– Fiction by Fabiola Mejia –
Featured in Issue 22 of Dreamers Magazine, wins 2nd Place, 2026 Pen Parentis Fellowship!
Milagros had never climbed a tree in her life, her father wouldn’t allow it. Just as he had forbidden her from going with her cousin to the concert tonight. She swallowed the lump in her throat and kicked off her sandals to make the climb easier. How she loved her father and yet, how much she wanted to scream at him today. She had saved her own money for the event, but no matter how much she pleaded, she had to watch her cousin, Lorena, skip to the bus stop alone. Most of the girls in her small town were going, uncaring of what the older women would say about them in the morning gossip. Milagros held onto a branch tightly as the first sounds of the music from the city in the distance reached her ears.
As she peered over the tops of the trees, the familiar little houses of her neighborhood seemed even smaller. The trees seemed like a vast blanket of green that opened up to the city where the other girls who had managed to escape the scoldings of their mothers and the heat of their kitchens Image by Wantarniwan were probably shaking with excitement. The sun was setting, and the city took on a bewitching aura of bright lights that changed as the faint sound of drums and bass became more prominent. Milagros could feel the bass notes in her chest, and she closed her eyes to stop the tears from coming. But as the moon shone brightly above her, she finally allowed herself to weep.
Holding onto the branches, Milagros wept, not knowing that in just a year’s time, she would fall in love with a man with a golden voice who would bring her more tears than happiness, and that she would no longer have her father’s protection. She could not know in that moment that she would one day have a daughter who would inherit her loneliness and her father’s angelic singing voice. She wept as her own father’s voice called to her, in anger and terror, asking Milagros to come down from the tree.
About the Author – Fabiola Mejia
Fabiola Mejia is a first generation Mexican American writer currently residing north of Boston, MA. She graduated from Salem State University in 2016 where she published her first personal essay. She was a recipient of the GrubStreet Emerging Writer Fellowship in 2020 and has done freelance writing along with working in the non-profit space. She recently received second place for the 2026 Pen Parentis Fellowship Writing Competition for her story Prologue: Milagros’ Story which will be published in Dreamers Magazine. Her writing explores themes of parenting, mental health, and cultural roots. When she is not writing, Fabiola spends her time with her 3 kids and husband, reading, binge watching her favorite shows, and traveling.
Meanwhile, at Dreamers…
Last chance! Stories of Place, Home, and the Meaning of Dreaming
The deadline for the Dreamers Writing Contest on place and home is January 31. Submit a heartfelt story, poem, or essay reflecting on belonging, memory, displacement, or the meaning of home. Open internationally. $250 CAD prize and publication.
Editor’s Note: Issues 21 and 22
We’re pleased to announce the simultaneous release of Dreamers Magazine Issues 21 and 22.These two issues were shaped during very different moments…