I know we haven’t spoken in a while, but I think I’d like to bury you. Oh, don’t worry, [redacted], it won’t hurt a bit. It’s just that I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I really think it would be best for both of us. I’m not…

or: I guess I should have said, “I want you to know that I care about you, and I think you care about me, too. I have no specific expectation for our relationship, but I do hope that we can be in each other’s lives in a capacity that is mutually gratifying. I would love to hear what you think about that.” — It’s after midnight. A swarm of people flutter around a single porch light. We are standing under a tree, far enough away that the light can only reach one side of your face.

A name, however short or long, carries extreme weight- where a person comes from or who they want to be. This is evident throughout history, where removing or ignoring a person’s name has been used as an act of dehumanization, because to deny a person their name is to disregard…