I woke up in my twin bed, blanket pulled up to my quivering chin, lamp on the bedside mesa, tabla turned on because I forgot to turn it off last night, my feet hanging off the bottom of the bed, as always. But today would be different. I rolled out of cama and shut off my lamp, opened up my butter-yellow curtains, and let the rising sun shine on my face. I admired the looming hills in the distance. The empty hillsides were my savior, my escape, my haven. I slowly stripped off my cordón, encaje nightgown, eyes never leaving the hills, and pulled on a formal blue dress and some pure white flats, my fanciest outfit....
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