A THING by NIRALI SHETH
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when i was six weeks to seven i went to a birthday party at a roller rink and fell in love with the girl with red hair she was the new girl in september and i shared my lunch with her once already and we had a playdate and annoyed her little brother causing earthquakes in the middle seat of the minivan from the back by kicking the chair so he would turn around and glare until her mom told us to stop and we would giggle but at the party at the roller rink we had pizza slices and cake i’m sure and i don’t quite remember much else but i remember holding her hand to balance on the skates because i was used to blades and i remember feeling giddy going to my room with the purple furniture and writing a secret note telling her i loved her and sobbing when my sister and cousin found it and made fun of me i mean they were just kids too they didn’t know any better but something in that moment made me cold and by the time it was my turn for a party the snow was blowing too hard and we had to cancel and i became the girl i recognize now the quiet bookish girl who only burst out in joy and energy when it felt safe but seventeen years later that old forgotten giddiness returned as i stood in the corner of a bar with pinatas on the ceiling with a cider in a button down from the men’s section and a tall girl with blonde hair approached me and asked for my name and we got pizza from the dollar slice across the street and kissed outside the the train station and i returned to myself hanging onto a subway pole, an earthquake beneath my feet on my way home
Nirali Sheth (she/her) is a writer and person from the internet. You can read her musings on media she's consumed at patreon.com/firewordsparkler. Twitter. Instagram.