his Jheri-curled Afro shimmering in the light.

wish I didn’t have to choose. A recurring wish she’d had these last few weeks and one she made again now, unaware that every granted wish comes with a hidden cost, every blessing shadowed with a curse.

“Not that much, surprisingly. Sometimes when you’re sure of who you are, it kind of … I don’t know, protects you in some way. And I hung with a more alternative crowd, so that helped. Plus, nobody messed with me because of my moms. They were fierce women.”

Kenzie stood.

An immersion of sound, white noise that could’ve been breaking waves pounding rocks instead of the roar of cheering. People surrounded Oona, pressed against her in a darkness punctuated with purple and white strobe lights. A haze of smoke. A blizzard of confetti. The crowd bled into a blur of wild eyes, dark lips, bright teeth. It enveloped her

“And I’m sure you would’ve made a damn fine trapeze artist or lion tamer.” That was something about Kenzie she cherished. He could always brighten a situation without disrespecting its emotional weight.

Tonight you’ll meet a curly-haired guy w/pale blue eyes. DO NOT HAVE SEX WITH HIM.

The mirror exposed time’s passage, yes, but eclipsed her heart’s true mileage. The lined face, the extra pounds, the hair chemically treated to hide its gray. Each year the body was hers, but her mind was out of sync with her reflection. Always playing catch-up, trying to rearrange the scrambled pieces of her life. It

Conversation was minimal during the drive to Manhattan; instead, they watched the city skyline. The cold made the buildings gleam like they were made of gemstones, and the resurrected Twin Towers filled Oona with sad wonder. Up to the West Side, to the edge of Central Park. The car pulled up to a red awning surrounded by trees wrapped in a