I see you, You are a dark blur against the sky. You see me, I am with my people. Papa smells like himself, Litto smells of cigarettes, my Abuela smells like polvorones, Alicia smells of flowers and her boyfriend smells of her. My brother doesn’t see you, he’s a baby, he’s a lot like me, but he doesn’t smell like me. I smell like myself and he smells like him.

Mama smells like tea. No one else smells that way, no one else drinks tea. She drinks tea because sometimes when it’s just us; me and her, and my brother, she feels overwhelmed. Tea reminds her of an Englishman she knew long ago, he was tall, fair and teaching English as a foreign language. He drank tea, and unlike the other teachers he had all his course materials perfectly laminated. He steered her through the weirdness of his overwhelming language.

One day I will drink tea, the smell will remind me of Mama.