ยท ย ย ย ย They drain the San Antonio Riverwalk once a year. They tell you itโs shallow, only three feet deep, but no matter how much you stare you cannot see the bottom. Theyโve found prosthetic limbs in the annual dredging.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Youโve been driving for hours. Surely youโre out of state lines by now, you tell yourself. But the scenery hasnโt changed at all, and the sky has long turned dark. You canโt remember the last town you went through.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย There are lights above Marfa. People come from far and wide to see them, but we donโt talk about them. We donโt talk about the lights above Marfa- they listen. We donโt want them to hear us.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย We donโt sing โDeep in the Heart of Texasโ because itโs a tradition. We sing it to keep it sated. Because deep in the hill country, if you stand still enough, you can feel a deep, steady throb beneath your feet.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย You hear screams in the heavy heat of summer nights. Your mother tells you that itโs nothing but the wind, but you donโt believe her. There hasnโt been wind in months.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The heat is sticky and heady against your skin, even in the dead of night. โSure is hot this summer,โ your mother says. Her eyes are glassy, and her teeth grind together as she stares out into the distance. โSure is hot.โ
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย There are tunnels beneath San Antonio. They connect the missions to San Fernando Cathedral. Theyโve long been closed off- no one goes in the tunnels. No one wants to go in the tunnels.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The grackles are waiting in the grocery store parking lot. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of them- they scream into the sky and watch you as you pack away your groceries.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The ground has cracked into dusty plates. There are children that have never seen rain. You donโt remember the last time it rained. A lot of people say it never will again.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Basements are banned. The ground is too dry, they say. Itโll crack your foundation. But you know why theyโre banned. Everyone knows why. But we must forget.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The forest is deep, so very deep. You walk on, but all you find is a roofless hut filled with shotgun shells. There are claw marks on the wall, on the ground. You scuff at them with your shoe.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Off the highway, decaying farmhouses stand like gray smudges against the blue sky. The cattle graze around them, away from them. The grass around them is dead.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Donโt Mess with Texas. Texas remembers. Texas is vengeful.
ยทย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย You donโt watch the heat waves that rise off of the gravel. Look forward. Look forward. Keep driving.
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