I Ate Standing Up Again and Felt Sorry for Myself

Dear Delyara, It was not even a real meal. Just a plate balanced near the counter while I answered one question, rinsed one lunchbox, and opened one message I didn’t want to read. Halfway through, I realized I had not sat down once. That hit me harder than it should have. Because sometimes the loneliness of being a woman is not big and cinematic. Sometimes it is standing in your own kitchen eating too fast while everyone else’s comfort has already been built into the room before you even get a chair. I finished the food. I never really tasted it.