The 20-yr-old guy who works in my favourite coffeeshop looks and speaks like most 2nd generation Moroccan kids in the city. His shoulders are bent forward, his dark eyes are droopy and friendly. He is shy, at least to me, and our topic of conversation is usually the weather. His name is George. You’d think […]
moreThey walk in the park, side by side. The air between them is tangibly tense. They must not touch, nor look at each other. Just walk. And talk, a little. She wears men’s plaid trousers. They are grey. The belt that holds it up is high in her waist. Her shoes look like those of […]
moreShe shows up in front of our car. We are about to leave, my sister and I. She looks confused, is what I think. She is almost 80. She asks whether we’re leaving or arriving, or are we the people she heard in the garden next door? The ones she didn’t dare disturb? Leaving, we […]
moreI am a man in my fifties. Doing all right – one should always give some and take some in life. I look good, if I may say so myself. The benefits of discipline, which I have in me, it’s a family trait. Head strong and powerful. Maybe my career isn’t where it’s supposed to […]
moreWhen my husband and I separated, it was a sunny month. I was outside a lot feeling revived. Suddenly, my world had enough oxygen to spare. It had vast open skies. I could imagine what a bird must feel like, soaring through them, viewing the world from above. The people closest to me would frown […]
moreWhen he came home, she was hanging from the door. He knew the moment his key turned in the lock. There was a weight in the air, and it wasn’t the summer heat. It stuck to his palate on breathing in. He called her name. He never called her name. She was always there, ready […]
moreThe sad man, or strange man, or creepy man – he’s all of those – talks to himself. Sometimes he tries to talk to me. I’ll nod at him, or say hello. And he’ll jump up and lean over his table to say “oh yes, of course. I believe we met. Might I ask if […]
moreYou could say it’s been a wasted morning. Too much to do, too little done. A run in the park which wasn’t a run but a walk. Cutting corners and deciding that you should no longer smoke. And yet, you are smoking now. When have you last gone for a walk? And noticed the raspberry […]
moreA therapist once told me: “a woman has a right to her secrets.” I’ve been trying to figure out where this preoccupation of mine with being truthful comes from. I don’t think a Bible ever told me as much, or my parents. Recently, my father said: “being truthful with someone you love can hurt them.” […]
moreI am on the phone with my mother. She seems a little surprised that I am calling her for simply no other reason than to catch up. Which means I should call more often. Her voice holds the question mark of anticipation: what is my daughter going to ask, declare, confront this time? Nothing, mom. […]
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