I think of where we go to feel safe at nights. To our rooms, our houses, our beds. How these may not be the safest places in the world because when the darkness comes, the walls and seams that seem to hold us up can easily be undone. Dangers can enter like wild fires or killer waves at twilight or dusk, soundless and high, sweeping away the foundations of our lives as though they were specks of foam. I’ve seen pictures of families standing on the roofs of their houses, caught up in floods and tornadoes and earthquakes. Families in countries of war, living among the ruins of their old houses, hoping to one day rebuild brick and stone so their children won’t have to sit outside with bloodied faces and hearts.

- From Lady Cassandra, Spartacus and the dancing man by Tishani Doshi. It appeared in 21 under 40 (Zubaan, New Delhi), edited by Anita Roy.