When the Tide Recedes, I Give Farewell to the Long Night

The Loving Family group chat goes quiet when a college acceptance letter arrives, but a two-second clip of a puppy's bark draws instant warmth from everyone. At home, the narrator's room is emptied out for the dog, and the family's attention stays fixed on Jon, the brother returning from abroad. Told to sleep on the floor of a hot storage room, the narrator collapses and wakes to an empty house, then eats expired instant ramen while the group chat fills with plans for a seafood dinner.

When Jon's flight lands, the narrator is left standing in the rain: the front seat is saved for Jon, the middle seat for Toffee, and the car pulls away without them. Soaked and shivering at the airport, the narrator sends a message asking where everyone is. No one answers.

With an acceptance letter pointing three thousand kilometers away, the question is whether anyone will notice when the tide finally recedes.