I Told My Uncle I Was Excited For My Brother’s Wedding Tomorrow. He Went Pale And Said, “Monica, It Was Last Week.” I Didn’t Cry. I Folded The Gift Away, Opened Instagram, And Found The One Photo That Made My Family’s Next Request Impossible.

burden.

One evening, as the sky faded from blue to a deep, velvety gray, I walked along the edge of the lake, the water calm beneath the fading light.

A neighbor across the way waved from his dock.

I waved back.

The air was cool and smelled of pine. My boots crunched on the gravel path. In the distance, a loon called.

I thought about the girl I had been continue reading …