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 ^{(it's beta!)}

Janis lived in an apartment in the Barranco neighborhood of Lima. It was by a busy street, where cheap cars from the seventies left thick, sticky trails of exhaust. But to Janis, it had an earthy quality. The fumes were not indulgent, not caused by the vanity of oversized SUVs, but because clean cars were simply not affordable. Here, the people made the best of their lives; because they could not have clean streets, they instead painted their houses vivid colors. Because they had no cable television, they wrote and painted and watched telenovelas on tiny black and white screens.

Her own 1986 Accord pulled up to the apartment, and chugged to a stop. She waved at Chino, the guard, who responded with a nod and a Buena tardes, Senora Davidson. Sweating from the summer heat, she quickly made her way up to the apartment and turned on both fans before crashing on her bed.

Looking up at the walls that she had decorated with colorful cloth, her eyes drooped contentedly.

It is Ohio. Janis is pressed up against a window in the backseat of a minivan. They wind past endless strip malls and street signs. She is going to the airport. She sees her father, dressed in smart business casual. He is walking into the terminal, looking tired. A cry of "Daddy!" is heard, Janis rushes toward her father, and is in his arms, his face has erupted into a relieved smile.

-Look what I brought you, sweetie.

-Daddy, I made you a picture while you were gone.

-Why don't you show it to me when we get home? First, I wanna show you something.

He pulls an intricately woven cloth colored bright pink out of his briefcase and hands it to her.

-Do you like it? It comes from Peru.

-Daddy, can you take me to Peru?

-Someday, sweetheart.