Desert Rain

A sweet-smelling horror story

Nothing smells quite like a desert rain. The drops fall on sand and dirt and dried scrub brush, release the odors of life from blossoms and fruit, from the dry, cracked earth and the brittle, brown branches of mesquite and juniper, of saltbush and creosote.

Cordelia can count the number of rainstorms each year on her fingers, even with the missing index …