These Dreams of You

~ ~ ~

The lock on the front door has been changed. Zan goes around to the back and gets down on the ground and pokes his head through what used to be Piranha’s door. The house smells. He pulls out his head and grabs the dog door with both hands and rips it free from the larger door. Positioned on the ground again, on his back he can reach just far enough inside to turn the lock of the door, hoping it’s not bolted. Once more he withdraws and, catching his breath, opens the back door and walks in.

None of the Nordhocs’ possessions inside the house have been moved. What would they do, Zan wonders, pile it all out on the street? When he walks from the kitchen to the dining room, he sees something dart out of the corner of his eye; he hears scampering around him. He can talk himself into some sense of satisfaction about the rats taking over the house but still he’s glad none of the family is here to see it. Emotion wells up in him but, he thinks, I’m not going to shed one fucking tear over this fucking house.