Six years passed.
The alley where Kane, Kade, and Kian were born had changed little.
The broken streetlamp still leaned toward the road. The old concrete staircase was still there, although someone had painted over the wall beside it twice.
Mara was still poor.
But she was no longer alone.
"Wake up!"
Kade pulled the blanket away from his brothers.
Kane groaned and turned his back.
"Kade."
"What?"
"Give it back."
"It's morning."
Kian opened one eye.
"What time is it?"
Kade grinned.
"Early."
Kane sat up.
"How early?"
Kade looked toward the small window.
"I don't know."
"Then why did you wake us?"
"Because I'm hungry."
Kane stared at him.
"You woke us because you're hungry?"
"Yes."
Kian pulled the blanket over his head.
"Go back to sleep."
"I can't. My stomach is making noise."
"That's your problem."
Kade laughed.
From the other side of the room, Mara's voice came through the thin curtain separating their sleeping space from the tiny kitchen.
"If I hear one more word about food before breakfast, all three of you are washing clothes."
The room went silent.
Kade slowly looked at his brothers.
Kane whispered, "You heard her."
Kade nodded.
"Yes, Mama."
Mara smiled to herself.
Their home was small, but she had done everything she could to make it feel like one.
There were three mattresses on the floor, an old wooden table, two chairs that didn't match, and a tiny kitchen that could barely fit one person at a time.
The boys shared everything.
Their clothes.
Their food.
Their arguments.
And, occasionally, the blame when something broke.
That morning, Mara placed three pieces of bread on the table.
Kade looked at them.
"That's it?"
Mara raised an eyebrow.
"You want to complain?"
"No."
"Good."
Kane quietly pushed part of his bread toward Kian.
Kian noticed.
"You don't have to."
"I'm not hungry."
Kade immediately looked at him.
"Liar."
Kane gave him a look.
Kade shrugged.
"You are always hungry."
Mara watched them from the stove.
She didn't say anything.
She simply added a little more food to Kane's plate.
Kane noticed.
"Mama..."
"Eat."
"But—"
"Eat."
He smiled.
"Okay."
Life wasn't easy, but there were moments when Mara almost forgot that.
Especially when she watched the three boys together.
They looked almost exactly alike.
Same nose.
Same face.
Same dark hair.
If someone saw them from a distance, it was nearly impossible to tell them apart.
But Mara could.
Always.
Kane was the serious one.
He thought before speaking and always seemed to believe it was his responsibility to protect his brothers.
Kade was the opposite.
He could turn almost anything into a game.
And Kian...
Kian was quieter.
He didn't speak as much as his brothers, but he noticed everything.
One afternoon, the boys were playing outside when Kade suddenly pointed toward a fruit stand.
"Watch this."
Kane frowned.
"Don't."
"I'm not doing anything."
"You have that look."
"What look?"
"Your stupid look."
Kade laughed.
He ran toward the stand.
A moment later, he returned with an orange in his hand.
Kane stared at him.
"Where did you get that?"
Kade smiled.
"From the man."
"The man didn't give you that."
"I borrowed it."
"You stole it."
Kade peeled the orange.
"Same thing."
Kian looked toward the fruit seller.
The man was shouting at someone across the street and hadn't noticed.
Kane sighed.
"Put it back."
Kade stopped.
"But I already peeled it."
"Then you're going to pay for it."
"With what?"
Kane didn't have an answer.
None of them did.
Their pockets were empty.
Kian quietly took the orange from Kade.
He walked back toward the stand.
The seller turned.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Kian froze.
He looked at the orange.
Then at the man.
"I'm sorry."
He placed it back.
The seller stared at him for a moment before waving him away.
Kian returned to his brothers.
Kade looked disappointed.
Kane smiled.
"Good."
Kade rolled his eyes.
"You two are boring."
That evening, Mara sat outside their room while the boys played nearby.
She watched Kane helping Kian fix a broken toy while Kade climbed onto the wall beside them.
"Kade!"
He immediately climbed down.
"Sorry."
Mara shook her head.
"One day, you're going to give me a heart attack."
Kade smiled.
"I'll catch you."
She laughed.
For a few seconds, everything felt normal.
Just a mother watching her three sons grow.
Then Kade suddenly disappeared.
Mara blinked.
"Kade?"
Kane looked around.
"Kade?"
Kian stood up.
"Where did he go?"
There was no answer.
Then—
"Boo!"
Kade appeared behind Kane.
Kane jumped.
"What the—"
Kade burst out laughing.
Mara stared at him.
Her smile disappeared.
"Kade."
He stopped laughing.
"What?"
"Do that again."
Kade frowned.
"Do what?"
Mara looked around the alley.
For a moment, she wasn't sure what she had seen.
Maybe she had simply looked away at the wrong time.
Maybe the shadows had fooled her.
She forced a smile.
"Nothing."
Kade shrugged and ran back toward his brothers.
Mara watched him carefully.
She had seen something.
She just didn't know what.
And she wasn't ready to ask.
Not yet.