- Subtilizer (The One Who Steals Souls) 9 | P a g e In September 2008, widespread bank failures pulled the trigger to the Global Financial Crisis. The waves of recession swallowed even Pacific Palisades on the suburbs of Los Angeles. A great number of stately mansions were offered for sale and the number of high class automobiles driving down the streets visibly fell. It was fortunate Glowgen Securities had solid administration and managed to restrain the effects to a minimum, but the corporation managed by the neighbors, the Klingermans, fell under heavy debt as their investments were in real estate. With their fortunes, including the mansion, gone by April the next year, they decided to depend on their kin who worked in agriculture and move to Kansas City far in the Midwest. It saddened Gabriel. Intelligent beyond his years as a child aged ten, he understood he could not help Alicia as a ten-year-old child and could clearly imagine what severe circumstances she would face from now on. A mansion guarded by flawless security, a skilled cook to prepare each day’s meals, and a school filled with affluent white children; these privileges would vanish from Alicia’s life forever, replaced by poverty and manual labor. And what Gabriel couldn’t stand most, was how Alicia’s soul, which should have been his one day, would be hurt by some unknown person and lose its brilliance. So, he thought to kill her. On the day Alicia said her farewells at school, Gabriel invited her to the forest behind his home after she got off the school bus home. Deftly dodging every security camera set up along the road and fences, he ensured no one was looking while he entered the forest and walked over fallen leaves to avoid leaving any tracks, guiding Alicia to his «secret laboratory» surrounded by thick scrubs. Utterly unaware of the countless insects that had died there, Alicia immediately returned the gesture when Gabriel wrapped his arms around her slender form. With soft sobs, Alicia mentioned how she didn’t want to go anywhere else, how she wanted to live on in this district with Gabe forever.