The small town outside
her window went dark
early.
She slid the headphones
off and left the DJ
mixer blinking on the
desk.
Across the hallway, the
flatmate's door stayed
firmly shut.
The quiet of the
apartment felt entirely
too wide.
For years in the city,
every evening had voices
down the hall.
Now she sat on the
mattress with her gym bag
still unpacked.
She scrolled through her
phone until the screen
timed out.
An unplanned weekend
stretched out before her
without a single place to
go.
How do people learn to stay inside this silence?
She picked up the game
controller, then set it
back down on the carpet.
She pulled her knees to
her chest and watched the
streetlights flicker
through the glass.