The Heavy Hackberry
It was still dark outside. The wind was howling more than it usually did that June morning in Blighton Virgina. Michael woke up from the heat. The AC had kicked out some time in the middle of the night and he found himself drenched in a puddle of sweat. This coupled with the yellowing walls were an all too familiar scene. He would lay awake in bed for a good fifteen minutes before waking up to start his day and this morning was no exception. It wouldn’t be long before he’d hear his mom burst through the door with the same cutting speech as the day before. “You shouldn’t still be here.” followed by a cold stare. “At 28 years old, you should be out of this house, starting a family of your own. I don’t know where we went wrong with you, Michael.”