During a Family Livestream, My Niece Snapped the Bracelet Off My Wrist

and caught my reflection in a shop window, a woman in a sensible coat carrying a small paper bag from a nondescript jeweler, looking entirely like herself, no transformation visible, no cinematic light.

At home I fastened the bracelet around my wrist. It felt heavier than before, not because the metal had changed but because I now understood fully what continue reading …