the tower

we hide the body bag (the dead body is inside it) at the nook at the bottom of the tower. he assures me that this is the way it is done. a sacrifice the island needs.

the island is vast. there's so much green. cliffs. trees. the ocean all around us makes a scary, slapping sound. it is deep. i will not come near it so ---

i climb the tower. the stairwell is narrow and at a point it becomes a ladder. i keep climbing. i've never felt so motivated. it is as if i am being called.

i reach a room. it has a bed, books, a window, a desk, a tape recorder. i listen to the instructions that have been left for me. i use the desk to step up, push open a door in the ceiling. i ease myself up to the tower's highest point.

i will look down and survey the island. this vast, tough, indomitable island.

Flag Ceremony

We come in sipping our Starbucks. We're in uniform. They confiscate our coffee and remind us that our cellphones are forbidden. I look to Jill for comfort but she is slipping into high school faster than I can help her. I feel so lost. My cellphone is deep in my skirt's pocket. It makes me nervous. I am committing a high school offense.

I join the flag ceremony. Miserable.

Hose

I step up with the hose to water a hanging plant. The water doesn't stop gushing. I let it spill out of the pot, down my arms, my face, my naked body green like the plant. My skin, green and blooming, drinks up the water.