Already Landed

A woman steps from a weathered stone jetty onto a wooden boat at dawn, her back foot lifting clear of the stone as her front foot plants flat on the deck, coral-stone buildings and a minaret rising along the shore behind her, the water below dark and unsettled.

The water hasn’t settled.

One foot is still on the stone. The other already carries all of me.

On September 17, 2026, the U.S. national emergency declared during the war in northern Ethiopia expired. The next day, sanctions tied to it were removed, including those on Eritrea’s ruling party, defense forces, Red Sea Trading Corporation and senior officials. Eritrea welcomed the move. But an expiration doesn’t answer what comes after it. What this changes between the two countries remains unsettled.

My back foot hasn’t caught up yet. It already knows where it’s going.