“She had not opened her valise since before the dust storm and saw that the fine brown

      powder had even found its way deep inside. As it had found its way into Mama’s lungs.”

“What have I done to deserve this honor, mi reina?”

“A thick tule ground fog that hugged the earth settled in the valley, surrounding them, as if 

      they stood within a deep gray cloud.”

“A thick tule ground fog that hugged the earth settled in the valley, surrounding them, as if 

      they stood within a deep gray cloud.”

“Her other life seemed like a story she had read in a book a long time ago, a fairy tale.”

“Cut and scarred, swollen and stiff, they [Esperanza’s hands] looked like the hands of a very

       old man.”

“Mama looked like a ghost of herself.”

“Then she helped Mama lie on her back, her hair now framing her face against the white 

       linens, like a braided halo.”

“Esperanza studied her hands a few nights later as she walked toward the cabin and hoped

         Hortensia had a few more avocados.”

“Citrus groves displayed their leftover fruit like decorations on Christmas trees.”

“She was seeing his eyes, dancing like Papa’s when he used to talk about the land.”

 “But the lugs of asparagus that were sent back to the sheds had to be taken across the 

        picket lines and the strikers often slipped surprises beneath the harvest.”

 “The picket signs lay on the ground, discarded, and like a mass of marbles that had already 

         been hit.”

 “The breeze picked up loose newspapers and floated them across the field.”

“The tall and feathery asparagus plants seemed to be as unrelenting as Isabel’s desire to be   

         queen.” 

“With eyes as hard as green plums, Miguel stared at her and his face contorted into a 

         disgusted grimace.”

“In Mexico, I was a second-class citizen. ”

 “Now my life is like the zigzag in the blanket on Mama’s bed.” 

“Aguántate tanito y la fruta caerá en tu mano.”  Wait a little while and the fruit will fall into 

         your hand.” 

“A temper Esperanza did not recognize raged to the surface. Then, like the irrigation pipes

        in the fields when the water is first turned on, her anger burst forth.”

“Esperanza’s eyes were on fire.”

“As she thought about Papa, tears sprang from her eyes and she suddenly felt weary, as if 

        she had been clinging to a rope but didn’t have the strength to hold on any longer.”

 “I think my heart is dancing.”

“But afterward came the anticipation of spring and a valley pregnant with needs: graceful 

         asparagus, ripening vineyards, and groaning trees.” 

“Then early peaches called, crickets in the fields started their nightly symphony and Mama 

         came home.”

“The sun peeked over the rim of a distant ridge, bursting the dawn onto the waiting fields.”

“Then she flew over the river, a thrusting torrent that cut through the mountains.”