The Wedding He Stole From Me
The pattern was uneven, but alive, like clouds left behind by wind over the high desert.
“It’s beautiful.”
“It looks like clouds.”
He grinned, showing the gap where one front tooth was missing.
That night, I ate a full bowl of stew.
Rosa poured me tequila. Mateo played an old guitar, and the children hung their cloth along the line.
When the moon rose, the wind was light.
I sat under the lamp and opened a new sketchbook.
This time, I drew a phoenix.
It lifted its head from deep blue fire, its wings edged in ash white and gold-red.