Songs of Love and Hate
By Courtney Milnestein
In the dull grey months after Christmas, yet before spring, she began to miss her. On the street, with the sun bright above her despite the clouds, she found that she had come to an abrupt halt, that she was just standing there, pushing the thin silver band of the ring on her finger with her thumb, wondering what had happened, how she got where she was, amidst the distant crowds, yearning for an early spring; how she had become an adult so sharply, so suddenly.
She had taken to wearing a ring on her left hand to dissuade men from talking to her on public transport, to convince them that she was not available, that she would be more effort than they might be willing to put in, and, for the most part, the statement was true, she was in a relat
