Page 119 of The Secret to Belonging

licks vanilla between chocolate wafers

you can choose a different life

FOUR (FIRE)

your parents aren’t home yet

your brother’s door is closed

you take the pledd into the bedroom

drape it across the bed

husflid colors eclipse the beige

you’re back under the nordlys

the sky dancing a ballet with the sea

lights weaving color

through the fabric of your life

Espen

he’s written three times

since your tragic phone call

you long for him

Maura’s words resonate in your body

you glance at the windowsill

a nest of blue velvet

empty

you search the floor

the crack between the bed and the wall

check the box

again

music comes from your brother’s room

no

please no

please God

you cross the hall

open the door