I imagine them sending me to live with a family that is not my own. I have protected my parents for as long as I’ve been alive. If someone comes after them, I have teeth.

A mysterious presence, a troupe of anarchists, a nocturnal visitor​

I was not afraid of alligators or snakes. I swam past them with some vague feeling that I was safer in the water with these creatures than on land with the humans.

A family vacation, a secret romance, a refugee’s plight

A mother’s memories, a child’s fears, a dead man’s secrets

You can belong to yourself, but it’s lonely, and you can belong to others, but there’s loss built into that, in uncountable forms.

A teacher’s legacy, a professor’s dilemma, a stranger’s confessions

I lie on the couch in the living room and feel a deep sense of shame, because I’ve increased our debt by getting sick.

Daniela can’t stand Lisa. Exactly why, I’m not sure. I can see her criticizing Lisa, who is her boss, but Daniela’s anger goes well beyond mere criticism. I suspect her rage stems in part from their age difference.