3 Months Later. 4 Different Cities.
The book pieces hadn’t written anything new.
That was supposed to be good.
Umi - Salem, Oregon
Lila was drawing again. Happy drawings. Dogs with wings. Cats with crowns.
Umi was teaching her how to cook. No ghosts. No hunger.
But sometimes at night, Umi’s piece of the book would be cold.
And she’d forget Lila’s last name for 3 seconds.
Miri - New Orleans, Louisiana
Theo was playing at the jazz bar every Friday. Real gigs. Real people.
Miri was in the front row, crying every time.
But sometimes she’d look at a photo of her mom and forget the color of her eyes.
Alex - Nashville, Tennessee
Elias was playing shows again. Bad songs. Good crowds.
Alex was the opening act. Lazy. Perfect.
But sometimes he’d wake up and forget the name of the song he wrote yesterday.
Fritz - Chicago, Illinois
Noah was taking photos of bats. Lots of bats.
Fritz was teaching him how to be surprised on purpose.
But sometimes Fritz would look at a picture of his mom and forget her voice for a minute.
Tonight. 11:11 PM. All 4 phones buzz at the same time.
No text. Just a photo.
A photo of a table.
4 chairs.
4 empty plates. White. Blue rim.
And 4 new shadows sitting in the chairs.
Under the photo, one sentence:
_You remembered them.
Now we’re remembering you._
All 4 book pieces burned at the same time.
Umi dropped her pan.
Miri dropped her phone.
Alex dropped his pick.
Fritz dropped his energy drink.
The book pieces flipped to page 1.
New writing. In all 4 pieces. Same sentence.
_The Hunger is patient.
Season 4: The Authors become the Menu._
Cut to: An unknown city.
A voice. Many voices. Whispering.
_"They were so interesting.
Let’s see what they taste like."_
A new plate is set down.
And a name is carved into it.
Umi