Coming home late tonight, long after midnight…
As I was walking up the driveway, a few stray flurries of snow in the air around me…
I stopped.
A voice, far off . . . one word, harsh and cold and drawn out breathless like the frigid night air.
My name.
Not my real name. The name I grew up with, what I was born with. The name no one calls me anymore.
I wait, listening.
Nothing.
Fair enough, I think to myself as I head inside. You can get back to me when you’re ready.