JUST ANOTHER DAY
 
            You wake up. Mild back pain. Gonna have to get that checked. There's this goop in your eye that seems impossible to wipe off. On the way to the bathroom, you stomp your pinky toe on the shelf your wife ‘absolutely needed,’ so you built it.

Your daughter drew another horse. This one is red. You find it on the table, next to breakfast. She smiles at you. You did do something good in your life, after all.

The meal is fantastic. Meat is hard to come by and rice even more so. Your friend managed to get you some from the government's reserve. ‘You won’t get in trouble,’ he said.

            You leave and walk through the shopping district. It seems like no one has any idea of what is going on in the country. You know it’s not true. You know each one of them has a story, hopes, love, and a crippling fear mangling at them, but like you, they move on with their life. A bike passes you by. A girl is pedaling as fast as she can and her friend stands on the skirt guard.

            You’re almost at the school. The students are probably rushing now. The dome seems bigger today. Stronger. But something changes. The air stills. Birds grow silent. Crickets mute. A gust of hot wind hits you. You look up. Something is precipitating. It’s fast. Your mind travels to it. Your eyes read the unreadable:

Little Boy.