Standard Occupancy

by Xelanix · 15/03/2026
Published 15/03/2026 17:18

The door clicked shut and the hallway went quiet.

I didn't even look out the window to see the car leave.

I just checked the phone to see if it was late,

and felt the air in the room grow suddenly straight.


The indentation on the spare pillow is shallow.

It’s already smoothing out, the fibers waking up,

erasing the shape of a head I didn't know well.

I pulled the quilt back over the cold spot

and turned off the lamp before the heat left the bed.

#absence #domestic emptiness #grief #loneliness #mourning

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