Learning To Swim

by Clare Chambers

I didn’t examine my feelings too closely in case they revealed something about myself that I didn’t want to know.

We were also instructed not to marry before the age of thirty. It was something to be contemplated only when all other areas of experience had been exhausted.

There was no fun in a secret that could never be told: the enjoyment came from stashing it away and watching it appreciate until it could be cashed in.