{"id":14126,"date":"2020-07-30T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-30T05:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.asliceoforange.net\/?p=14126"},"modified":"2020-07-27T08:21:45","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T13:21:45","slug":"one-small-sign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asliceoforange.net\/one-small-sign\/","title":{"rendered":"One Small Sign"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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One Small Sign<\/span>
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The house was still\u2014so quiet and somber after Gran’s passing\u2014but Kiri refused to turn on the TV or crank up her earbuds just to fill the silence with trivial sounds. She wanted to catch the memory of Gran’s voice, to hear that mischievous laugh again. Within that nothingness, the faintest of snuffles echoed in the hallway outside Gran’s study, where Kiri was reviewing for a test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putting her Econ book face down on the desk, she stepped close to the hall doorway and listened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There it was again. Snuffle, snort<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unnerved\u2014she was alone in the house\u2014Kiri poked her head cautiously around the door frame to look down the hall. Empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a small sigh of relief, she walked down the hall and into the dining room to check there. The room was cramped not only with the eight-foot dining table, but also a sideboard, a corner cabinet and a large breakfront. She’d eaten many a meal in this room, with her Gran and, in the years before his death, Gramps presiding. Now both were gone. Despite the bulky furniture, the room felt empty, lifeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n