás.

As he rode along the wet, slippery road, he thought about his little sister and that she would lick the spoon of frosting after their mother would bake a cake, and how she would jump into his arms when Nico got home from school. But little did he know that his life would change forever.

As Nico thought about these things, he wasn't paying attention to the large hole in the road in front of him. Before he could turn away, Nico fell into the big, deep hole. 

Nico splashed as he fell into the dirty sewer water below him. He swam to the edge and got out, soaked to the skin with this stinky, nasty water. He started to cough and sputter as he tried to wring out his jacket. Nico looked around for a place to escape from the sewer. He tried to reach the hole where he had fallen in, but it was no use. It was way too high. Nico was stuck in the horrid, smelly sewer. Eventually he decided to walk until he found a way out.

About halfway into walking, Nico heard a noise. Realizing it was a person coughing, he excitedly ran further and saw a girl, about his age with blonde hair and ripped clothes. This gave Nico the clue that she had been down here for a while. That girl's name was Melana.

Nico was surprised when Melana turned around. The expression on her face was both frightened and curious at the same time. She took a step closer and asked," Who are you?" "I'm Nicolás,"he said,"But you can call me Nico." He explained that he had been riding his bike home and how he suddenly fell into the dirty sewer water. Melana said,"Come with me. I have a fire you can dry yourself by and I was just stirring up some soup."

Nico followed her to a small shelter. He saw a fire, a pot with soup swirling in it, a box and a few blankets that looked like where Melana slept. "You sit here, I'll finish the soup." He sat down next to the fire as Melana rummaged in the box and got out a wooden ladle and two small bowls. Nick gratefully took the bowl and Melana sat down next to him. They started eating and Nico asked,"How did you get down here?" Melana turned to look at him and said,"I- I ran away," she sniffed, tears building up in her eyes. "My parents were m-mean to me a-and I didn't want to suffer anymore, and-" she stopped talking. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she started sobbing.