The Empty Inhaler
After the trial, I finally opened Ethan’s bedroom door.
Nothing had moved.
His dinosaur still waited on the pillow.
His tiny sneakers still sat beside the closet.
A half-finished drawing lay on his little desk.
It showed three stick figures holding hands beneath an enormous yellow sun.
Above them, in crooked five-year-old handwriting, were the words:
Mommy. Daddy. Me.