Idol, Burning

by Rin Usami

Sighs settled over the living room, and sobs soaked into the gaps between the floorboards and into the wood grain of the wardrobes. Maybe that was how a home broke down over the years, as the sound of doors slamming and chairs roughly scraping the floor built up like dust, and the slow drip of gnashing teeth and resentful grumbling bloomed into mildew. Our teetering, half-defunct household almost seemed to be asking to collapse.