V made an extra toast long after midnight, her glass raised high in the kitchen, her eyes wide open. “To really live before we die.” She said, in a calm voice. I cannot imagine she is still six, with such direct advice as I sit at a wobbly chair and stare back at her, as if she has opened my chest and holds my heart in her tiny hands. Our glasses bang against each other.
Happy New Year! Beautiful, as always. You have a way of catching a moment, a hiccup between deep breaths, quite astounding really.