I was staring at a dwindling campfire. The country was burning and screaming. I was on a family camping trip while my friends in Philadelphia were at protests, getting shoved into cars and threatened by cops. I had no cell reception. No way to receive texts. No way to check the news. I had no way to learn anything until the end of the week, when my parents, sister, and I would pack up and go back to society. I kicked gravel at the firepit. All I could to was watch the smoke and hope nobody I loved was choking.
Sophia Snyder is a Philadelphia-based, over-caffeinated, lesbian playwright who occasionally dabbles in other formats. “No Connection” is the Editor’s Pick for our OUT OF RANGE contest, part of our 2026 Micromemoir Marathon.