*Ava*
The house smells of rosemary and wood smoke. I sit near the hearth, my hands folded in my lap, as Raquel introduces each of her young children. Two little girls with thick dark braids cling to her skirt, and a younger boy, barefoot and sleepy-eyed, leans against Diego’s leg. They’re warm, safe, and so far from everything I just left behind in Toledo.
I barely speak. The song I sang still echoes in my mind, the one that bought the others their chance to run. Now, that song feels like a beacon, drawing eyes and danger straight to me.
I’m scared. Not just of what’s out there, but of what will happen if they find me here. In Toledo, the price for what I did is death.
I force myself to smile at the carved wooden toy pressed into my palm. I’m not dreaming. I’m really in Castile during
