Doireann Ní Ghríofa

In a vintage boutique on Sullivan’s Quay, I lift a winter coat with narrow bodice, neat lapels, a fallen hem. It is far too expensive for me, but the handwritten label [1915] brings it to my chest in armfuls of red. In that year, someone drew a blade through a bolt of fabric and stitched this coat into being. I carry it to the dressing room, slip my arms in. Silk lining spills against my skin. I clasp the belt and draw a slow breath as a cramp curls again, where blood stirs and melts. In glass, I am wrapped in the weight of old red: red pinched into girl cheeks and smeared from torn knees, lipstick blotted on tissue, bitten lips, a rough kiss, all the red bled into pads and rags, the weight of red, the wait for red, that we share. In the mirror, the old coat blushes. This pocket may once have sheltered something precious — a necklace, a love letter, or a fresh egg, feather-warm, its shell brittle around a hidden inner glow, held loosely so it couldn’t crack, couldn’t leak through seams, so it couldn’t stain the dress within.