The author of “The Pie” believes that guilt is everywhere. The main character is six years old and steals a pie, and then feels guilty for the entire rest of the story. He sees angels in his front yard, hears God in the pipes under his house, and believes that everyone knows he stole the pie (even if they don’t). Some of the things he sees are strange, like “[a] squirrel nail[ing] itself high on the trunk” of a tree — he is so worried about being caught that he sees religion or guilt in everything (Soto 1). Though it feels paranoid, this is what it feels like to do something wrong as a little kid. It seems like the entire world is watching you and knows exactly what you did, from the pipes in your house all the way up to your mom.