I’m Hana, Hana says. And ...

I’m Hana, Hana says. And this is Lena. She jabs me with an elbow. I know I must look like a fish, standing there with my mouth gaping open, but I’m too outraged to speak. He’s lying. I know he’s the one I saw yesterday, would bet my life on it. Alex. Nice to meet you. Alex keeps his eyes on me as he and Hana shake hands. Then he extends a hand to me. Lena, he says thoughtfully. I’ve never heard that name before.
I’m Hana, Hana says. And this is Lena. She jabs me with an elbow. I know I must look like a fish, standing there with my mouth gaping open, but I’m too outraged to speak. He’s lying. I know he’s the one I saw yesterday, would bet my life on it. Alex. Nice to meet you. Alex keeps his eyes on me as he and Hana shake hands. Then he extends a hand to me. Lena, he says thoughtfully. I’ve never heard that name before.

Quotes from the same author

I'm not ugly but I'm not pretty either. Everything is in-between. I have eyes that aren't green or brown, but a muddle. I'm not thin but I'm not fat either. the only thing you could definitely say about me is that: I'm short
This is the strange way of the world, that people who simply want to love are instead forced to become warriors.
Could it be? Samantha Kingston? Home? On a Friday? I roll my eyes. I don’t know. Did you do a lot of acid in the sixties? Could be a flashback. I was two years old in 1960. I came too late for the party. He leans down and pecks me on the head. I pull away out of habit. And I’m not even going to ask how you know about acid flashbacks. What’s an acid flashback? Izzy crows. Nothing, my dad and I say at the same time, and he smiles at me.
Holy mother of Lord Cocoa Puffs
I cry for everything I abandoned and because I, too, have been left behind -- by Alex, by my mom, by time that has cut through our worlds and separated us.