I understand that there have been talks about an Israeli invasion of Rafah and I understand how absolutely catastrophic that would be for what is potentially the most packed area in the world, but I just want to point out that it feels like everyone is anticipating with fear a potential assault on Rafah whereas attacks and airstrikes are already happening and in fact they never even stopped for over 6 months now.
Keep talking about Rafah and keep talking about Gaza. There are absolutely no "safe zones" in Gaza and there never have been.
I bring his still smoking cigarette to my lips, drink his whiskey, which tastes like an actual bonfire by the North Sea, watch their souls entangle like squid tentacles. I am horrified, I am mesmerized, I am embarrassed in ways i cannot explain. I am also increasingly drunk, and I can't stop looking at the way he looks at her, the way she looks at him. I drink the bonfire he pours and pours for me, ignoring my now endlessly buzzing phone ... We're sitting on her roof, the sky a gray slate expanse above us. She looks at me, wanting to know, really wanting to know, if i'm twelve. Because this is the age of a person who whisper-asks a grown woman, "So are you guys ... you know..." - "Fucking?"
Mona Awad just ripping my hair clean off the scalp w her writing ..
The thing that is interesting is if you have any semblance of personality you will definitely encounter people who viscerally hate you and obsess over you for years and you will not even remember their name