In the ensuing silence, I have time to contemplate the word cute— how dismissive it is, how it’s the equivalent of calling someone little, how it makes a person into a baby, how the word is a neon sign burning through the dark reading, “Feel Bad About Yourself.

“Manche Touristen halten Amsterdam für die Stadt der Sünde, aber in Wirklichkeit…”

“Yeah, so if that guy can make it in drunk, surely we can make it in sober. I me…”

“He puts the killing thing in his mouth but doesn't give it the power to kill hi…”

“Reading with an eye towards metaphor allows us to become the person we’re readi…”