"nevertheless, i finished the book."
deepawali. my dearest deepawali is of the year 2018. the year i pretended to be afraid of firecrackers just to sit home and read. read. read a book I don't endorse anymore. my father asked me if the reason i did not join everyone was because i was terrified. and i said "yes". my history with deepawali backed my response. he left. and i kept reading. that night, my feet stayed inside our house's perimeter.everyone was bonding over the noise of celebration and i chose to be absent from yet another memory they shared together. nevertheless, i finished the book.