When the Tides Held the Moon

by Venessa Vida Kelley

“To give you my name is to give you the last of myself, and humanity has taken enough from me. My name is my own. You may not have it.”

“Río.” He mimicked my rolled R like a native boricua. “Why that name?” A river can be both devastating and beautiful. I shrugged. “It suits you.”

“It is the simple truth of every creature with a soul. You are not your body, Benigno.”

Despite the wisdom of my harmony, despite everything I believed possible, my heart is cultivating a pearl. For a human. And the more I learn about Benigno, the more he teaches me to swim.

“Salt water has healing properties. That is why our tears are made of it. Why should you hold them in?”

Don’t waste your damn life trying to smother a spark what wants to be a blaze.”