Where Reasons End

by Yiyun Li

Time made me sentimental: days and nights, minutes and hours, moments that threaten to become eternity. What happens to sentimental when you take time out of it? Nikolai asked. What? You are left with gibberish. What? I said. I was dense. Once Nikolai told me that J. had made an insulting joke about me: Mommy, you’re dense. You’re so dense if we put you next to a black hole, the black hole wouldn’t suck you in but would be sucked in by you. The word, Nikolai said. Did you notice time is in the middle of sentimental?