SONJA STARED SULLENLYahead, fighting every moment or so to keep the dark lashed lids of her tired brown eyes from drifting to a close. Taking the heel of her palm, she furiously tried to rub the sleep away from her eyes. On the pale expanse of her brow lay a line of consternation that seemed only to grow in size ever since the day she drove into Eventide an age ago. Suddenly, a yawn took over her still features, reminding her of the small cup of coffee her mother pressed onto her early that morning which she nestled in between her knees while her hands tucked underneath the arms of her worn denim jacket. Grimacing in mild disgust, she looked down at the cup in her hand before she brought the paper rim to her lips. She gulped down the considerably cooled contents of her cup, hoping that the caffeine could keep the fatigue at bay. From the moment she saw the face of her father wizened suddenly by his illness, she played the part of the dutiful daughter staying beside his side, waiting for him to show any signs of life. But in three weeks, her father had done nothing but lay listless on the hospital bed- the only sign that she still had a father was the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

Three weeks, she thought angrily as she set the hollow cup beside her sneaker clad foot. Three weeks since she arrived in Eventide on her family’s plane only to learn on the extent of her father’s illness. Two and a half from the day when Jonathan Eiríksson walked into her father’s room with all of his false sincerity, hoping to convince her everything was alright. How could life be anything but alright if for almost two weeks she seemed to barely exist-drifting in and out of awareness as she watched her father day in and day out? It didn’t help that while she camped in her father’s room, her mother all but gave up hope that her husband would recover and confined herself to their home, only leaving to walk amongst her plants in their greenhouse.

From her perch, the sounds of main street spilled over to the park, filling her ears with the harsh noises of the engine of a car in need of repair. Off to the side, she intently watched a group of teenagers loudly greet each other as they passed each other on the roads, their lively voices carrying even over the loud hum of vehicles driving by. Anyone else would have walked away, in search of a much quieter spot except she didn’t want the peace and quiet. All Sonja wanted was to forget everything -completely erase anything from her memory of the past three weeks and fill it with as much trivial things as she could. Some days, it took all she had not to scream in frustration. It killed her to watch and wait. A shot of pain ran through her like lightning whenever she noticed her mother’s eyes lined with worry as her hands flitted nervously with her graying hair. Taking action evaded her when she knew whatever course she did take-whether she was justified in it or not- would always have a chance at hurting her family.

Tightly gripping the back of the bench she perched on, she leaned back slightly, turning her gaze away from the main street upwards to the piercing blue sky as her thoughts strayed to Eventide before her anger ever hid silently behind her dark eyes.So much had passed since then. Her memories were only the faded,surreal moments of a past that she no longer felt a claim on. Staring overhead at the clouds, Sonja couldn’t tell whether Eventide had always been the same or in some indiscernible way she had changed and it now looked warped beneath her unclouded eyes.