*Xamara*

I stand inside a warm room, my eyes fixed on a woman holding a baby in her arms. Through the window, snow drifts silently against the glass, glinting in the sunlight.

The woman’s black hair falls in soft waves around her face. Her pale skin is luminous, and her bright sapphire blue eyes catch mine. She’s impossible to look away from. Her deep blue gown matches the color of her eyes, and that’s when I realize the woman is my mother, and the baby cradled in her arms is me.

My mother looks down at me as a baby and says, “The snow outside sparkles like diamonds. Xamara—that shall...