It was alright that Anna forgot to pretend she was riding in a sun chariot, drawn by blazing horses, on the way home. For once, her own hands, un-gauntleted, were good enough—maybe not to defeat enemies and build imaginary worlds. But they were good enough.
Jacob didn't call, and maybe he was too busy exploring a far-off world through his attic window. But Jonas sat at the kitchen table and made cranes, and swallows, and penguins. Anna and her dad sat with him, quiet, in a place where questions lost their meaning. She didn't need to ask where the scars on his arms were from, or what he did on June 13, or who Brianne was.
The house had changed, and Jacob was gone, and maybe at last, Anna could go on too.
YOU ARE READING
Paper Wings and Missing Things
Short StoryWhen a new neighbor moves in to Anna's best friend's house, she's willing go to desperate measures to get rid of him and bring back her friend. Before long, Anna is determined to unveil more serious charges to incriminate the mysterious neighbor...
