Chapter 10: Sparks of Change

16.

As dawn broke, my mom opened the door, took some yellowed paper, and burned it in our backyard.

She squatted on the ground, small and curled up.

She faced the firelight, murmuring something.

Hot tears dripped into the flames, making them burn even brighter.

I guessed, perhaps she was reporting to her fallen friends.

Maybe she was saying goodbye, or maybe she was praying for all the girls and women who’d never had a chance to see what she now knew: the world could be better, if only for a moment.