It's baby-making day. We gather in the town square with our materials. A local orchestra plays "Happy Birthday." Someone starts a bonfire. We melt wax and shape it with our burning hands. Add drops of lavender oil. Our babies look gray and droopy. Our babies look perfect. We carry them home at the end of the day and tuck them into matchboxes. We lay them on the windowsill beside the others, each one smaller than the one before.


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