ISA
Daughter, our islands are disappearing. Once, there were two: two proud pieces of rock rearing high above the waves. Our islands had always
existed: they were the two arms of Laon, who slumbered in the caldera beneath us. Around us were rings of hard and soft corals, and in the cave-like spaces of these corals lived an abundance of
animals: snakes and eels and starfish and seahorses and clams. Surrounded by such bounty, we seldom knew hunger, or sickness. You and your sisters were born on these islands; until today, no one
had ever left.
But you don’t care anymore; your eyes look only to the silver bird that will bear you far away.
Remember, your island is Isa. Isa, the first, the mother of all. Remember your mother, Raymunda, she who was the only person brave enough to swim unde
