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by Aaren Denkel Tonight, I heard it. Finally. Chatter. A man talking to someone outside my window. Chatter, first time in such a long time. It must mean people are actually going out in the streets again. Walking. Chatting. Haven’t heard that in so long. Chatter. Does it mean it’s over, and we are no longer trapped inside our houses? To celebrate, chatter, first time in over a year, I turn on all the lights and go out onto the balcony. But no one else comes by. The streets are still empty. I wait. Nobody comes. No chatter. Where is everyone? If the worst is over, why don’t they come out? Why no chatter. I wait. And wait. Nobody comes. Nobody chatting. I turn off all the lights and sit in my chair again. Maybe it’s not over. Maybe that man I heard was talking to someone who wasn’t really there. Not real chatter. Cell phones. They can trick you. I can’t allow myself to get tricked into having hope for chatter. I light a candle. But it’s only to take the edge off the darkness, the silence. Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.
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