The nurse spread an extra blanket over top of Hannah’s existing sheets and tucked it in firmly around the edges. It was a blanket her father had fallen asleep on after spending the entire day and most of the evening talking with doctors and keeping watch by his daughter’s side.

Poor fella. When will these people realize that she isn’t coming back?

...

Black shutters and a cherry red front door. There it is. Home. If I had only known sooner that what I was looking for was right here all along.

I run to the front door and find it unlocked. The house is filled with cheery lamp light and a fire blazes at the hearth. Making the assumption that I have parents, I call out.

“Mom? Dad?” No one answers. I search the house. The rooms upstairs are empty. There is only one person at home. Me. Maybe they’ll come back soon. So I decide to sit in the bay window and wait for them.

As the sky deepens to black, then gradually somehow manages to turn pink and yellow once more, I realize that no one is coming.