My apartment was completely silent that night.

I went straight to the small wooden table in the corner of my living room and turned on my cheap desk lamp.

The harsh yellow light cast long shadows across my stack of utility bills.

An eviction warning sat right on top, next to a fifty-dollar diner bill I had left unpaid last week.

I pulled three paper towels off the kitchen roll and sat down at the table.

I gently wiped the thick cemetery mud off the blue cardboard cover, taking care not to tear the damp material.