What Came For Them? Not Death. Just

The Way Her Body Existed Only Where He Touched Her. The Rest Of Her Was Smoke.

Humbling Was A Nice Word, Rahel Thought. Humbling Along Without A Care In The World

Biology Designed The Dance. Terror Timed It. Dictated The Rhythm With Which Their Bodies Answered Each Other. As Though They Already Knew That For Each Tremor Of Pleasure They Would Pay With An Equal Measure Of Pain. As Though They Knew That How Far They Went Would Be Measured Against How Far They Would Be Taken.

I Grew Up In A Little Village In Kerala. It Was A Nightmare For Me. All I Wanted To Do Was To Escape, To Get Out, To Never Have To Marry Somebody There. Of Course, They Were Not Dying To Marry Me. I Was The Worst Thing A Girl Could Be: Thin, Black, And Clever.

One Beach-colored. One Brown. One Loved. One Loved A Little Less.