A man tells me I have the single trait required to be a good mother: I know how to give until I am empty. And by this, he meant I am very good at breaking my soul into pieces for everyone I love. I will hurt myself in the process of protecting everyone around me and I am good and quiet at being taken for granted. Can you blame me? I come from a legacy of women who were raised to be useful rather than joyful. Once upon a time, even my grandmother was just a little girl. She loved flowers and had a laugh as free a cascading waterfall. That was before she was made to carry the weight of a crumbling family on her back. How can I look at the skies with hope and think that I would not have to carry them too? Every woman I have loved has been Atlas. Holding the heavens on her shoulders, giving and giving until she is devoured.
- Nikita Gill














