We Used to Live Here

by Marcus Kliewer

was, “Imagine if several times a day, all at once, every single thing around you became impossible to ignore.”

Yet, like all childhood monsters, it was only replaced by the mundane, and arguably worse, terrors of adulthood: credit card debt, car accidents, funerals. Things that sometimes made Eve think back to imaginary ghouls with rosy nostalgia.

Occam’s razor. That was a term Charlie had taught her: the simplest explanation was usually correct.

In times of stress, take mental notes of your environment, your senses. Stay focused on the present moment.

“Words without changed behavior mean nothing—”

Eve did have moments here, fleeting sensations of impending doom, being watched, followed. But that was par for the course wherever she went. “Normal” anxiety stuff.

Once they’re in, they never leave…

When things felt right, it only meant there was so much more that could go wrong.

change is an opportunity in disguise.”