She smoothed her hair back, messy from fixing her room, and made sure she looked presentable enough even in shorts and a tee. There was no time to put on slippers, she couldn’t find her slippers, they were always missing. She hurried to the gate, bare feet padding on the wood, the marble, the concrete […]

The muted light overhead, the sterile starkness of the walls, cold and hard against the skin. Deep shadows playing in the air, an oppressive, heavy silence as loud as a roar.
And like waves they break, like the pieces of her heart.

He’s looking at his letters, engrossed in the game, and I try to do the same. AEEIORZ. I look at him again, and his eyes flick to the board, and back to his letters, but this time I just look at him.