Written By Amaris Castillo
Drops hit the children like bullets, except they cause no harm. The rain pounds and pounds on them, and on everything in the alley – empty buckets, plants, and a worn cart. The homes turn darker shades of green and pink and creamsicle.
Squeals permeate the space, now dominated by children. This is a party they never planned on having.
Boys run up and down the alley, grinning and yelling. Shirtless, jumping. Girls hold hands and skip around in circles, their feet kissing the ground hard and fast. Their smiles widen.
Liquid mines are set off all over, except they cause no harm.
The adults stay inside, long over playing in the rain. It will ruin their pelo lacio, it will wet their clothes that were just ironed. It will bring on a cold, it will threaten their health, it will dirty their tidy floor and undo all their efforts to maintain a neat home. No, it’s better to stay inside until the rain dies down.
But the children. The children. They’ll keep running, and grinning, and skipping around in circles with their feet kissing the ground hard and fast.
They’ll keep setting off liquid mines all over, because there’s no harm in being a child.
Amaris Castillo is a journalist currently living in Florida. Born in Brooklyn, NY, she became fascinated with documenting her surroundings early on through video cameras and journals. Castillo is the creator of Bodega Stories, a multimedia project featuring real stories and portraits of people who frequent the bodega, a beloved space. She holds degrees from the University of South Florida and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Her work has appeared in the Huffington Post, Miami Herald, Fusion, Latina Magazine, and more.Castillo enjoys photography, spending time with her dogs Brooklyn and Rocky, and reading a good story over a cup of café con leche. More of Castillo’s work can be found at AmarisCastillo.com.
