Altadena Girls

Aanum Khan ’26

Ellen Chen ’25

Somewhere along the line glitter gave way to fire— 

I don’t mean the burnt orange of my Colourpop makeup 

palette but rather the rise & fall of our breath mixing with 

the grayness of ash. Rise & fall of creak & crack & fires 

crackling away. Sweat & swallow up old house, old toys, 

old fabric pulled over shaking limbs (you call it survival / 

I call it armor) 

Shuffling through the movements, avoiding eyes, when was 

the last time we could just be girls—then joy. Joy in the face 

of dry earth flaking away (past flaking away)(us flaking away) 

into fire. Fire scorches & shaves the earth of its past. Remember 

this? The fresh breeze of new clothes sparkling instead of the 

Santa Ana winds? 

for the Altadena girls.

References:

Zukin, Meg. “A Los Angeles Teen Started a Recovery Fund for Fire Victims.” Time, Time, 14 Jan. 2025, time.com/7206380/los-angeles-teen-recovery-fund-for-wildfire-victims-viral-movement/.