Inklings 2022

Small Talk Bella Komisarjevsky Fort Worth, Texas is a very dry, bland place. I could actually see dust fly by my window as I left the airport. If I stopped focusing on the feeling of moisture leaving my skin, I could watch strip-malls pass by. Any hope I had of this trip going well left my body. Two days in and every topic of small talk had been exhaust- ed by my extended family and me. I was invited to thanksgiving with good intentions, but I was exhausted and left with nothing to do. By then, the guest bedroom was my safe space and I only left it to get food. I was sitting at the desk, watching the latest episode of You. After two hours without interruptions, someone knocked. “Come in,” I said pessimistically. I wasn’t excited for more small talk. But my eyes went wide when I saw my 14 year old cous- in, Varenna, standing in the doorway. “How’s it going?” she asked. Small talk. But honestly, I didn’t expect her to have the courage to come talk to me. So I en- tertained it. “It’s good, I’m just watching some reality TV, what’s up?” Crystal Natasha Do Valle