I hear you hiss that there’s nothing ahead of me but a red face and isolation. My efforts, pathetic. My brain, not fit for the task. I try to shake off the slithery voice, but it makes its way into the chambers of my heart and inserts its hooks.  A shot of piercing pain courses through my blood and I begin to shrink into a suffocatingly small world.  Words and looks, once a neutral shade, have turned a devilish hue. I begin to unwind, like a ball of yarn.  All that I knew to be true now feels elusive, the whim of an optimistic fool.  There seems to be no…

Our visas were near expiring, and due to a world climate of COVID, an island in the Indian Ocean was one of the rare places with open doors.  So, our family packed our untouched swimsuits and made way for the airport in a neighboring state. We swallowed motion sickness pills for the mountains we would spiral in our area, and muffins and toilet paper for the next state, which lacked any inviting restaurant or toilet.  Surviving the sickening curves without vomiting, we felt ready to dream of what island life might entail. We talked of sea animals and salty water, while nibbling on chips, biscuits, and a newspaper wrapped bundle…