We had been taught the history of girls. In Hiroshima, hundreds of schoolgirls were clearing homes and roads to make the widest of fire lanes when the bomb came. In China, in India, some girls weren’t allowed to live a day. In Russia, in Uzbekistan, in Georgia, in Ukraine, girls were sold once, then shipped abroad to be sold again and again. It was how we learned our geography. The history of innocents.

Fra novellen «The History of Girls» av Ayşe Papatya Bucak

Growing old is a tragedy and so is dying young.

Fra novellen «The History of Girls» av Ayşe Papatya Bucak

WE DIDN’T HAVE MOTHERS anymore, nor were we mothers ourselves, so we got together on Mother’s Day at a down-and-out pub frequented by gay men and regular drunks.

Fra novellen «White Carnations» av Polly Rosenwaike

Babies weren’t frightened of her face. They didn’t yet know sickness.

Fra novellen «Lay My Head» av L. Annette Binder