When Mamá’s apron catches fire, my first reaction is to grab Mamá’s body and share the fire with her. Pimientos en nogada is a dish that people eat in México at weddings and important occasions. Mamá is set on making...
Pimiento Season
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Maria Alejandra Barrios
María Alejandra Barrios is a Pushcart nominated writer born in Barranquilla, Colombia. She has lived in Bogotá and Manchester where in 2016 she completed a Master's degree in Creative Writing from The University of Manchester. Her stories have been published in places such as Hobart Pulp, Reservoir Journal, Cosmonauts Avenue, Jellyfish Review, Lost Balloon, Shenandoah Literary, Vol.1 Brooklyn, El Malpensante, and SmokeLong Quarterly. Her work is forthcoming in and Moon City Review. She was the 2020 SmokeLong Flash Fiction Fellow and her work has been supported by organizations such as Vermont Studio Center, Caldera Arts Center, and the New Orleans Writing Residency. She's currently at work revising her debut novel.
Things Never Stay Warm
I wear my dead sister’s lipstick around the house like Grandma told me to. It leaves my lips dry and the shade doesn’t suit me, it’s purple and dark and velvety, against her golden-brown skin luminous and edgy. On me...