For Claudio
The silver ring on the middle finger of my right hand is dented, scratched, and scuffed from ten years of constant wear. If you look carefully, the word “Recuerdo” is still clearly etched into one side, though the way light reflects off the ring makes the word difficult to see. People rarely notice it. In fact, people rarely comment on my ring at all. But there’s a story behind my ring, and I'd like to share it in full. Xalapa, Mexico, 2007 We met them on Valentine’s Day. It was perhaps 11:30 at night, a Wednesday, and the three of us had stopped along the quiet street in Mexico, waiting for a taxi to drive by and take Rebecca to her host parents’ home. We’d just come from a party with some local friends, students and teachers from our school for foreign students, and we were ready to return to our host families and get some sleep before classes the next day. Our return home was delayed, however, when they--3 teenage Mexican boys just a few years