The Mystery
The dried drops of liquid shit by the toilet near the unused brush, The closet holds a half dozen snowman mugs, a clock that plays birdsong, a vase from Spain still in the box, decks of cards, dominoes, a puzzle, family photos with curling corners, prayer cards. The deadbolt is on the outside of the only door leading to the basement/garden apartment. Our landlord left the television on all night long and did not like to clean. What is left at the end of a life, an old German Bible, her beloved grandchildren, now teenagers off to distant locales, we are de facto family left to clean up.