and with the deafening mind of hers came a sorrow she submitted to. it was as if she was submerged underwater for years of her life, solely being focused on how everything was amplified beneath the surface. it was all very loud, similar to the volume of river rapids, and maybe the only way for her to subdue it was to plunge into the rapids themselves; allow the current to carry her body as far as it could. because all she wanted was silence, so silence she received. + lowercase intended. alternate universe. sad. sensitive topics. short story.

Hazel is eighteen and floundering. She's graduated from high school but has no idea what the rest of her life holds. Her parents are pressuring her to study something 'practical' at university, while all she's ever wanted to do is read and write. Then, her grandfather dies, leaving her his bookstore and the remainder of a twelve-month Scrabble club membership in his will. For a man Hazel thought she knew so well for so long, this behaviour is puzzling, to say the least. But as she starts exploring more of her grandfather's past, she discovers that sometimes life doesn't always go exactly to plan.