Those who went away in search of better lives in foreign lands were at once envied and belittled. It wasn’t about New York, London or Rome. To those who stayed behind it was the very idea of life elsewhere. They, too, longed for new skies to walk under. Over breakfasts and brunches they made elaborate plans to move abroad – almost always meaning the West. But their plans, like sand castles, slowly eroded with the rising tide of familiarity. Relatives, friends and shared memories anchored them. Little by little, they forgot their yearnings for another place – until the day they ran into someone
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