We were very upset, all the same, for reasons too numerous to mention. Clearly our aunt was not a stable person. At the time we did not put this thought into words. It existed between us as a sort of undifferentiated attentiveness to all the details of her appearance and behaviour. At first this took […]

She turned and walked back into the house, shedding her shoes as she crossed the grass, wishing there were dewdrops against the soles of her feet, thinking of Massud who had loved that sensation. She went into the staircase and emerged onto the roof, feeling surrounded by her river and her city, her land. This […]

They were night people, one step away from ghosts, and strangers to each other. Some had husbands, as she guessed by their wedding rings, and many had children, who, contrary to the rules, telephoned in the night to report some crisis. The mothers, knowing that phone calls were forbidden, lurked in corners, to listen. Many […]