It's #tbt! Enjoy this great one from SWWIM Every Day's archives!
He approaches with pen and paper, asks for my name and number. I indulge him his daily ritual; I’m a stranger, after all and he, gracious host, offers donuts I refuse. So to this small request, how can I say no? He writes my name then—digit by digit—jots it down, a number he hasn’t dialed in months, a quest for connection, a map to a road he’ll never drive. But tomorrow, I know, he may discover the paper in the pocket of the pants he’s reluctant to change. And if I’m here when he does it, he’ll at least marvel at the coincidence. But this time, he asks— unlike before— “Whose child are you?” I reply, watching his face. “Yours.” And the joyous smile, the marvel, is enough.
Nivi Engineer earned degrees in English (BA from Case Western Reserve University), Computer Science (MS from Washington University in St. Louis), and Fiction (MFA from Spalding University), and is actively pursuing CAPM certification while slowly learning Korean. She is the author of Can We Throw the Colors Yet?, a children’s book about Holi, and The Indian Girl’s Definitive Guide to Staying Single, Jaathi. and numerous short stories. She appeared in two episodes of the “Once Upon a Disney” podcast and recently presented a talk about “The Joy of Failure” at a Women in Computing conference.
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