I suppose I've never mentioned my mother.

My mother is a creature, created out of ideas and stars. Her hair is made of rivers and sand, her eyes flicker like fire in the wind. Her smile hides secrets of time, concealing whispers and barricading stray thoughts.

She hides magic in her fingers. It emerges when she dances to the sound of an invisible beat, when her hips move to the chant of her people. The way she sings has magic entwined in each note and it rings through the air, warming the cold silence.