It has been some time.
I'm not even sure what led me to visit this place.
A thought, a whisper, a memory.
It feels like visiting a childhood home after decades of being away.
Reacquainting myself with the layout of walls and corners.
It seems smaller and more quiet than I remember.
Things seem less important and at the same time, critical.
Nostalgia, I guess.
I remember there was a time I thought differently.
A time when I thought I would never leave this place.
In terms of never and forever.
That's the way children often think.
I take a seat in the empty house on the stairs.
On bare wood where carpet used to be.
Yet, I close my eyes and try to teleport myself back.
I'm still here.
Like clockwork, the 10 o'clock train can be heard in the distance.
I find myself heading for the door, perhaps for the last time.
This stay was shorter than the one before.
I pass through the door I opened only partially.
My arm pushes through the screen door as it creaks and whines.
Briefly, it sounds like your voice is hidden in the sounds of groaning.
I stop and look back, just in case.
You're gone.
