KNOCK - FRONT DOOR - PRESS 1 TO ANSWER
The words ran across the top of the screen and repeated several times before the boy reluctantly pulled himself away from his distraction long enough to read what it said. Almost regretfully, he paused his efforts and pulled up the keypad with a swipe, typing in the requested number.
WELCOME TO APT. #32005 - YOU MAY NOW ENTER - LEAVE SHOES ON THE MAT...

His daughter was a rose.

Imagine her: born of the earth,

petals like blood, thorns of sin, briars

of pain. Plucked. A tragedy. Written to rot... 

As the pandemic first commenced with ripping apart daily life in March 2020, I told my students at the university where I work that “COVID is going to kill a lot of culture.” And it has, with concerts postponed, games cancelled, restaurants shuttered and theaters left dark...