I was finding myself forced to acknowledge that the limit of my imagination was by no means the limit of the world. - Chinelo Okparanta

Maybe love was some combination of friendship and infatuation. A deeply felt affection accompanied by a certain sort of awe. And by gratitude. And by a desire for a lifetime of togetherness.

Papa and Mama were only children, no siblings, which they liked to say was one of the reasons they cherished each other: that they were, aside from me, the only family they had left.

I was thinking of the ways in which I could dance or fast or pray this sadness away when Mama spoke.