Chapter 4

It was the day of my departure.

At 10:00 am, everyone was home. Dad was watching the news in the living room, Mom was preparing Luna's favorite soup in the kitchen, and Luna was in her room, playing on her phone.

I folded the blanket into a neat square and draped it over the arm of the couch. Then I put the old pillow back on top of the cabinet on the balcony, and I washed the glass from the coffee table and put it back in the kitchen.

The living room returned to its clean and empty state, just like before I arrived. No one could tell that I had lived here for a week.

I grabbed my suitcase and walked to the entryway, bending over to tie my shoelace.

Four pairs of slippers sat neatly inside the shoe cabinet: Dad’s, Mom’s, Luna’s, and Luna’s spare pair. It looked exactly as it had on the day I came home.

I picked up the pair of slippers I'd bought and held them in my hand for a couple of seconds. Then I shoved them into the zippered compartment of my suitcase.

The suitcase wheels rolled across the living room floor with a low rumble.

Dad didn't even look up. "Heading out?"

"Yeah, I'm going back to school."

"Oh," he said while changing the channel.

I dragged my suitcase past the kitchen.

Mom had her back to me as she stirred the soup on the stove. She didn't turn toward me. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Take the trash out on your way. I won't have time to wipe down the kitchen counter later, so do that too."

I stared at her back. "Can't. I have to catch my ride."

Mom clicked her tongue. "Then close the living room windows before you go. Don't let dust get in."

I kept walking, dragging my suitcase past Luna's room. Or, to be more precise, my old room.

The door was wide open. She was curled up in her chair, scrolling through her phone. She glanced at me and casually waved. "Leon, you're leaving?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." She then went right back to her phone.

I walked to the entryway. My eyes swept over the hooks on the hallway wall one last time. Three keys hung side by side, with blue, red, and black cords. There was no fourth key.

A handwritten note from Mom were stuck under a magnet on the fridge.

"Luna goes back to school on the 10th. Bring beef jerky, yogurt, and new sheets.

"Luna's having a gathering this weekend. Book a private room.

"Pay the heating bill before the end of the month."

There wasn't a single note about me.

I opened the front door. Behind me, the TV was playing the noon news. I could hear the soup bubbling in the kitchen, and laughter from a short video drifted faintly out of Luna's room.

Everything in this house went on as usual.

As though I had never come home at all.

I pulled the door shut, and the lock clicked into place.

No one came after me or asked when I'd be back.

In the elevator, I took out my phone and left the family group chat. A message appeared in the middle of the screen.

"You have left the group chat 'Our Family'".

I held down the power button, and the screen went dark.

As I walked out of the building, the wind hit me in the face.

The world was full of noise. I was the only one dragging a suitcase quietly toward the subway station.

An orange stray cat darted past my feet, rubbed against one of my suitcase wheels, then looked up and meowed at me.

I crouched and rubbed its head. "You're the only one seeing me off."

It narrowed its eyes and brushed its tail against the back of my hand.

I stood up and didn't look back.

The consent form was still in my pocket. Mom's and Dad's signatures were so messy that they looked like two quick scribbles.

I took the guest slippers with me.

…

Three months later, Mom sent a message in the family group chat. "Leon, are you coming home for New Year's? Your dad told me to ask you."

But there was no reply.

She was shocked when she scrolled through the list of group members.

At some point, the group called "Our Family" had only three people left.