Twelve Years, One Stranger

hrough the apartment like a ghost, making my final pr

I opened it to find a man in a

Green Leaf Designs. Mr. Hayes sent me. We're h

a lazy Sunday afternoon. A peace offering. A grand gesture to fix

and steady. "There's been a mista

but I just smiled polit

as waiting at the curb. As we pulled away, my phone, which I had just turned on, began to ring.

furious roar in my ear. "The gazebo guy is here!

ice in the background. Madison. "

r voice solidif

airport, Eth

t the airport? Are you trying to p

re quiet, but they felt like the

o Madison, his hand probably over the receive

of condescending authority. "You're being theatrical. Whateve

me when I cried about my father. He was gone.

, Ethan,

and pressed 'Block'. I did the same on every social

nternational Airport. For the first time in twelve