A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

by Anthony Marra

“Emotional and mental trauma doesn’t heal itself any more than a broken bone left unset.”

Their eyes met. She blushed; not with surprise or astonishment, but with the downcast embarrassment of one who has been caught.

Across from Akhmed’s house, frozen ash stretched beyond the charred foundations of a house, across the field, and into the woods.