She died last Thursday. I didn’t know. She called to tell me. She was inconsolable, not just about the death, her death, but her life as a whole. It’s been so difficult, she said. She died from a fall. She was in so much pain, she said, I think she just gave up. She was in her eighties. I understand. She gave me shelter. She gave me a small sense of belonging. I needed both these things at the time. She was seductive. A force. A power. An iconoclast. She took one over. She took me over. I needed it then. I shall think of her. Of you. Rest in peace.
