Why did I take this exercise seriously? Rookie mistake. I could have easily made this a comedy piece.

Siri clears her throat, and I watch in horror as she begins.

“If I was granted a miracle to fix my life overnight, so much would change … it’s honestly hard to decide where to start. Things went wrong so long ago. Everything’s so screwed up, even a miracle could only fix so much.” Her voice is quaking. She takes a deep breath to even it out.

“I guess the first thing I would notice upon waking is being pain-free. My back would be healed. I would go back to my ballet company after this retreat and rise to the potential I’ve been building brick by brick my entire life. I’d feel like I have a purpose again.”

Her back? What’s wrong with her back?

“My mom wouldn’t have messed things up with George…” She trails off for a moment. “If my life were fixed overnight, my greedy, selfish jerk-and-a-half dad would call.”

I stifle a snort.

“There are no phones around here, but he’d find a way to get in touch with Terry, and he’d figure out how to get out here, and he’d come and get me. No matter what he had on his agenda. My dad would come for me, and bring me back to California so we could get to know each other. And I’d get a break from my mom, and time away to figure out how I move forward.

“Once I got to California, my dad would apologize for all the birthdays he wasn’t around for. He’d apologize for deciding not to be my dad. He’d tell me how wrong he was to leave me.

“He’d ask about the last fourteen years. He’d want to hear the highs and the lows. He’d ask to see my winning solo routines, and I’d pull them up on Instagram. He’d be my father again.

“My sister and I would know each other. We’d know each other’s lives instead of being strangers. We’d all be a family instead of a handful of people who can’t stand to be in the same room. I know some families are just people together for the holidays who can’t stand one another, but at least they’re trying. My family gave up. We just stopped one day. I want to be a family that tries.”

Siri closes her notebook and looks at me. Silent tears dribble down her face.