The scorch of the late-June day made it impossible for us to play in the streets.  The neighborhood was our daily routine, but there was no breeze and the city was starting to issue out water rations.  My friends and I looked out from my aunt’s third floor window at the street below.  The sun made the sidewalk sweat.  There were a few kids sitting on the stoop waiting for a bit of wind, but there wasn’t any.  It was noisy with traffic, typical of Brooklyn.  Aunt Carla was in the kitchen singing something in Spanish while making our lunch.  She wasn’t the best person to work a stove, but she could make a good ham and cheese sandwich.  It was only her and me who lived in the apartment.  My parents died when I was six in a car accident and she’s had me since.  Her husband, my Uncle Hector, died a couple of years ago.  He always did the cooking, so after he was gone, she was lost on what to cook for us.  She came from Puerto Rico, six years ago and was not used to the foods here.  She always talked about how she missed her alcapurrias, but she wasn’t skilled enough to make it.  She tried a couple of times, but it ended up burnt.

I was still at the window, intrigued by the sight.  I didn’t notice that my aunt was calling me and my friends to eat.  “Evita, almuerza!”  Me and my friends, Marisa and Vivica ran from the living room to the kitchen and ate our lunch.  I’ve known them since I was in kindergarten. Now at ten, I was not surprised that we hadn’t separated.  We’ve lived in this building for about five years.  When my parents died, they were the friends who consoled me. We sat at the table, ate, and talked average girl talk. Clothes, music, boys, the usual.  Aunt Carla was in the mirror trying to fix her hair.  She always had an obsession with it.  I called it vanity.  She called it being proud. After we finished our lunch, we went back to the window.  We wanted to go out and play by the hydrant, but my aunt said that we would melt on the concrete.  We continued to nag her until we saw the yes glimmering in her eyes and were gone before she could get the words out.