They trade stories the way pelicans trade fish—quick, competitive, and generous. Cuchimami recounts a recent prank that left the mayor red-faced; Michell corrects the details with a patient smile; Johnny listens, then offers a clue that makes everyone laugh and the story grow taller. At night, they’ll patrol their block not out of duty but belonging, keeping small injustices from becoming big ones and making sure the barrio’s stray dogs have food. Their power isn’t formal — it’s social capital: a well-timed joke, a remembered birthday, the muscle behind a kindly word.
