Chapter Text
In another world, another story perhaps, Sol Benson would have survived the fire in the mansion and ended up in an orphanage in Mexico, gaining another name and nationality and being adopted by a working-class couple who could not have children.
She would be Luna Valente, love to skate, have a best friend named Simón, and, in the distant future, move to Argentina. She would have new experiences in the country that was, in fact, where she was born and discover who she really was in a dramatic way. Everything would be worthy of a Mexican soap opera or a TV series.
Luna Valente would be loved and happy. She would skate with all her heart and dream with all her soul, with friends and a family who always supported her.
Yes, Luna Valente would be extremely happy and have a very good life despite her dramatic beginning, but that is not the story of Luna Valente.
Isla Perida knew that she would never be able to fulfill her dream of having several children after cancer and, in truth, she did not feel sad about it. Gaston was more than enough for her, her precious boy. It was also a good thing because she and her husband were moving up in life and didn't have as much time as they would have liked for their family.
They never neglected their real treasure, their son, but they also couldn't deny that they had more pressing concerns than spoiling the boy.
So, despite her dream of having a big family with several children running around the house, Isla considered herself lucky to have beaten cancer and was satisfied with the way her life was going.
That said, she didn't expect what was going to happen when she went to the “Rayo de Esperanza” orphanage. She was in Mexico on business when an acquaintance of her husband called asking her to check some property documents for the building that operated as an orphanage. Knowing it was a simple favor, Isla took advantage of her lunch hour to take care of the matter.
It wasn't complicated, the owner of the building just wanted to confirm that everything was in order because she had inherited the orphanage and other institutions from her grandfather who had passed away the month before and she didn't want to change anything at the moment.
What changed her life that day was what happened when Isla was leaving. In the front garden of the orphanage, there was a tiny little girl with wavy brown hair and a light pink dress, sitting on a swing looking up. One of the employees stopped next to Isla and smiled.
"She's precious, isn't she? 2 years old and abandoned here, a couple was in line to adopt her but the wife had a miracle pregnancy and they don't have the income to support two small children."
The woman's heart broke in two. Of course, it was good that the couple had managed to get pregnant, but seeing the little girl alone on the swing was so painful, Isla couldn't help but wonder how she would feel if it were Gaston there if something happened to her and her husband.
The girl was only a year younger than her son, maybe months younger, and she was all alone in the world.
Isla walked over to the swing and bent down to look the little girl in the eyes. Curious brown eyes met hers.
“Hola, pequeña. What’s your name?”
The little girl touched something on her chest, a beautifully made moon pendant (Who would give something so beautifully made to a child they intended to abandon?), and looked at Isla with a shy smile.
“Luna.”