Delayza’s Necklace Max Early We enter to sounds of bells. The hall’s warmth evokes an imprint of my small self standing by my grandparents. Their presence I sense in drums and singers’ voices. Collective breath of all colors hovers above the leaping herd. Eagle and hawk feathers adorn the deer dance’s rhythmic scent— forest evergreen, damp earth. Delayza puts her hand in mine. The seated crowd hinders her view. I lift her above the masses— a butterfly beyond reach. Her irises bloom to the choir and drumbeats rumbling nearby snowflakes. I set her among the gold straw flecks glistening on the [...]