Gina Rancano

Memory Bank

It had been 22 years since the war ended. He walked down the street where the government had erected a 100-meter-tall anti-invasion wall, forever closing off every beach and coastline in the country. He placed his hand on the wall, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. The air around him was putrid and thick with pollution. But for that mere moment, he remembered and felt as if he had inhaled a breath of salty ocean air.