The street smelled like rain that had said goodbye too soon, and Vivian’s shoes made hollow sounds as she walked toward the mansion she still thought of as home.
Her coat clung to her, damp at the collar, and the ache inside her moved with every step as if she carried it in her bones.
The gate groaned when she pushed it open, a tired, private sound that matched the hollow in her chest, and the path up to the door felt longer than the dozen times she had walked it before.
When the house came into view it looked dressed up and distant, windows bright as if life inside were a play she’d been uninvited from.
She stood for a breath and reached for the brass knob like a ritual…turn the knob, step in, everything becomes ordinary again…but the knob wouldn’t turn.
Her fingers tightened until t
