Claudia Rojas

This month, I broke two of mom’s Easter glass cups.

I watched turtles swim in a puddle of water while fellow students passed us by.

I took an expedited summer class with dozens of reading, much writing, and copious thinking.

I drove through thunderstorms.

And it’s now about one month since I returned to my childhood neighborhood. I miss the quiet of Alexandria. My first night at our new/familiar place, I couldn’t sleep. At 2am, the neighbors outside were playing music in a big truck. My brother is around every day since his/our dad lives right around the corner. I haven’t given myself time to write, though I must be thinking a lot to find myself in this old neighborhood.

These days, the rainstorms and the hush of a storm’s aftermath surpass all noise.