The Only Door That Opened When the Others Closed

from behind a wooden fence.

The house across the street sat perfectly still, its white shutters closed against the afternoon light.

The scent of lavender fabric softener was thick in the warm air of her mother’s living room.

Tanya folded a pink bath towel with sharp, rapid movements, her eyes darting to her wristwatch twice in thirty seconds.

“Three hundred continue reading …