Dadi’s arguments, however, were now paired with subtle passive-aggressive acts like cutting out a picture of Kareena’s head and pasting it on the body of a bride that she tore from Indian Matrimony Vogue Magazine, which was then left tucked in a holy book in the temple room.
People assume it’s a matter of personality, the difference between optimists and pessimists. But I believe it all comes down to an inability to forget. The greater your powers of retention, the slimmer your chances at optimism.
Not a very sensible thing to do, I admit, to fall for someone who is not of your kind, someone who will only complicate your life, disrupt your routine and mess with your sense of stability and rootedness. But, then again, anyone who expects love to be sensible has perhaps never loved
So my sister was Miss Neanderthal and Mom was Godzilla. Was it to do with their mother-daughter blood connection, I wondered.
“And what else? Is there anything you want to add, Yuu? Something we should pledge for our marriage?”Yuu thought a moment, and wrote.3) Survive, whatever it takes.“What do you mean?”“I want us both to stay safe so we can meet again next summer. I want us to promise that we will do whatever it takes to survive and be in good spirits when we meet up again next year.”
I would rather have one tiny sliver of him forever than have all of him for just a moment and know I’d have to relinquish all of it when we were through. I could never lose Alex. I couldn’t. And so this is good, this is peaceful.
Eventually, instead of consulting a psychologist, my father speaks to the parish priest, asking if it might be possible to arrange a special dispensation so that his son can receive the sacrament a year early.
“And I promise you, the thought of using you for anything has never crossed my mind. You’re too precious to put into words. I think … it’s like one of Theodore’s buttons. If you asked him why he cared about them so, he would tell you it’s because they exist at all.”
IF THERE IS ONE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION HUMANS never exhaust, it is the status of their outdoor environment. And for as much as they discuss it, their incredulity is . . . well, incredible. That preposterous phrase: Can you believe this weather we’re having? How many times have I heard it?
Sometimes I spend quite some time staring at them, studying. Little oval masterpieces. I visually trace the grooves from the outside into the center, then back out to the edge again. Each one unique. I remember all of them. Fingerprints are like keys, with their specific shape. I remember all keys, too.
Why can humans not use their millions of words to simply tell one another what they desire?
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