Angel sat on the sand dune watching the wind swirl around her. The desert was anxious today—a storm was blowing in. Angel thought it was the kind of day where something could happen, but she didn’t dare get her hopes up. So she sat in the shade of the juniper tree watching the empty sky where it met the red dirt of the land. In the distance, Angel saw a woman. She wore blue jeans on her long legs and a white button up and a straw hat. She didn’t belong here.

            Angel knew it would be at least half an hour until Bishop and the Counselors were back. They had gone to lunch when the sun reached its zenith—just like they did every day. Like the rest of the inmates, Angel was grateful for the rest in her day of searching and took the opportunity to lay in the coveted shade of a juniper tree in the high mountain desert.

            Since Angel was the only girl among the teenagers she often got to choose her resting place first. The General always made sure she was treated well.

            The new woman walked closer and Angel could see her facial features she had dark eyes and dark hair pulled back in a loose braid. Her skin was so white on her arms, it looked surprised to see the sun.

            The woman smiled at Angel. It had been so long since Angel had seen a smile as a greeting—a true genuine smile—she smiled back.

            “Hello,” the woman said and sat next to Angel. Angel pushed herself up against the tree trying to shield her stack of treasures from the woman’s view.

            “Hi,” Angel’s voice cracked from anxiety and thirst.

            “Here,” the woman held out a silver water bottle to Angel. Her cracked brown hands took the bottle and she drank heavily the water rushing down her parched throat and into her empty belly.