Living With Loss

Winter is returning to Kashmir, and with it, a daughter learns to live with loss, remembering those who remain only in memory.

- Sana Gul Khurshid

Winter is almost here again. The sunsets have started slipping away early, as if they too are tired of the day. The evenings have grown heavier, the kind that press against the windows.

There are blankets now, the smell of burning wood, the familiar hum of heaters, and the emptiness that sits beside it all.

The rooms are warm, but there is an ache in the air that warmth cannot touch. I keep noticing those who are missing. Their absence feels louder than the wind outside.

When I look out from my window in Srinagar, people move with their heads bent low. Their shadows stretch long on the road. I keep watching them, searching for something I cannot name. Peace, perhaps.