Smallara

Charity didn’t even have time to brace herself. One second she was a quivering bundle deep in the folds of Alejandra’s worn hoodie, the next, the entire cocoon lifted clean…

Charity could still taste the greasy residue of egg on her tongue, salt, oil, and shame all mixing in the corners of her mouth. She sat bundled halfway inside Alejandra’s…

Alejandra’s chair creaked softly as she settled her weight back into it, the laptop screen throwing a faint, bluish glow across her tired face. In the dim hush of her…

Charity didn’t realize how long she’d been staring at Alejandra’s hoodie until the giant girl’s voice rumbled above her.  "Here."  One word. Not a request,  a decree, plain and final.…

Alejandra stood up, bracing her palm under the tiny girl’s fragile back as she set Charity carefully down on her old coffee table. She watched for a heartbeat as Charity…

Charity didn’t realize how cold she was until Alejandra’s hand pulled away.  In the suffocating closeness of the backpack, in the folds of that battered hoodie, she’d had warmth, even…