“Our daughter was born in the sweltering heat of the May heatwave. Whether by chance or fate, in Chinese astrology she is a Fire Horse. We would have preferred her to be a Freshwater Koala. From the very first moments of her life, she had to face the scorching heat of a world on fire. In her first hours, her first days, her first months, she was already bravely weathering the ever-rising temperatures.

We’ll remember the naps in the maternity ward, with the other babies, in the only air-conditioned room, to avoid the sweltering wards. Moments of respite found in the cellar, the house’s dreary refuge, where the relative coolness has not yet fled.