The day you said no, and what happened after
You remember the exact moment. Maybe it was a phone call you let go to voicemail for the first time. Maybe it was telling your mother you wouldn't be coming home for the third festival in a row, or telling your father that his opinion about your marriage was no longer something you were soliciting. The words came out steadier than you expected. And then, almost immediately, the floor dropped out from under you.
