HAND IN HAND with her mother, Delores avoided stepping on the cracks in the sidewalk- she didn't want to break her mother's back.
The hot summer air of Texas made her sweat, causing her hair to stick to her damp neck. The year was nineteen-sixty-seven, making Delores six, on the verge of being seven.
Her mother and her was walking back home after running some errands, her long dress occasionally brushing against Delores's tiny form, while her heels clicked against the cement of the sidewalk.
Delores then stopped his her tracks, causing her mother to give her an odd look, as she stared down at three different rocks all scattered in front of her.
"Just walk around them, Delores." Beatrice's tone leaned into her Texan accent as Delores gazed down at the eight rocks amazed.
Counting the rocks in her head, she then moved her gaze to the fifth rock, causing her hand to be drawn to it, and grasp it within her tiny palm.
The fifth rock lay in her palm as she stared down at it, and her mother tugged her to continue walking, leaving the other seven rocks behind.
Her fingers wrap around the rock, keeping it safe in her palm, the rock having absorbed all the heat from the sun.
