BUZZING

Growing up in a busy city, the Gaunt children often come up with games to play in their building – Hide and Seek, UNO, basement bike rides. Their father is always immersed in his work in the room down the hall from their apartment. He comes to check on the children late in the evening, to read them his favorite stories and hear about their days.

…

Their building is old, lots of wood that always seems to creak in the darkest of hallways. Helena often spends her afternoons after school exploring. She has a knack for finding lost cupboards and “secret” passageways, windy stairs that seem to lead nowhere.

…

Hel sits at her makeshift desk, the dining room table. She’s ten now, working on maths homework. Or trying too. She looks around the small room, catching her own eyes in the mirror and then noticing a Polaroid of her mother, Audrey, as a child. In it, the child sits in a miniature turquoise car. Just a toddler, she peers up at the camera. Her face, so young and sweet, is endearing. Hel s…