María Guadalupe had just given birth to quintuplets. She was extremely thin, pale, and had nothing to eat.
Instead of being happy, her husband Ramó was furious.
“Ci-sco?! María Guadalupe, ci-sco?!” shouted Ramón as he gathered his things. “We already have so much to eat! And now ci-sco?! We’re going to starve to death!”
“Ramo, or the abandoned ones,” pleaded María Guadalupe while carrying two babies and the other three were on the mat. “Help me. Let’s fight together. We’re going to make it.”
“No!” Ramó pushed María Guadalupe. “I don’t want this life! I want to get ahead! Those children are a burden! They are a curse on my life!”
He took the little savings that Maria Guadalupe kept under her pillow—the money that was meant to buy milk.
“Ramo! That money is for the children!”
“This is my payment for the harm you caused me!”
Ramó left. He took a truck to Mexico City. He didn’t look at his wife or his five children. He was only thinking about himself.
GETTING UP ALONE
María Guadalupe’s life became hell.
To support his five children (Juan, José, Francisco, Pedro and Gabriel), he worked washing clothes in the mornings, selling at the market in the afternoons and washing dishes at a restaurant at night.
The neighbors criticized her. “There goes the old hag. So many children and her husband left her.”
But María Guadalupe laughed.
Every night, before going to sleep in his cramped room, he would say to his children:
“Don’t hold a grudge against your dad. But promise me… someday we’ll show them that I’m not a burden. That I’m a blessing.”
The five brothers grew up intelligent, hardworking, and God-fearing. They saw their mother’s sacrifice. That motivated them to study diligently, even though sometimes there was only salt on their plate.
THE RETURN OF THE SELFISH ONE (2025)
Thirty years later.
Ramó was 60 years old. His dream of prospering in Mexico City did not come true. He became addicted to vices, fell ill, and now lived in misery. He had no family because his lover had also abandoned him when he ran out of money.
He suffered from renal insufficiency and needed a large amount of money for an operation.
One day he saw the newspaper news:
“MOTHER OF THE YEAR: MARIA GUADALUPE HERNANDEZ, WILL BE RECOGNIZED AT THE GRAND HOTEL IN MEXICO CITY.”
Ramón’s eyes opened wide. María Guadalupe! His wife! And the photo looked different.
“I’m already rich…” Ramó murmured. “I have the right. I’m the father. I can ask for money for the operation. I’m sure he’ll see me.”
He dressed as best he could (although the clothes were old) and headed to the Grand Hotel in Mexico City.
LΑ GRΑN CELEBRΑCIÓN
Upon arriving at the hotel, a guard stopped him.
“Sir, your invitation?”
“I don’t have it! I’m the husband of the homemated woman! María Guadalupe Hernández! Let me pass!” shouted Ramó.
Because of the scandal, an elegant older lady emerged, adorned with jewels and with the bearing of a lady. It was María Guadalupe.
“Ramó?” asked María Guadalupe, surprised.
“María Guadalupe!” Ramó ran and knelt before her. “Forgive me! I was wrong! I’ve returned, María Guadalupe! Let’s rebuild the family. I’m sick… I need your help.”
The guests murmured. So this was the husband who abducted them.
María Guadalupe looked at Ramó. There was no anger in her heart, but neither was there love.
“Ramo,” he said calmly. “Thirty years. Not even a letter. And now that you need money, you come back?”
“I’m still their father!” Ramó justified. “Where are my children? I want to see my children! I’m sure you’ll understand!”
