Rabbit Hole

by Kate Brody

I thought—do I want kids? And almost instantly I tried to scrub the thought from my brain. Why would I create another vulnerable little person I can’t protect? Why would I expand my heart in a thousand ways that will only hurt? Kids are an enterprise for the lucky or the insane.

When I look at Mickey, I see all the things that she might do one day, the way that all similarly young people contain infinite possibilities, only visible to those older than them, for whom those doors have already closed.