Where the water meets the sky

Meets the Sky Chapter O

ssed each other in the kitchen, eyes meeting across rooms when no one was watching. They had trained themselves to become air around each other in public, two parallel lines refusing to touch where others could see. Ghana wasn't unkind, not on the surface. But queerness lived in hushed tones and caution. Stories of people disappeared, beaten, disowned-those weren't stories. They were facts with names and addresses. So, Esi and Kemi loved like people running out of time. On a Thursday evening in late June, the sky threatening rain, Esi sat on the balcony of her apartment, watching Kemi pack her suitcase. "You don't have to go," Esi said, her voice barely rising above the whir of the standing fan. Kemi didn't look up. She folded her sketchbooks with delicate care, tucking them between worn jeans and a hoodie that still smelled like paint. "It's just for the residency, Es. Three months." "But you might not come back." Silence filled the room like smoke. Esi hated when Kemi went quiet. She hated more what it usually meant. "I can't keep shrinking myself to fit here," Kemi said finally. "I love you. But I ca