Private Rites

by Julia Armfield

The sensation, then, not so much of being misunderstood as of being understood too well at one time and then never again.

“but there’s things you want and things you want, aren’t there? I mean, there’s things you have to do to stay alive and then any space you have left over to make staying alive feel bearable, you know?”

I’m a Scorpio, Irene said, which is weird because I think both of my sisters are Scorpios. Like my dad just wanted to make life as difficult as possible.