The girl with the charcoal-stained fingers wiped her hands clean. She spent the entire afternoon in her favorite room, sketching under dim light what her next creation in the loom would be. The girl looked at her design once more. Where had her hands taken her? She measured and wound the warp threads, ensuring even tension as she attached it to her great-grandmother’s loom. Weaving tapestries was a generational tradition in her household—no woman could escape a lifetime of slavery to the rhythm of the loom’s dance. Her hands trembled as she threaded each individual warp thread through the needles.
Undeniably, the beat was overbearing. With every thump, her piece began to glow. The splendor was so magnetic that she began to accelerate her speed. The friction between her hands and the loom moved her. She did not feel the ache in her back or the cramping of her neck as her creation took a life of its own. Her creation starved, and begged to be fulfilled; she pierced her chest and unwound her insides and flesh, satiating herself by painting her feast onto the tapestry. Weaving tapestries had that effect on the girl. Each stitch was a delicately brutal reflection of a craft so sacred to her ancestors. The remnants of her creation covered her, drenching her in her blood. She now belonged to an eternal fabric, but did not know how she would become whole again.
She wiped herself once more.
Renata Perez is a Mexican American multimedia creative with a passion for sparking conversations and empowering others to use their voice. As Digital Media Coordinator for Subscriptions for Authors by Ream, they have created content that helps authors connect with their audience and develop strategies for growing their platforms. Renata is also a student copywriter for the Boston University Marketing & Communications Department and has explored various formats of storytelling, such as advertising, rebranding, copywriting, photography, editorial writing, and short documentary-style projects—increasing audience engagement by up to twenty percent of audience engagement. In addition to her work in marketing, Renata is also an editorial intern and creative writer contributing to the Hey! Young Writer Organization. They are currently pursuing a B.A. in English literature with a minor in advertising at Boston University, and her ultimate goal is to capture stories that bring representation to those seeking to be heard.
Featured image by Joel Heard on Unsplash
