In Another Universe I Ran Away Never To Be Seen Again

Joy Sullivan, from "Long Division", Instructions for Traveling West

*holds your hand* we will find our way through this together

“We got real furniture. I mean, it was Salvation Army, but it was real. Our names were printed inside a heart on the dishtowel that hung on the refrigerator door handle. We got it made at Crystal Beach. It was a brave thing to do. But later we spilled loganberry juice on it, so we used it for dishes because we couldn’t bring ourselves to throw it out. And there were marigolds in amber glasses on the windowsill, daisies in a green cut-glass vase on the kitchen table, fresh mint and basil growing in a flower box on the porch. It was a home. I grew up in leaps and bounds. I learned to reduce the anxieties of life by paying bills on time, keeping receipts and promises, doing laundry before I ran out of underwear, picking up after myself. Most importantly, I learned to say I’m sorry. This relationship was too vital to let dust accumulate in its corners.”

— Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues

Joy Sullivan, from "Late Bloomer", Instructions for Traveling West

― Hiromi Kawakami, The Briefcase