The Pearl that Broke Its Shell

by Nadia Hashimi

There should have been a word for what she felt, the way her stomach jumped with anticipation to be somewhere she missed so much, to be around people who missed her as much as she missed them. It was a feeling that started sweet and finished bitter, when she realized that she stood in the ashes of those perfect times, as short as they’d been.

The porcupine feels velvet when she rubs her baby’s back.