Diana Garcia
On Staying Behind
She thinks I don’t know why she runs. Not to catch the trains or escape la migra or outrun packs of wild dogs. I listened to the advice her cousins sent, the older girl cousins, married, hard-working girls who left our village with their husbands. The journey is harsh, more than two weeks if she’s lucky. So many dangers, …
On Leaving
I can run five times around the village, my dog beside me. I have tested myself against her speed, my younger cousins’ endurance. I win. My cousins go with me this morning, their dark hair glossy, so young their shoulders. Their mothers tell me to watch over them. I have said goodbye to all who remain, grayed …