My Mother Screamed That I Had an Iceberg Where My Soul Should Be and Slammed the Door Hard Enough to Rattle the Photos — I Stood There Waiting for the Guilt That Always Came, and for the First Time in Thirty-Two Years, It Never Did

Please do not contact me about their expenses, their debts, or their conflicts.

I am focusing on my health, my daughter, and my life.

Anyone who harasses me on their behalf will be blocked as well.

I wish you all well.

Elena. I read it once.

I sent it.

And then I deactivated my social media, set my phone to Do Not Disturb, and, for the first time in as long as I could remember, put it down and did not think about it again.

Chapter 16 — The Horizon