The Silence Before Her Storm

ntly testing my love by showering attention on another woman, K

g film scores, was severely crushed. But Jacob and Anton chose to pr

hem. They continued their cruel game, celebrating Kassandra' s birthday lavishly, while I sat in a secluded corner, watching them. J

age. My pain was their sport

years die. It withered and turned to ash, leaving behind something hard and

pte

ard, his small face not a child's but a miniature of hi

father's decisiveness. "It is necessary for Mother to witness it. Her vexation is the proof.

arithmetic that governed their existence: her suffering was the input, their assurance o

sture of silent commendation. He addressed the

. Take care of Ms

er skull. The throbbing agony in her hand was a distant thing, a mere trifle compared to the profound, suffoca

, but a declaration. Her pain was thei

e saw Jacob and Anton bent over Kassandra's cot, their faces arranged

had cultivated for a decade begin to perish. It did not break, but rather withered, like a plant starv

medication, a decision

t fix them. She would esca

out of surgery. The do

ng we could, but the delay was too long. T

e to say the

r, that had woven narratives from melody, were now mere flesh and bone. The animating sp

lways with Kassandra in tow. They would fuss over Kassandra, who milked h

ting for the tears, t

ll; to summon an expression was an act of futility, like commanding a limb that was not her own.

ting. She had called him from the hospital, us

ady," he said, ha

with her goo

with the scent of lemon polish and Jacob's cologne, was a palpable weight against her lungs, she walked past the living

lowed to enter. The door was locked, but she had learned his habits

esk. But behind a bookshelf, she found what she was really looking for.

as a shrin

composing, Alexia crying. It was a timeline of her life with him, documented through a stalker's lens. On shelv

ollection of

so distant, so uninterested. She had spent years chasing him, trying to ear

she knew, would be similar "treasures." A lock of her hair he'd s

just their way. That her patience, her endu

her of that fantasy. This was not affecti

own room and began to pack, not clothes, but memories. She took the wedding album and

erasin

t her with a wake of laughter that echoed in the cavernou

dly, "Kassandra is staying for d

his eyes fixed on Alexia, waiting for

was not in their script. Her want of p

at the furniture. "Jacob, darling, I think that blue sofa woul

his voice loud, meant for Alexia to hea

home, her space, me

ix of triumph and unease. "Don

r her. "Her opini

Kassandra bites from their plates, praised her meaningl

recise, mechanical motions of dining etiquette, and beyond its walls, their clamor

She gasped, her hand

Jacob's and Anton's eyes. Jacob

cut my finger!" She held up her hand, where a tiny, almos

n was extinguished, and their attention reverted to the

andra's side. "Are y

o get the f

arting to blur at the edges, and

lood onto the white tablecloth. Then, she collap

darkness took her was Jacob's voic

s done. Anythin

of blood on her tongue. The house was profound

aching. She looked at the bloods

ked back into the room. He had

a show," he said

" Alexia whispere

were worried about Kassandra.

red to argue. She

question a mere ghost of a breath. "