The children were not at school. The administrators voice continued to echo tinnily in her ear, but she wasn't listening any more. The children were not at school. Their backpacks still sat on the stairs near the landing by the front door. The morning sunlight poured in through the kitchen window as she let the phone slip from her grasp to dangle from its cord, banging slightly against the wall.

She had told them to go away, to leave her alone. She turned looking down the hallway towards the front door, looking at the backpacks sitting on the landing next to the door. Her hand went to her mouth as she stumbled forward, her slippers failing to gain purchase on the hardwood floor, her bathroom falling open.

She made her way to the front door, put her handle on the knob