Signal to Noise

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

“Why shouldn’t music have power? My dad says it’s the most powerful thing in the world. Nietzsche says that without music, life would be a mistake.”

“Why can’t music be magic? Aren’t spells just words you repeat? And what are songs? Lyrics that play over and over again. The words are like a formula.”

She walked back to the bedroom, sat on the sagging bed and wondered what it would be like to wake every morning to the old picture of the beach, feet shuffling upon the cold floor. Dying and knowing you were dying.

This is hitting a little close to home.

They folded and kept their dreams in the same drawer, spun fantasies side by side, lived in the easy harmony of youth which did not know the need for tall walls and sturdy defenses.

“Nothing, that. But a man may turn into a coyote as many times as he wants and may steal chickens from the farm, but the chickens won’t be his and they will still be stolen. And the coyote will still be nothing but a large, ugly dog.”

Meche did not have time to baby her,

Over all I feel Meche. I probably was her in a lot of ways and I know I was/am bitchy to people at times. Still, even though she does care about Dani, she is so dismissive I just cringe at times. Cause I have been Dani too.

Meche opened her mouth, probably to protest, but Daniela did not want to hear it.

Yay Dani!

Time slowed down. The seconds crawled, lazily, and she looked at Sebastian and Sebastian looked at her for what was maybe two, three months. A whole season passed in his gaze and her heart—which she knew should beat at 60-100 per minute, knowledge gleaned from her science textbook—beat maybe once or twice.

You don’t get to rewind your life like a tape and splice it back together, pretending it never knotted and tore, when it did and you know it did.

“I hurt people, once.” “Did they deserve to be hurt?” Grandmother touched Meche’s chin. “Don’t they always, when you’re a girl?”