I arrived late, somewhere between late night and early morning, but the heat had not subsided. The inside of the house was just as dark and humid as the outside, and I waded through it as I made my way quietly from the front door to the kitchen, fumbling a little until I noticed the light peeking around the corner.

As I said, it was hot, so it figures that my sister would be looking for something cool to drink. She was silhouetted in the light of the refrigerator, wreathed in the vapor pouring off the racks. As she bent to peer at something inside, the light slid down her...