Frozen

For a while it felt as if this winter would never end. I left a New York dressed in gray, while I was gone the sorrow washed away and if I listen closely I can hear the sound of a thousand birds.

Not everything has changed. Henry's daffodils stand withered in my bedroom window and mother's flowers are still made of plastic. I don't know if they missed me or if they ever noticed I was gone.

Chloe did. I followed her shadow down the hallway as she disappeared into her room and closed the door behind her. After the dark and my nightmares I found a note in my clothes, "you left without saying goodbye". She knows it's because I hate goodbyes, they always remind me of a wistful winter that seemed to never end.