36DD
by Yashasvi Vachhani
Tectonic plates finally collide and suddenly you have breasts. Your mother rushes you to the friendly neighbourhood lingerie store. It’s a grand day. The sun is shining bright, the auto wobbles up to She store at Linking Road. The uncle with no hair lifts his head up from behind the counter, lowers his spectacles & carefully examines your chest. Hmm a sports bra will do for those he says. 32 A. Your classmate is also there with her mother, you both lower your gaze. Your insides resemble a Diwali sky. Finally, a bra! Two years after all the girls in your class. But, like any romance, the charm soon wears off. Straps cut into your shoulders. A red river forms under your breasts. On another fine summer evening, under a copperpod tree, one breast is groped. Soon enough the other is too. This is how balance is restored in the universe. The hillocks turn into mountains to melons to monsters. 32 C to 34 D to 36 DD. Ballooning to hold all that rage. The monsters grow three eyes each. They roll in their sockets. Always watchful. Mouths appear. Complete with a set of jagged teeth. Opening & closing at regular intervals. Screaming into the void.
Yashasvi Vachhani is a poet, editor, and educator. She facilitates creative writing and reading programs for children across ages. Her work has been featured in SWWIM Miami, Of Brave Hearts and Dry Tongues, and Singapore Unbound. She is the founding editor of Tiffinbox Review.