An alley. Downtown Toronto. Late evening. June. The alley walls are covered in graffiti and tags. Milk crates sit in a stack nearby. There are mysterious alley puddles and scraps of garbage everywhere. Two young women enter.
roe: The moon. You will see the moon like never before from right here.
win: The moon, cousin?
roe: Yes the moon.
win: [Looking around.] And we gotta do that here? Is this even safe?
roe: Trust me, they are more afraid of us than we are of them.
win: Uh, I don’t know about that.
roe: Come on and rez up.
win: What does that even mean?
roe: You know.
win: [Beat.] Man you city Indians.
roe: What?
win: You come up to the city and you act like the moon is this new thing. Like you never seen it before. Like you gotta sit in a dirty alley and see a full moon to feel Indian again. [Beat.] You know you can see this kinda thing back home all the time.
roe: [She makes a scoffing sound, perhaps a snort.]
win: What is that supposed to mean?
roe: Nothing. This is what it’s like here. The sky is small here. You gotta plan how you can see things.
win: Mmm hmm.
roe: Oh Jesus, super Indian over here. So what, at home you what, pack a bundle and head out on the land and wait for the moon to rise over the trees then empty your menstrual cup in the snow and howl?
win: Eww! What is wrong with you?
roe: When’s the last time you even went outside for anything, let alone to see the stars? And going out for a smoke doesn’t count.
win: I see them all the time.
roe: On your way home from the smoke shack?
win: What’s wrong with that? Seeing the stars on my way home from my job? Is that really the worst thing I could do? Look up as I head home or look up when I go for a smoke?
roe: No, it’s not, but don’t treat it like you are somehow better than me or like this means less. I didn’t know the moon was reserved for the reserved. [She grins, waits for a response.]
win: Oh you are clever. Just hilarious.
roe: Look. I live here now. Three years now. That’s a long time in the city. City years are like double rez years. And yeah, it is different but it’s been good for me. It’s made me appreciate who I am in a way that home never could. [She looks up.] Once you lose the stars you learn to appreciate them.
win: Sure.
roe: I know it’s different but can you just try to enjoy this?
win: It stinks. [She checks her phone.]
roe: It stinks everywhere here. You get used to it.
win: I don’t think I could ever get used to it.
roe: Sometimes you have to.
win: You have to?


Sign in to Granta.com.