the mattress pad. I lay down next to it. Sunlight bloomed in the sliverbetween the blue curtains, so bright I shielded my eyes. Another daybarging in. Who invited it? I folded my hands over my belly, fingerslaced into prayer. How long before I stopped hoping for anything goodto grow?
Diana Xin
Diana Xin was born in China and raised in Minnesota. Her fiction has appeared in Third Coast, Gulf Coast, Narrative, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from the University of Montana, andher work has received support from the M Literary Residency,Artist Trust, and Hedgebrook. She lives in Seattle and serves asa contributing editor to Moss.
