January 8, 2016

The second sink in the bathroom was overflowing. A red and yellow liquid continuously flowed out of the drain in spurts, making a splash whenever the water hit the ground. There was an empty glass jar next to the sink, with a label indicating that it had once contained tomatoes.

My father came in as we were getting to leave for my aunt’s place. we were responsible for bringing the ingredients to make minestrone at their apartment. I could see our car through the window. The sun had just set recently and the field outside looked cold. I was cutting tomatoes while standing in the shower since our bathroom was too crowded. My dad was lecturing to my mother about the scholarly tradition in Judaism as he was cutting the mushrooms. I was about to fall over.