KATHERINE
I walked into the small, cramped living room and saw them already waiting for me. Alicia, her mother, and three other women from the village were sitting in a circle on the floor, their faces long and solemn like they were attending a funeral instead of a simple prayer meeting. I didn't want to be there, my skin was crawling the moment I stepped over the threshold, but Alicia’s mother had practically dragged me from the hallway, and I didn't have the energy to fight her off. I sat down on a hard wooden stool, feeling out of place in my palace clothes, and felt Alicia’s mother grab my left hand while another woman took my right.
We held hands in a tight, sweaty circle as the older woman closed her eyes and began to drone on, praying to the Moon Goddess to descend upon us and pr
