“Centennial”

The house makes odd noises when I’m alone. The AC. The alarm. The humming of the modem. They’ve long since gone. Church. As it grows darker I neglect to turn on the lights so by the time it gets pitch black I’m too terrified to leave my room. Childish-I know. Sometimes I’m brave and quickly dart out to cram a bowl full of cereal. Other nights I wait until they come back-when the headlights flood through the front windows and the engine halts followed by their lively voices and the muffled thuds of car doors closing. It’s peaceful when I’m alone

You live long enough you start understanding the meaning of the word arbitrary. Names. Borders. Time. Even the sense of self begins to feel like a fiction.

For the sake of convention I’ve held on but now the moment has come to allow myself to slip away. The others have long since gone from this place. I’ve chosen to stay. The red sun takes up half the sky as the sand begins to melt. I follow the breath…