Memories
My mother takes me downstairs to visit the neighbors. I am bewildered because we are on cordial terms with them but not particularly friendly and we’ve never been inside their home before. An extended family lives there, including a newly married couple. As we enter the house, we are ushered into the young wife’s bedroom, where she lies in bed surrounded by family members and guests. Beside her bed is what looks like a chamber pot half full of blood with a fleshy blob floating in it. After a while, the mother-in-law hands me the pot and asks me to show it around to everyone in the room, as though I am serving a platter of cookies. Each woman peers in, shakes her head and murmurs something sympathetic. I feel like I am being helpful, but I dislike the task. Memories are odd things. We can’t be sure that they are accurate. I have a hard time making sense of this bizarre memory, but it recurs, triggered by nothing in particular. Why was I there? Why was I asked to show