6We spent the night at a little lodge near the airstrip, hoping to acclimate to the high altitude before beginning our trek.
The lodge was made of stone, with two wooden-framed windows with rough glass that made the world outside look like a child’s watercolor.
“When Grandma Z was little, they had no electricity or running water,” Mom told me, as if I didn’t already know. But I liked the story, so I let her go on, as she was falling asleep anyway. “When it was cold, Grandma Z and all of her brothers and sisters would cuddle up by the fire and tell ghost stories. They didn’t have televisions.”
“I would rather have brothers and sisters than televisions. Javi has five siblings,” I said. “I don’t even have Skye anymore.”
“Sure you do. You just have to let yourself feel her presence.”
It s
