She hugged me hard, her thin frame filled with a kind of
resilience that reminded me of a wind-up toy, and then she was
gone, and I was left standing in the driveway watching her ancient
BMW rattle down Union Street.
Only then did it sink in how quiet everything was, so quiet
I could hear the ringing in my ears. And the house, it loomed over
me with its dark windows to rooms I’d not bothered
exploring. She would be waiting for me. I knew this at a cellular level,
and I didn’t want to go inside.
The clouds drew closer by the time I summoned the courage to
open the gate and enter the property. Fine prickles of drizzle
nipped my exposed skin and I shivered – not just from the cold. The
house’s musty smell struck me afresh as I went in, my lungs growing
tight as a reflexive action
