You should visit more often.

When we were together I wasn’t effusive enough. He told me that I only said I loved him after we broke up.

ALL THE LIVES THAT COULD HAVE BEEN BY DANILA BOTHA 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 109

I love the town I grew up in, in a way that has never been cool to admit. I love that everything always stays the same. I walk the main street in my head on nights when anxiety keeps me awake. I picture the coffee shop, the used-book store, the terrible pizzeria and the semi-decent one, the drug store that never seems to have anything and the newer, fancier one, the bakery, my apartment building.

When my parents moved the family to Canada they kept the apartment in case one of us wanted to go back. We all took turns in the apartment, my sister and my brother and I.

I was the oldest, and I’d lived in this town the longest. Moving was harder for me. I could have very easily stayed.

When you grow up in a place with only two high schools you know everyone your own age, or a year or two older or younger.

Da…