We’ve stopped breathing. Khalil says, – Hope my sisters are ok.
– Yeah, I say.
Khalil rubs the corners of his eyes.
The yolky sun flattens, leaking gold over the gray and malnourished cinders. We keep running. Khalil pulls me like a toddler over fresh rubble and splinted wood until the city is a brilliant ruin behind us.
He’s faster. He makes me faster.
Justin Sirois is a novelist living in Baltimore, Maryland. His books include MLKNG SCKLS (Publishing Genius) and Falcons on the Floor (forthcoming, Publishing Genius) which was written with Iraqi refugee Haneen Alshujairy. His novel Black, Light, 1993 will be finished soon. He also runs the Understanding Campaign with Haneen and co-directs Narrow House. Justin received individual Maryland State Art Council grants in 2003, 2007, and 2010.
