and i was sitting across from them , hearing from their lips that they were my parents . it would be easy to close his eyes and sleep but if he slept now , he 'd spend the whole night staring at the ceiling . he took out the tires , the windshield , and probably the motor . i asked , and then bit back the words , wishing i could swallow them . he pointed at them and made sure that maria saw them . `` as far as we know , even the strangers have never done anything like this . '' 