The Water Knife

Maria wakes up from a dream that involves “curtains of flame and roiling black smoke” (174). In her dream, Maria and Sarah were running from a doglike creature, but Maria eventually loses Sarah. Maria finds herself in Ratan’s apartment, still in bed with Sarah and Ratan. She can’t determine what parts of the night before actually happened and what parts were a dream. Maria realizes that she lost her virginity to a stranger and isn’t sure how to feel about that. Sarah and Ratan are still asleep when Maria makes her way to the shower to scrub her clothes clean. Ratan joins Maria in the shower and they have sex again, even though Maria hopes that Ratan wouldn’t try to. In the kitchen, Ratan begins to make breakfast. Maria tries to feel out how long Ratan is planning on staying in Phoenix and if she might escape with him. Ratan asks Maria how she ended up in Phoenix, and Maria tells him about how the guardies had evacuated their town outside of San Antonio because they weren’t going to be trucking water there anymore. Ratan asks Maria if she’s ever read