I have watched families light the temple pyre to wish their loved ones farewell. Other people’s people; their spires of smoke.

Now I light the pyre and sprinkle rosewater on you. Your ashes will float down the river but my memories of you will hover—suspended, like a dragonfly—forever.

Mohini Malhotra was born in New York, grew up in Nepal, Thailand, India, Italy, and lives in Washington DC. She runs a social enterprise that promotes contemporary women artists from emerging markets and invests profits to better women’s and girls’ lives. She loves words and flash fiction and just had her flash story Blink published by The Writer’s Center.