Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything

by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

And the girl went to the boulder when the sky was black like coffee. And there she met the spirits of Silence and Darkness. And they taught her that the most precious things, like paths that are true, can only be seen in shadows. In the dark and in the quiet. Like a seed in the black earth.” I close my eyes. “And when the sliver of moon returned the next night, her light shone on the girl’s footsteps, where she had walked away on her path.” I sigh and focus on the sand beneath me, sparkling in the sunset’s glow. “The weird thing, though, was there were tons of true paths for her. They were all spread out, long and lined like snakes. Her true path right then was just the one she’d chosen.”