Her eyes scan the fruits and vegetables – oranges, apples, eggplants, peppers – neatly piled like cascading mountains. Nothing like the crowded, messy markets of home. No loud negotiations and catch-ups with familiar faces. Here, just screeches from carts. 

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she takes some okra and moves on. 

©

Mariya Khan is a graduate of The George Washington University and Summer Institute at the University of Iowa International Writing Program. Her work received awards from the Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition and has appeared in the Summer Institute anthology Multitudes, 50 Word Stories, Writing in a Woman’s Voice, and Creative Kids. When she’s not working as an Editorial Assistant at National Geographic Books, she’s trying new recipes and watching crime dramas. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.