The September House

by Carissa Orlando

It was our dream house. I knew it from the moment I stepped onto the property for the real estate tour. I knew it from the moment I saw the listing in the newspaper, if I’m being honest. The tour was a formality. I would have bought the place sight unseen.

First lines

Things don’t happen all at once, of course. They start gradually, changes occurring imperceptibly. You barely notice the differences, and once they make themselves known, they seem so small that you easily accept them, adjust your life in a minuscule way. Everyone can make minuscule adjustments. Then there’s another change, a bigger one, but you can still adjust so easily. No problem, really. Then another change, another adjustment, and so on and so on, and before you know it, you’re living a life that by all accounts should be unrecognizable but to you is just normal. Your life is that of a stranger’s, but it doesn’t bother you at all.

So much of life and pain is this

This is my home, and I am excellent at following the rules.

Nice ending statement for the chapter