Notes of a Crocodile

by Qiu Miaojin

my high school years, filled with secret crushes and the camaraderie of friends who laughed and cried together, later torn apart in the process of growing up. Even if we had prevented that estrangement, our former kindredness would be replaced by a pained silence if we were to meet again.

What’s worse, my attempts to avoid separation had only hastened it. It explained why I’d always been so quick to lash out at those I loved. My realization was akin to discovering the lost city of Atlantis.