Paint the Wind Read Online Free PDF Page A

then coached her on the position of the mandatory two pieces of toast on the plate, cut diagonally.
    Maya looked at the clock and eased into the dining room. Grandmother’s place was already set with a saucer displaying half of a grapefruit with a cherry eye.
    Grandmother appeared in the doorway and tapped her cane.
    â€œGood morning, Grandmother,” said Maya.
    The woman nodded. She seemed to teeter over her cane and took longer than usual to reach her chair.
    Valentina entered and set Grandmother’s plate in front of her.
    Grandmother picked up her fork, stabbed a bite of the eggs, and put them in her mouth. She squinted and coughed. “Too much pepper!”
    Confused, Valentina stammered, “There … is … no … pepper.”
    Grandmother slapped the table. “I will not have an employee who lies to me. I hope I don’t have to call the agency.…”
    â€œShe’s not lying!” said Maya. “I watched her. She didn’t use any pepper.”
    Grandmother’s face reddened. It was as if somethingswelled inside her, about to explode. There was a second of doomed silence, and then it happened so fast that Maya only glimpsed a blur hurtling through the air.
    The china plate hit the wall and clattered to the floor, breaking into precise thirds, in perfect triangular pieces. Yellow lumps of egg left more than one excuse to call in the painters. Puzzled, Maya stared at the shards and wondered how Grandmother had shattered the plate with such symmetry.
    Maya turned to see Grandmother’s head falling forward and hitting the table with a dull thump.
    Valentina put both of her hands over her mouth.
    Maya sat transfixed and stared at Grandmother, who slumped over her breakfast. Her face rested on a pillow of grapefruit, its juice dribbling onto the tablecloth.
    Valentina ran to the kitchen and Maya could hear herfrantic voice on the telephone, giving the address and telling someone to hurry.
    Then, as if someone had pinched her, Maya’s mind leaped to the possibility that Grandmother might not wake up. She ran to her and put both hands on her fallen shoulders.“Grandmother? Grandmother?”
    Grandmother’s body drooped and her arms dangled at her sides, like weighted lines.
    Valentina appeared and gently pulled Maya away. “Help is coming. They are on the way.”
    â€œWhat’s wrong with her? Why isn’t she moving?”
    Valentina wrung her hands. “I do not know. She needs a doctor.”
    Confusion and hysteria welled inside Maya. She yelled, “Grandmother! Wake up! Wake up right now!”
    In the distance, the whine of an ambulance escalated.

A RTEMISIA SAW THE BLEACHED BONES OF A HORSE SKELETON lying in a deep gully She led the band away from the ledge and the tenuous footing and the consequences of what could happen if one of the horses fell, broke a leg, and couldn’t get up .
    Artemisia was the lead mare and even though she had a new foal who needed to nurse for several minutes every hour, the survival and well-being of the entire group also rested on her. She determined where and when to stop and graze. The others followed. If they were pursued, she didn’t panic or lead them into dead-end canyons where they might be trapped. She led them to safety. And to the places they would rest each evening. And to water. Now, she stopped and looked toward the watering hole with alert caution, aware that another band was drinking there. The stallion in that band was aggressiveand liked to fight. Artemisia would hold her band back until they left .
    When it was their turn, she led them forward. Klee dawdled, listing a little too far from the cluster. Georgia gave him a firm head shove to keep him in line .
    Sargent patrolled from behind, keeping all of them in his sights. When they stopped at the water’s edge, he approached each mare and nickered, taking attendance. Then, after drinking almost a gallon of water, Sargent