Hi. Are any of you still here?

( Enter cautiously )

Things hadn't been going well, and the phone rings. Great. More bad news, and this one was strong enough to be the final, felled ax to shatter my fragile world. Reluctant to answer, I stared at it, each ring inciting my heart to flutter like a hummingbird trapped in a mason jar.

Uninvited, unexpected ( Ken... )