The closer she would come to reaching the appropriate decibel and a plausible duration, the perfect balance of pitch and tone, a precise degree of backward head tilt and the occasional snort followed by an emergency “oops” and a graceful hand gesture covering her mouth just enough to display embarrassment but not regret, the more she would begin to believe her own laugh.
And they call us poor, Father, as if it were a curse.
Oliver’s view of women was shaped early in life…
Bianca was 23. She didn’t have wings.
I used to think people fed pigeons out of kindness, that it came from that portion of the human heart that longs to help, to serve, and even to protect.
There are two ways to remember the island of Elathea: by the whispered memories of its remaining inhabitants or through the aching monument that barely remains.
Unseen
