Staring into the cabinet. Not seeing the beans, tomato cans, or expired sauces. Instead, I see her long wheaten hair, now blackened and frayed by too many boxes of dye. I once called it spun gold. She shouted “Nose bungled!” angrily. The word shuffle tickled me, and by repeating it I earned her annoyance. Freckles from the sun, big blue eyes like a Kewpie doll’s. I see her laughing and drawing, always drawing, at the bar in front of the sink where I do dishes. I start to cry, hard, and the beans get wobbly. She is moving out today.
Jill lives with her kids, a bajillion animals, and works as a gardener. She likes to write and take eerie photos. Jill’s eerie photos on Instagram:@jillpabichphotography; Jill’s paintings on Instagram:@jill_pabich