Dawn on the road from Chihuahua to Ojinaga. Empty highway. Pink sky. Then a blur in the bottom-right corner. Dark, low, fast, and a heavy thud.

Thirty minutes later, right after saying how grateful we were for our new SUV, the dash lit up: “Critical error. Stop the car when safe.”

We pulled over. Checked the front. And there it was. A small rabbit lodged in the lower grill. A flimsy strip of plastic had been enough to let it slip through, strike the radiator just right, and drain the coolant. The car would limp, then die. Again and again.

Middle of nowhere, and yet kindness found us.

A stranger with a makeshift trailer towed us back toward the city. A mechanic took us in without hesitation. My parents coordinated calls, rides, food. Three days later, we were repaired, rested, and back on the road.