Elara had moved from her tiny, sun-bleached town in Ecuador to the sprawling Midwest of the United States in January. She was prepared for many things: a new language, new foods, new faces. But no one had prepared her for the aggression of the American seasons.
But then, on the last day of , she smelled it. A crispness. A hint of smoke from a distant chimney. The air changed from soft to sharp. The green leaves began to show their true colors—yellow, then orange, then a red so fierce it looked like the tree was on fire. seasons in usa months
was the reward for surviving. The air turned soft. The world smelled like cut grass and soil. She bought a bicycle and rode it past neighbors who were suddenly emerging from their homes like bears from a den, smiling, grilling hamburgers. May was a sweet, hopeful whisper after a long scream. Elara had moved from her tiny, sun-bleached town
And finally, . She braced for the cold, but this cold was different. This cold came with string lights wrapped around porch pillars, with the smell of pine trees sold in gas station parking lots, with the sound of a Salvation Army bell on the corner. On Christmas Eve, it snowed again. But this time, she stood at the window and watched the fat, fluffy flakes drift down, quiet as a prayer. But then, on the last day of , she smelled it
was a liar. One day, the sun would appear, the icicles would drip, and she’d think, Ah, spring . She’d wear a light jacket. The next day, a polar wind would scream down from Canada, dumping six more inches of snow. March, she decided, had a personality disorder.