Statute of Limitations

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Estelle Reyes-Guzman scrunched down into the sofa, a large pillow clutched to her chest, face buried in the pillow’s soft corduroy to stifle her laughter. Across the room, her two small sons sat on the piano bench, elbow to elbow, creating a remarkable coordination of sound and story. The oldest, six-year-old Francisco, provided the music as his nimble fingers danced on the keyboard. Four-year-old Carlos narrated. He held a large children’s book open on his lap, and even though he couldn’t read the words, Carlos had heard the story so often that he knew it by heart, using the pictures as his cue.

In the story, a sweaty, dejected javalina-the ubiquitous wild pig of the southwest-shuffled across the bleak desert at high noon. Even the towering cacti provided no shade from the sun that blistered his tender hide. The plodding, monotonous bass notes of the piano accompanied the little pig as the scene unwound in Francisco’s head and through his brother’s narration.

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