

Sonia Chintha is an Indian American writer who lives in the Washington DC area. She blogs, writes poetry, and fiction. She is also an English teacher who believes that our experiences teach us more than any test. She is the founder and co-editor of Good Little Girls.





“We have to make a full tea set.”
“Okay, okay,” Pooja said. She dug deep into the soil to retrieve our clay. I waited patiently for her to show me her roll-and-bend technique to make the tiny handles for our teacups. We were artists, rolling clay into the tea cups to use for our pretend tea parties. We were hosts. We were sculptors. We were friends. I was her confidante. She told me about the boys who teased her for raising her hand in class. She confessed that she couldn’t wait to get her menses. She told what she thought that was. Her narratives made me feel more. More than six. More than a measly first standard student. When we were together in public, I carried myself taller, like her, chest out, spine straight.

Illustration by Deema Alawa Heist of Self by Parivash Goff What ingratitudethis nebulous futurefor methat I rejectfrom you. I tally all the waysI fight your
As a ten-year old in a new country, all I wanted was to be part of this new culture and its customs. We arrived in
Today I started the hunt again same one I’ve done over and over for fourteen years. I put on the camo, wiped clean the rifle,