april 8 2024

I don’t watch the eclipse but around that time of day, I notice my office getting darker and darker. By the time it reaches totality and the moon is standing in front of the sun, the entire room has been dimmed. It’s quiet. I walk to the living room, where my boyfriend is working on his laptop, and I gaze down at the people on the street. Everyone is standing around, looking up. 

“I think you’re right,” he says.

“About what?”

“This eclipse. It feels weird.”

It doesn’t last long. Soon, the sky brightens and eventually the sun comes out. I lay on the couch and fall asleep. 

I have many dreams in succession - the house floods, our landlady sells, the roof flies off, a swarm of bees in the walls, an open door, blood down my leg, a newborn - speaking some other language. I can’t understand what she’s saying. I wake up.

The sun is beaming through the windows.