People pack the house. Murmured conversations. Time suspended. I hide underneath a table, legs tightly curled. Heart racing. Confused. Telephone ringing, I duck to watch Mr. Morrow answer. He shakes his head “no” and chaos erupts. My older sisters wailing, wrapped in hugs. My legs numb, I stretch them out and I’m noticed. Mr. Morrow holds two little white pills in his palm for me to take and I'm sent upstairs to nap. I fall asleep in bright sunshine, alone, scared, and hungry, not knowing Momma and Daddy were found by search and rescue, dead in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Trisha Prosser has studied with author Hope Edelman and currently studies with author Jeannine Ouellette. She’s a 2024 Semifinalist at Tulip Tree Publishing.