Foreign Countries

Photograph of a relief map.When we fell in love, my future husband wrote: Being with you feels like being in a foreign country. Both of us separately had lived, before we met, in foreign countries. We wanted to move abroad again together. Years passed and we didnt move abroad, though we took the children to Europe a couple of times. One night, when my husband said he was leaving me, I understood the flaw embedded in the compliment, which I had treasured all those years: If you live in a country long enough, its no longer a foreign country; its just an ordinary place.

 

 

Emily Farranto is an artist and writer living in New Orleans who writes a monthly art column for New Orleans Review.

Photo Credit: aawiseman

 

10 Responses to “Foreign Countries”

  1. Yvonne says:

    I admire the ‘turn’ in this story at the end–like a poem. Evokes that insightful moment when the main character feels the depth of her loss.

  2. Zach zecha says:

    Sick, brevity in this format is quite nice. Say much with little. Great job

  3. Andrea Damic says:

    This made me so sad. Unfortunately sometimes extraordinary becomes ordinary as we become ‘worlds apart’ and there is not much we can do about it.

    • Emily says:

      Except choose our approach to the strange and ordinary. I am glad this little story made you feel something. Thank you.

  4. Denise Bayes says:

    I love the line this story builds on. The clever way it can sound like such a compliment and so quickly turn to a sharp jibe.

  5. Diane ponder says:

    Were you originating in the same country? I like the openendedness

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