Maria’s Sidewalk
“Y las que son presas vienen también
65
“And the prey come as well
saben lo que tienen que exponer” they know what they have to show”
‘But if I walk by this crowd… it’s too narrow. What if someone grabs me? My phone can be stolen again, I didn’t even notice last time and then it was gone. What do I do if something happens again? Punch them?... Ha! Maybe’ she thinks. “faldita a la moda el jean apretado” “fashion skirt, tight jeans”
She keeps moving, takes a breath, grabs her purse firmly with one hand, raises the other one in front of her chest and strides forward. She clenches her jaw and tries to make her face look hard. Frágil singing loudly in her ears. llegan de todos lados...”
they arrived from everywhere”
Halfway through she has to step to the side to let a person go the other way. She feels the cold wall pressed on her back. Her hand remains raised in front of her and her eyes dance through the crowd. Everything is fine. “Ellas entran en la noche, ellas marcan los tonos”
“they enter the night, they set the tones”
She passes the las members of the crowd and the sidewalk opens up before her. She releases her grip on her bag and lowers her other hand. She walks.