, a sound that had been the soundtrack to my life for six years

en so excited. They were finally going to

had her arm around my shoulder, h

o much, Ava. Let them go

won. They hadn't seen their father, Michael, in months. They were just kids, innocent and fu

his own brother. They didn't know that he took every cent of the severance pay from our town's factory cl

heir small figures disappearing thr

en wearing all day. It was sharp and cold. She gave a little push, not to me,

axon blared. And then, a scream. Two screams, cut short by

rld e

next is Michael standing over me. The factory was silent

ed, my voice raw,

filled with grief, but with annoy

his voice flat. "Saves me the troubl

inery, a flicker of someth

ggage anyway, Ava.

shock and the grief were a physical force, a giant hand squeezing my

y floor, with my husband's final,

en, I

room in our small-town apartment. The air was stale, thick with the smell of

in red pen. It was the day the town's factory was closin

ribs. I scrambled out of bed

h worn-out wooden blocks, their heads bent together, their soft h

er big brown eyes filled w

knees and wrapped them in my arms, burying my face in their h

a dream. I

s words, was burned into my mind, as re

ony in my gut. But something else was there

ve

ght, a vow forming in

hing from me. You murdered my c

will tear down your world, piece by piece, and I wi

second chance

cond chance