It was raining the night I realized I had lost her. Not in the literal sense, not at first. She was right there, across the kitchen table, tapping a spoon absentmindedly against her coffee mug. But the weight between us, the gulf that had opened up in the months prior, was deeper than any distance I’d known.

“Lena,” I began, the tremor in my voice betraying me. “Do you ever think about us? About h...

I stood on the front porch, staring at the chipped paint on the door. My hand trembled as I slid the old brass key into the lock, the familiar click echoing like a ghost of the life I used to have. The door creaked open, the faint scent of pine cleaner and lavender drifting out to greet me, but it didn’t feel welcoming anymore. It felt… hollow.

The walls were still the soft yellow I had helped cho...