They didn’t tell anyone at first. Elara’s friends were confused. “Isn’t she, like, your grandma’s age?” one asked. Iris’s old crowd was more polite, but the raised eyebrows said it all: Is she just a bandage for your grief?
One night, they lay in Elara’s small bed. Rain lashed against the window, and the city hummed below. young and old lesbians
“A book,” Iris clarified, a sad smile playing on her lips. “ Spring Fire by Vin Packer. It was the first one. The first time I saw myself in a story, even if it ended in shame and a car crash.” They didn’t tell anyone at first