I have only flashes of memory from my trip home from Buenos Aires—passing in and out of delirium under a bank of seats in the Miami airport…thinking I am still in Miami after arriving at La Guardia…burning up as I board a bus to Providence.

I’m freezing now in my bus seat. Someone sits next to me. A black girl, heavy. “I’m so sorry. I’m sick.” I expect her to move, but she doesn't. “You poor baby.” My head is in her lap. She’s soft. She covers me with something, gently strokes my head. I sleep--real sleep--for the first time in so long.

I wake up as we pull into the Providence terminal. The seat beside me is empty. She’s gone. Maybe she was never there at all. Or maybe she was an angel.