The Morningside

by Téa Obreht

“What happens to any woman who gets to be a certain age? She becomes comfortable in her ways and gets strange looks when she leaves the house.”

And it was better to be part of something—however tragic—than part of nothing at all.

The years went on, and the past continued to get bigger, and the future continued to constrict.

“It’s always dangerous to give people a way to tell themselves stories about you before they get to know you. Always.”

The past is immense. But it means less and less. So we go on without.