The first twenty-four hours were a blur of cold terror. The rain didn’t stop, and neither did Ethan’s quiet, confused questions. “Why is…
My voice was gone. The thing that came out of me wasn’t a word. It was a sound from Syria. A sound I’d…
That night, after the wrapping paper was bagged and the new toys were lined up on Lily’s dresser, the silence in the house…
I ripped the childproof cap off the aspirin bottle, my fingernail tearing back. I didn’t even feel it. I shook two white tablets…
I woke up to the sound of Grandma’s key in the lock, and for a second, I thought I’d dreamed it all. The…
The sound of the gavel striking the wood was the sound of my world ending. It was a sharp, definitive crack that echoed…
The call had come in three months prior. I remember it because I’d spilled my coffee, and the lukewarm liquid was seeping into…
The manager, Steven, looked horrified. “Mr. Carter, be reasonable. This is a… a vagrant. She’ll likely damage the instrument. It’s a Fazioli, for…
The memory hit me like a fist to the chest. Three years ago. The apartment. Rashida, my wife, laughing one second, her hand…
The silence stretched after my question, thick and terrible, until even the ticking clock on the wall sounded deafening. My father, sitting at…