Ten minutes later, my phone rang. He was furious.
The lease was month-to-month. Yard responsibilities were clearly spelled out. He took it from there.
A few days later, I returned to her door with a small box. Inside were copies of everything I had sent. When she opened it, the truth landed heavier than any shouted argument ever could. She was livid. I was calm. I hadn’t raised my voice once. I had simply used my time exactly the way she told me to.
By Friday, the house was empty.
The noise disappeared. The chaos vanished. My yard was clean again. Fresh snow fell overnight—untouched, quiet, perfect. I rolled outside and breathed deeply, the cold air sharp and clean, no longer tainted by the smell of garbage. A cardinal shook snow from a branch above me, and I gently brushed the evergreens clean. I sat there for a while, letting the silence settle into my bones.
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