The Centifictionist

She had come for a kind of closure, but now she wasn’t sure if such a thing was even possible.

This was the place where those who came before her had suffered. She could hear their cries and see the fear in their eyes.

The wind whistled through the trees and touched her hair. For a while she stood quietly with an ache in her gut. Tears trickled down her cheeks.

Finally, he took her hand, and she looked at him.

She was here, after all, despite what had happened. She was here. There was love. And that was all.

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Faye Rapoport DesPres is the author of the memoir-in-essays Message From a Blue Jay and the Stray Cat Stories children’s book series. She is a graduate of the Solstice MFA in Creative Writing program and has taught literature and writing at Lasell University. Her creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry have appeared in a variety of literary journals, including Ascent, Bending Genres, Connotation Press: An Online Artifact, Hamilton Stone Review, and Superstition Review. A life-long animal and wildlife advocate, Faye donates a portion of the proceeds from her children’s books to non-profit animal rescue organizations. Website: fayerapoportdespres.com. Twitter: @FayeRapoDesPres.