Talina

He leaned forward and I heard him murmur, “Home, Talina.”

Last Lullaby Denise Hamilton 2004

Talina straightened her supple back, flipped her hair, and stood at silent attention, a lamplike glow receding from her eyes.

Last Lullaby Denise Hamilton 2004

Our government, in its infinite wisdom, wanted to send Talina back to Burma, to the embrace of the military junta that killed her parents and older brother.

Last Lullaby Denise Hamilton 2004

He leaned forward and I heard him murmur, “Home, Talina.”

Last Lullaby Denise Hamilton 2004

Our government, in its infinite wisdom, wanted to send Talina back to Burma, to the embrace of the military junta that killed her parents and older brother.

Last Lullaby Denise Hamilton 2004

Talina straightened her supple back, flipped her hair, and stood at silent attention, a lamplike glow receding from her eyes.

Last Lullaby Denise Hamilton 2004

When she set the cartons down on the table, I saw that it was Talina.

Last Lullaby Denise Hamilton 2004

When she set the cartons down on the table, I saw that it was Talina.

Last Lullaby Denise Hamilton 2004

Talina’s pale oval face tilted back, neck arched, and they locked eyes, gazing steadily at each other in some private ritual that I found abhorrent and yet strangely exciting at the same time.

Last Lullaby Denise Hamilton 2004

Sneakily, I wondered if Talina lived there, crossing the lawn barefoot and wearing a thin shift on nights when Brenner didn’t have to stay up working on globally significant cases.

Last Lullaby Denise Hamilton 2004