Wedding

The first time, I froze in a stall as the bride’s mother barged in looking for someone else, who was probably crying somewhere else. I took a deep breath, and returned to my table, where the rest of the guests sat neatly paired up. The second time, I stared at myself in a dimly lit […]

Children of an Idle Brain

In English, we use the same word for “sleeping hallucinations” and “fantastic goals.” They are both “dreams.” They are both suspicious, both frequently denied consideration. I want to go to Africa. That is a wide-awake dream. I’ve wanted to go since I saw “Out of Africa” as a kid. The main character was my hero: […]

Physical Evidence

At a certain point, you were supposed to have a line across your back and this meant you were a mature female, and not a child or the elephant man. It also meant you were wearing a bra. Later you would strive to hide any evidence that you were, like most western women, wearing a […]

Flossing

It wasn’t anything that didn’t happen to Charles Dickens, or to kids in Afghanistan, any day of the week, or any kid at Children’s Mercy down the street-– I mean as far as level of sadness and unfairness and the forcing of a child to know how sad and unfair things really are. Reading about […]