Smallara

Alejandra Jiménez trudged up the winding driveway that once made her feel so small. Every step up the wide, perfectly paved path was its own quiet victory. It was late…

Inside the dingy plaid cave, Charity strained to make sense of the chaos that was now her entire world. When Alejandra stood from the cracked plastic chair in the laundromat,…

Inside the stale, plaid darkness, Charity curled tighter into herself, arms wrapped around her shins, forehead pressed to her knees. She could feel every motion Alejandra made,  the swing of…

Alejandra stepped off the bus, the morning sun too bright against the gray sprawl of the neighborhood strip. She squinted, adjusting the old backpack on her shoulder, feeling the slight,…

Charity felt the entire world tilt when Alejandra’s fingers clamped around the backpack’s frayed strap. One moment she was hidden in the stale, scratchy darkness of the hoodie sleeve, the…

Charity could do nothing as she watched Alejandra stand up. None of this felt real yet. That this small dingy apartment was going to be her world. This was going…