Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4 - 7 2018 | Page 94

“I get it,” she said. Maggie pumped her fist in the air and Maria laughed.
“It gets easier,” Maggie said quietly, after their laughter died down. “Eventually, you don’t have to use a
stupid metaphor to keep moving forward, because you just do it automatically.”
Maria smiled down at her hands. “It wasn’t stupid!”
“Don’t even pretend,” Maggie said, an air of fake seriousness about her. Maria shook her head, turned her
body to face Maggie, and gingerly reached out and took her hand. Maggie’s hand was cold and bony, but in
a good way, somehow. They sat there on that bench facing west out over the river, fingers entwined, and
watched the sunlight sparkle on the water, and Maria didn’t turn around once after that.