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The following text is from Reyna Grande's 2012 memoir The Distance Between Us. In the text, Grande is reflecting on experiences she had as a child. Abuela Evila is her grandmother, Élida is her cousin, and Mago and Carlos are her siblings.
Every few days, Abuela Evila washed Élida's hair with lemon water because, according to her, lemon juice cleans the impurities of the hair and makes it shiny and healthy. In the afternoons, she would fill up a bucket from the water tank, pick a few lemons from the tree, and squeeze the juice into the water. Mago, Carlos, and I would hide behind a pink oleander bush and watch their ritual through the narrow leaves. Abuela Evila washed Élida's hair as if she were washing an expensive silk rebozo.
Every few days, Abuela Evila washed Élida's hair with lemon water because, according to her, lemon juice cleans the impurities of the hair and makes it shiny and healthy. In the afternoons, she would fill up a bucket from the water tank, pick a few lemons from the tree, and squeeze the juice into the water. Mago, Carlos, and I would hide behind a pink oleander bush and watch their ritual through the narrow leaves. Abuela Evila washed Élida's hair as if she were washing an expensive silk rebozo.