‘Mango Season’ by Bonnie Etherington

Bonnie Etherington’s story, ‘Mango Season,’ takes us to Darwin, Australia, to a camping trip, and a gathering of girls. The landscape is beautifully wrought, evoking memories of summers spent outdoors playing in nature. Just as beautifully wrought is the dark current running beneath the surface—undercutting the seemingly sweet summer adventure. The young women in the story are not as safe or naïve as children should be, and their pending adulthood shimmers through. Threatens to break. And while we don’t get to see that transformation we get to see the girls’ power building, and the price it takes for them to gain it.

Guernica