The Thicket

by Noelle W. Ihli

Sometimes, Norah feels like her family members are living in different dimensions. Or maybe different circles of hell. She doesn’t feel abandoned. Or resentful. She just accepts that they can’t reach each other right now.

Norah tries to find the sadness. The grief. Even the anger she felt when she was looking at the Facebook event earlier. But it’s like trying to pull a too-big anchor aboard a too-small boat. It will capsize her, where the ocean will swallow her whole.