The White Space
by Cass Madden
· 01/02/2026
Published 01/02/2026 18:03
The last sentence
doesn't end.
It just stops,
like the author
got tired,
like the ending
didn't matter
anymore,
like white space
was supposed
to be
enough.
I've read it
three times.
The period
is still
just
a period,
not a full stop,
not a conclusion,
not the thing
that lets me
close
the book
and feel
finished.
Weeks on my nightstand.
Weeks of promise.
Weeks of
someday I'll
read the last page
and feel
something.
Now I'm
at the last page
and I feel
nothing
except
the white space,
except
the blank
pages
after,
except
the back
cover,
except
the loss
of having
something
to read
at night.
I could
start
something
new.
There are books.
There are always
books.
But this one
was supposed
to be
the ending.
This one
was supposed
to finish
me.
Instead
it
just
stops.
I close it.
Open it.
Read the last sentence
again.
Still
doesn't
end.