Provincetown By Althea Smith
Art by Kali Melone
We drove down with the wind in our hair and the dial on the radio turned as loud as it would go. The four of us had planned this trip back in high school, back when nobody understood. Provincetown was a kind of promised land to us. Not only acceptance but a community. Here, we were not other.
.
In the day, the sun had beat down on the sand and pavement around us, forcing sticky waves of heat across the town. We bought sickly sweet cups of lemonade and explored the cool dark corners of the enclosed shops, examining handmade trinkets and niche books to escape. But now, by just the light of the moon, it was cool. I laid practically bare on my blanket, staring up at the stars through the canvas of my tent, feeling the sea breeze against my skin and through my hair. It was approaching midnight when the light of my phone screen filled the tent, imprinting shadows across the fabric walls. 31