___

i drove to her house,

knocked on her door

come in, forest.

he brought over oreos

and soda to the table.

“how are you holding up?”i asked.

i looked around the house.

the dishes were done,

the trash needed to be taken out,

the house felt depressed

and metallic

in general.

he sighed and put his head down on the table.

“she’s gone.” he said, his voice muffled.

“i know.”

he put his head up.

“you show no grievance?”

“crying won’t bring her back.

feeling sad won’t either.”

“mourning is a human thing to do.”

“but it won’t bring her back.”

he sighed again,

an agitated and frustrated sigh.

“then what do i do?”

“live through her,

share her memories,

keep her alive.”

he was quiet for awhile

but nodded in agreement.

“may i go to her room?”

he nodded.

i went to her room

and stood in front of her dollhouses.

i felt a sudden deep sadness

that i could not control,

tightening my chest,

creeping up to my eyes,

i  wiped the tears away

with my torn brown sweater.

i ran downstairs.

“bye mr. weissen.”

“will you be back?”

“maybe.”