Clara had imagined her return a hundred different ways during the long trip home. She would unlock the door, set down the groceries, and fill the apartment with the smell of a hot meal. After four months away on business, she wanted nothing dramatic. Just warmth. Just her husband, Julian, and their son, Leo, sitting at the table the way they used to.
She had not called ahead. Part of her wanted to surprise them. In her bag were vegetables, a piece of meat, and a few small things she knew they liked. It was an ordinary offering, but to Clara it felt like a way back into the life she had left behind.
Then she reached the apartment door and noticed the silence.
No music. No television. No footsteps. Nothing.