They Laughed When Soda Was Dumped in My Lap. That Night, I Removed My Name From the Loan

water and the distant cry of gulls. Daniel walked beside me across the plaza, his collar turned up against the chill, and for a while neither of us spoke. Then he placed his hand on my shoulder and said something I have carried with me every day since.

“You didn’t win because they lost, Ava. You won because you finally chose yourself.”

In the months continue reading …