Birthday Cake

The phone is a huge rectangle in pair of small hands that hold it like a prayerbook. 

Hi Noor.

Hi Mindy and Amu.

Hi Amu.

Thank you.

Can I talk to Amu?

Her little sister is sitting on their mother’s lap. Dad is poised to grab the phone if it falls. Her voice is loud and she speaks slowly and distinctly like a Victorian unconvinced by newfangled technology. Passengers are either irritated by the volume of her conversation or charmed by its naivete—depending on temperament, fatigue and other variables that distinguish humans from one another. Resilience...

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